Victoria Law

Victoria Law is a freelance journalist who focuses on the intersections of incarceration, gender, and resistance. Her books include Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women, Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms (coauthored with Maya Schenwar), and the forthcoming “Prisons Make Us Safer” and 20 Other Myths About Mass Incarceration.

A mock prison cell, intended to simulate the heat inside prision cells in Texas, sits outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin on July 18, 2023. Activists visited the capitol to discuss the need for air-conditioning in Texas state prisons.

Air Conditioners Can Only Do So Much for Those Behind Bars Air Conditioners Can Only Do So Much for Those Behind Bars

Extreme heat has long been a concern for incarcerated pregnant women and those behind bars with underlying health conditions.

Aug 30, 2024 / Victoria Law

The Scorching Temperatures Are Turning Prison Cells Into Furnaces

The Scorching Temperatures Are Turning Prison Cells Into Furnaces The Scorching Temperatures Are Turning Prison Cells Into Furnaces

As the death toll due to extreme heat rises, incarcerated people are concerned that their cells could become their coffins.

Jul 15, 2024 / Victoria Law

Rachel Herzing and Justin Piché, authors of the new book “How to Abolish Prisons: Lessons from the Movement against Imprisonment.”

The Work of Abolishing Prisons: A Q&A With Rachel Herzing and Justin Piché The Work of Abolishing Prisons: A Q&A With Rachel Herzing and Justin Piché

A conversation with Rachel Herzing and Justin Piché about their new book, How to Abolish Prisons: Lessons from the Movement Against Imprisonment.

May 9, 2024 / Q&A / Victoria Law

Pregnancy in Jails: A New Report Finds Flagrant Violations of Illinois Laws

Pregnancy in Jails: A New Report Finds Flagrant Violations of Illinois Laws Pregnancy in Jails: A New Report Finds Flagrant Violations of Illinois Laws

Jails throughout Illinois continually deny, restrict, interfere with, or discriminate against pregnant people’s rights to reproductive care.

Mar 29, 2024 / Victoria Law

Michelle Horton on

“The System Works So Hard to Silence Us Because Our Voices Are Powerful” “The System Works So Hard to Silence Us Because Our Voices Are Powerful”

An interview with author and activist Michelle Horton about her new book, Dear Sister.

Feb 28, 2024 / Q&A / Victoria Law

Hundreds of dual victims rallied to end life without the possibility of parole. Two Bills in the Pensylvania legislature, Senate Bill 942 and House Bill 135, which end Life without Parole which amount to death by incarceration, protesters rallied inside the state capitol with victims on both sides of the issue giving passionate speeches in favor of the bills in Harrisburg, PA on October 23, 2019.

It’s Known as “Death by Incarceration.” These People Want to End It. It’s Known as “Death by Incarceration.” These People Want to End It.

More people are serving life sentences without parole in Pennsylvania than almost anywhere else in America. An increasingly vocal movement is trying to change that.

Feb 9, 2024 / Victoria Law

Survivor Justice and Democracy: A Conversation With Kylie Cheung

Survivor Justice and Democracy: A Conversation With Kylie Cheung Survivor Justice and Democracy: A Conversation With Kylie Cheung

The Nation spoke with the journalist and author about the ways in which domestic violence and the ongoing attacks on bodily autonomy impede the democratic process.

Sep 15, 2023 / Q&A / Victoria Law

Abortion Denied: Reproductive Injustice Behind Bars

Abortion Denied: Reproductive Injustice Behind Bars Abortion Denied: Reproductive Injustice Behind Bars

"[This situation] should make you wonder whether we, as a society, should be incarcerating pregnant people in the first place."

Jul 28, 2023 / Victoria Law

A painting by Davide Coggins, mailed to the author in mid-May.

New York’s Prison System Abruptly Halts a Policy Censoring Artists and Writers New York’s Prison System Abruptly Halts a Policy Censoring Artists and Writers

One day after New York Focus broke the story about the censorship policy, the state department announced that it would suspend the rule impeding creative endeavors in prisons.

Jun 8, 2023 / Victoria Law

People gathered at City Hall in October 2022 for a rally to protest deaths in New York City's Rikers Island jail complex.

Maryland’s Solitary Confinement Reform Bill Stalls in the Democratic State Legislature Maryland’s Solitary Confinement Reform Bill Stalls in the Democratic State Legislature

Lawmakers “had the opportunity to do something that would have made a huge systemic change and put the state on the right path—and they didn’t,” said the bill’s author.

May 25, 2023 / Victoria Law

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