Corrections

Death Penalty Used Sparingly by States in 2020 Amid Pandemic

States suspended executions due to the coronavirus outbreak and put just 7 people to death this year. Meanwhile, federal executions resumed for the first time in 17 years.

  • By Andrea Noble

Inside the Covid Unit at the World’s Largest Women’s Prison

The Central California Women’s Facility quarantined prisoners with Covid-19 with those who never tested positive for the virus.

  • By Ko Bragg and Kate Sosin, The 19th

Family Members Raise Concerns as Florida Inmate Deaths Rise

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | "Pooled testing" could speed up results ... Minneapolis council votes to get rid of police PIO ... Los Angeles County sheriff slammed for sexist statement.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman

The Prison Was Built to Hold 1,500 Inmates. It Had Over 2,000 Coronavirus Cases.

Prison overcrowding has been quietly tolerated for decades. But the pandemic is forcing a reckoning.

  • By Dara Lind, ProPublica

‘Prisons Are Bacteria Factories’; Elderly Most at Risk

“You’re going to see devastation that’s unbelievable.”

  • By David Montgomery, Stateline

This State Has Figured Out How to Treat Drug-Addicted Inmates

More jails and prisons are starting to offer medication-assisted treatment for inmates addicted to opioids. But it's available at just a very small fraction of correctional facilities across the country.

  • By Christine Vestal, Stateline

The Human Cost of Missing Data in Prisons

COMMENTARY | Nowhere is good information about operations more critical than in prisons and jails. But too often states simply lack the kind of data that holds officials accountable.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

California’s Jails Are in a Deadly Crisis. Here’s How Experts Suggest Fixing Them.

An investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica found unchecked violence and inhumane conditions in county jails, but the state’s oversight agency has no power to stop it. Experts say that needs to change.

  • By Ryan Gabrielson and Jason Pohl, ProPublica

Chicago Is Making the Case for Releasing Pregnant Inmates

Women in jail typically have limited prenatal support and return to custody soon after giving birth. One program is testing a different approach.

  • By Sarah Conway, The Atlantic

Restore Pell Grant Eligibility to Incarcerated Students

COMMENTARY | The National District Attorneys Association, the largest group representing prosecutors, supports federal grant funding for prisoners to get college degrees.

  • By Duffie Stone

The Private Option

One company has become the biggest provider of jail health care. Sheriffs are worried: “If you’re the only dance in town, you can pretty much call your own shots.”

  • By Marsha McLeod, The Atlantic

Jeffrey Epstein’s Death Highlights Inmate Suicide Problem

At least 10 states have new policies to prevent suicides in jails and prisons.

  • By Max Blau

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Local Officials Want Feds to Scrap Policy Blocking People in Jail From Medicaid

A federal law can lead to breaks in health care benefits for those awaiting trial. Counties and sheriffs plan to lobby for this to be changed.

  • By Bill Lucia

Alabama Lawmakers Pass Chemical Castration Mandate for Sex Offenders

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Court OKs eminent domain for pipeline in Iowa … Nebraska governor vetoes Census commission … Denver mayor’s race decided in run-off.

  • By Emma Coleman

Juvenile Justice Reform Sets Us On a Path to End Youth Homelessness

COMMENTARY | In Washington state, thousands of young people are locked up annually for “status offenses” and find themselves homeless when leaving detention. A new law seeks to change that.

  • By Tricia Raikes

California Jails Struggle with Increased Violence

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A Connecticut legal battle over regulation of pregnancy centers ... A county in Illinois started a prescription medication pickup program … North and South Carolina teachers plan another strike.

  • By Emma Coleman

Texas Can Keep Secret Execution Drug Supplier, Court Rules

The Texas Supreme Court found that disclosing where the state has obtained the drugs "would create a substantial threat of physical harm" to the companies.

  • By Laura Maggi

Justice Department Says Alabama Prisons Plagued by Violence

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Mississippi city to stop jailing people unable to pay fines … Michael Brown’s mother loses council race in Ferguson, Missouri … New Mexico bans coyote-killing contests.

  • By John Tomasic

Death Penalty Repeal Stalls in Colorado

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Chicago elects a new mayor ... Keeping public comments alive at a Nebraska county board ... Disaster relief disagreements stall bill.

  • By Laura Maggi

Expunging Criminal Records Offers Clear Benefits—But Few People Take Advantage

New research finds that automatic expungement of nonviolent criminal records could be a boon for eligible offenders, but few apply when the process is complicated.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

How Denver Is Breaking the Homelessness-Jail Cycle

COMMENTARY | The Urban Institute examines the progress of Denver's permanent supportive housing program, which is paid for through a social impact bond.

  • By Emily Peiffer