Ginger Jackson-Gleich and Wanda Bertram | July 27, 2021

Nine ways that states can provide better public defense

We suggest a few questions to ask to assess the strength of your state's public defense system.

Emily Widra | July 12, 2021

New data: People with incarcerated loved ones have shorter life expectancies and poorer health

Wendy Sawyer | July 6, 2021

Smoke and mirrors: A cautionary tale for counties considering a big, costly new jail

How law enforcement and jail architects almost duped taxpayers into approving a new jail far bigger than the county needs, by offering biased analysis and misleading arguments.

Emily Widra | June 23, 2021

With over 2,700 deaths behind bars and slow vaccine acceptance, prisons and jails must continue to decarcerate

Just because vaccines are increasingly available does not mean that the COVID-19 crisis in prisons and jails is over - far from it. Yet new data show more prisons and jails are returning to “business as usual.”

Leah Wang | June 23, 2021

Rise in jail deaths is especially troubling as jail populations become more rural and more female

New data show record high deaths of people locked up in jail, as jail populations have shifted toward smaller, rural jails and growing numbers of women. A lack of accountability and acknowledgement of women’s unique disadvantages all but ensures more deaths to come.

Andrea Fenster | June 10, 2021

What families can expect to be charged under the new FCC rules

A new order from the Federal Communications Commission lowers existing caps on rates and fees in the prison and jail telephone industry.

Leah Wang and Wendy Sawyer | June 8, 2021

New data: State prisons are increasingly deadly places

New data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that state prisons are seeing alarming rises in suicide, homicide, and drug and alcohol-related deaths.

Tiana Herring and Emily Widra | May 18, 2021

Just over half of incarcerated people are vaccinated, despite being locked in COVID-19 epicenters

Most states did not prioritize incarcerated people in their vaccination plans. As a result, seven months since the first vaccines were distributed, just 55% of people in prison have been vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to infection.

Katie Rose Quandt and Alexi Jones | May 13, 2021

Research Roundup: Incarceration can cause lasting damage to mental health

Incarceration can trigger and worsen symptoms of mental illness — and those effects can last long after someone leaves the prison gates.

Wanda Bertram and Wendy Sawyer | May 5, 2021

Prisons and jails will separate millions of mothers from their children in 2021

The most important statistics about the incarceration of mothers and pregnant women.