Banning Criminal Background Checks Will Lead To More Housing Discrimination, Not Less
The best reforms would correct the real problems of overcriminalization and overincarceration, as well as removing all artificial barriers to building more homes.
Mass incarceration
Federal Prison Guards Confessed to Rape and Got Away With It
"I knew they were scumbags," a former Bureau of Prisons officer tells Reason.
He Spent 10 Years Behind Bars Without Being Convicted. He'll Have To Wait Longer To Have the Case Resolved.
Maurice Jimmerson finally got a trial after a decade of pretrial detention. It ended in a hung jury.
He Spent a Decade in Jail Without Being Convicted. Now His Lawyer Says His Case Should Be Dismissed.
Maurice Jimmerson has spent 10 years in jail awaiting trial for a 2013 murder charge.
This Bill Aims To Reduce Mass Incarceration by Encouraging States To Cut Their Prison Populations
The legislation, whose authors say two-fifths of prisoners are locked up without a "compelling public safety justification," would reward states that take a more discriminating approach.
This Georgia Man Has Been Jailed for 10 Years Without a Trial
In 2013, Maurice Jimmerson was charged with murder. Ten years later, he's still languishing in a Dougherty County jail, awaiting trial.
Debate: Mentally Ill Homeless People Must Be Locked Up for Public Safety
Have we forgotten the era of mass institutionalization?
Prison Deaths Spiked by Almost 50 Percent During Early Months of COVID-19 Pandemic
Plus: ACLU urges Congress not to bank TikTok, a backdoor way to subsidize childcare, and more...
An Alabama Man Was Taken to Jail. Two Weeks Later, He Was Dead From Hypothermia.
Tony Mitchell's death was a "direct and proximate result" of jail officers' "deliberate indifference or malice, and of their ongoing denial of Tony's constitutional rights under a scheme that continued to operate after his death," his family's suit states.
Louisiana Keeps Over a Quarter of Inmates Detained Past Their Release Dates, DOJ Investigation Finds
"There is an obligation both to incarcerated persons and the taxpayers not to keep someone incarcerated for longer than they should be," a Louisiana district attorney said. "Timely release is not only a legal obligation, but arguably of equal importance, a moral obligation."
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Wrongfully Jailed Children for Months, New Lawsuit Alleges
"Sometimes I even feel like they wanted me in there, because I was in there so long," said one 18-year-old who was wrongfully incarcerated for 166 days.
A Man Pointed a Finger Gun at Cops, Was Jailed for Over a Year Without Trial, and Starved to Death Behind Bars
Plus: Court reminds cops they can't pull people over just to flirt, salary range laws aren't working as planned, and more...
An Arizona Prison Is Requiring Inductions for Pregnant Inmates
"Just because I made some bad choices in my life, they shouldn't be allowed to make bad health choices for me and my baby," said one woman whose labor was induced against her will.
Keri Blakinger Is a Figure Skater and a Felon
"The most valuable thing taken away while in prison is time," says the author of Corrections in Ink.
The Twin Crusades Against Drugs and Guns
The war on drugs conspires with the war on guns to make a mockery of justice.
Is a War on Policing Increasing Crime? Q&A with Rafael Mangual
In Criminal (In)Justice, the Manhattan Institute scholar argues that most reforms favored by social justice activists—and many libertarians—make life worse for communities of color.
Is a War on Policing Increasing Crime? Q&A With Rafael Mangual
In Criminal (In)Justice, the Manhattan Institute scholar argues that most reforms favored by social justice activists—and many libertarians—make life worse for communities of color.
Review: Is Prison for Rehabilitation or Punishment?
High recidivism rates are not surprising when life in prison features the same factors that drive crime.
Should Libertarians Root for the Abolition of Police and Prisons?
Libertarians have some common ground with the abolitionists—but if they insist on anti-capitalism as a litmus test, abolitionists will find themselves isolated and marginalized.
Judges Who Sent Kids to Detention Centers for Financial Kickbacks Ordered To Pay Over $200 Million
Former Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan are now serving lengthy prison sentences for what became known as the "kids-for-cash" scandal.
Brittney Griner's 9.5-Year Sentence Is Harsh Even by Russian Standards
It is unclear if, or when, she could be freed by a prisoner exchange.
Tackling Mass Incarceration Requires More Than Freeing Nonviolent Drug Offenders
A new report emphasizes that the U.S. would still have a very high incarceration rate even if all drug war prisoners were released.
Pennsylvania Homeless Man Spared Felony Charge for 43-Cent Misunderstanding
However, the cruel policy that threatened him with years in jail remains in place.
Pennsylvania Could Put a Homeless Man in Prison Over 43 Cents
Overzealous three-strikes laws claim another victim.
The Pandemic Showed Home Detention Works
In the right circumstances, home detention is cheaper and more effective than prison.
What Happened When Life Sentences Got Out of Control
The prisons are filled with aging inmates who no longer pose a public threat.
Study: Democratic Governors Feed the Prison-Industrial Complex
Electorally vulnerable Democratic governors have historically been tougher on crime than Republicans.
U.S. Incarcerated Population Dropped Below 2 Million Last Year For First Time Since 2003
The COVID-19 pandemic drove an unprecedented drop in incarceration, a new study finds, but the authors warn it could bounce right back.
U.S. Incarceration Rate Fell Last Year to Lowest Level Since 1994
Total prison population, imprisonment rates, and racial disparities in incarceration all continued their slide.
Debate's Best Moment: Trump and Biden Bragging on Prison Reform
The U.S. incarceration rate peaked in 2008, but it's good to see two "law and order" candidates talking about clemency.
Prison by Any Other Name
State involvement in people's lives—even "for their own good"—ends up becoming a backdoor way of policing and control.
Trump Claims Biden Called Black Americans 'Superpredators.' That Was Hillary Clinton.
Joe Biden has said plenty of regrettable things about criminal justice, but that wasn't one of them.
The RNC Can't Figure Out Where It Stands on Criminal Justice Reform
Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) criticizes Joe Biden's record on mass incarceration.
Kamala Harris: Drug Warrior, Vice Cop, Draconian Prosecutor
Biden picked a V.P. candidate whose record on police and criminal justice reform is as terrible as his own.
Tear Down America's Immigrant Prisons
In the age of coronavirus, they are a danger to the lives of people both inside them and outside.
Texas Will No Longer Send People to Jail for Violating Strict Social Distancing
Gov. Greg Abbott made the change after a Dallas salon owner was jailed for reopening her salon.
Lawmakers Call Out Cuomo and Other Governors for Letting Prisoners Die of COVID-19
Plus: "Karenology," failing fashion brands, and more...
Joe Biden Is Happy To Talk About Michael Bloomberg's Stop-and-Frisk Record Because It Distracts From His Own Terrible Crime Policies
"The policy was abhorrent," Biden said of Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk program. Yes, but so was pretty much every criminal justice policy Biden pushed through the Senate.
Trump Uses Clemency To Help Drug War Victims, Reward GOP Donors, and Spite James Comey
Plus: China boots three reporters, megacities are getting a smaller share of growth than they used to, and Dems gather to debate in Las Vegas..
Florida Prisons Are a Slow-Motion Disaster
"We are a prison system that's overstuffed and under-guarded, and that is a lethal combination of policies," says state Sen. Jeff Brandes.
New York City Council Votes To Build Four New Jails and To Close Notorious Rikers Island
But can the city commit to reducing its jail population—and will Rikers' infamous culture just be transplanted to the new jails?
States Are Easing Arbitrary Licensing Barriers to Work for People With Criminal Records
This year, Mississippi and North Carolina both ditched a vague "good moral character" clause that kept occupational licensing out of reach for people with criminal records.
Felicity Huffman's 14-Day Prison Sentence Is Too Harsh
The U.S. incarcerates people for petty crimes at an alarming rate.
Cory Booker's Slam Against Joe Biden's Criminal Justice Record Shoveled Some More Dirt on the Old Lock 'Em Up Consensus
The climate of opinion has changed so dramatically that Democrats are politically obliged to support reform.
Kamala Harris Hopes You'll Forget Her Record as a Drug Warrior and Draconian Prosecutor
The senator and presidential hopeful went to bat for dirty prosecutors, opposed marijuana legalization, and championed policies that endanger sex workers.
Attorney General Nominee William Barr Defends Long Prison Sentences, But Says He's Open to Reforms
"As a system, it's working," Barr says of the criminal justice system. "It's not predicated on racism."
What Mass Incarceration Looks Like, State By State
The ACLU is releasing reports on what's driving mass incarceration in every state, and how to cut prison populations in each one.