Special Investigation: Dying in Private Prisons

The Department of Justice has announced plans to end its use of all private prison operators, following The Nation’s investigation, in partnership with The Investigative Fund, that uncovered dozens of questionable deaths at the privately run facilities in which the Bureau of Prisons houses noncitizen inmates. Reporter Seth Freed Wessler obtained tens of thousands of pages of medical reports through an open records lawsuit and, working with a panel of medical doctors, found more than two dozen deaths involving substandard care. Further reporting revealed that the agency understood the danger yet repeatedly renewed contracts.

Donald Trump’s Looming Mass Criminalization

Donald Trump’s Looming Mass Criminalization Donald Trump’s Looming Mass Criminalization

The only way to quickly deport 3 million immigrants is to first make them into criminals—and he’ll have the tools to do so on day one.

Nov 28, 2016 / Feature / Seth Freed Wessler

Prison Barbed Wire

ICE Plans to Reopen the Very Same Private Prison the Feds Just Closed ICE Plans to Reopen the Very Same Private Prison the Feds Just Closed

Advocates cheered when the Justice Department began shuttering its private prisons. But immigration officials saw an opportunity.

Oct 27, 2016 / Seth Freed Wessler

Reeves riot

This Is Why I Come to Work Every Day This Is Why I Come to Work Every Day

Even in the age of Trump, facts still can and do matter. Our work is to ferret them out and wield them as tools for reform.

Aug 19, 2016 / Kai Wright

Adams birdseye prison

The Justice Department Will End All Federal Private Prisons, Following a ‘Nation’ Investigation The Justice Department Will End All Federal Private Prisons, Following a ‘Nation’ Investigation

Our yearlong probe uncovered dozens of questionable deaths and years of dire warnings from internal monitors.

Aug 18, 2016 / Seth Freed Wessler

New Mexico Landscape

The Feds Will Shut Down the Troubled Private Prison in a ‘Nation’ Investigation The Feds Will Shut Down the Troubled Private Prison in a ‘Nation’ Investigation

The facility is among several in which our reporting has uncovered dozens of deaths that involved substandard medical care.

Aug 15, 2016 / Seth Freed Wessler

Federal Officials Ignored Years of Internal Warnings About Deaths at Private Prisons

Federal Officials Ignored Years of Internal Warnings About Deaths at Private Prisons Federal Officials Ignored Years of Internal Warnings About Deaths at Private Prisons

Following a Nation investigation into lax medical care, the Justice Department is finally moving to end its reliance on for-profit prison operators.

Jun 15, 2016 / Feature / Seth Freed Wessler

Family Sues Private-Prison Operator Over Deaths at Immigrant-Only Facilities

Family Sues Private-Prison Operator Over Deaths at Immigrant-Only Facilities Family Sues Private-Prison Operator Over Deaths at Immigrant-Only Facilities

An investigation found dozens of questionable deaths related to cost cutting in privatized federal prisons.

Mar 15, 2016 / Seth Freed Wessler

Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring, a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Texas.

‘This Man Will Almost Certainly Die’ ‘This Man Will Almost Certainly Die’

Dozens of men have died in disturbing circumstances in privatized, immigrant-only prisons. The Bureau of Prisons itself says there’s a problem. And yet the privatization scheme con...

Jan 28, 2016 / Feature / Seth Freed Wessler

Grave of Carlos Aguirre-Venegas

The 25 Men Whose Lives Ended Under Questionable Circumstances The 25 Men Whose Lives Ended Under Questionable Circumstances

Medical doctors agreed that inadequate care likely contributed to the premature deaths of these men inside the Bureau of Prison’s private facilities.

Jan 28, 2016 / Seth Freed Wessler

A Guide to Our Investigation of Deaths Inside the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Immigrant-Only Facilities

A Guide to Our Investigation of Deaths Inside the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Immigrant-Only Facilities A Guide to Our Investigation of Deaths Inside the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Immigrant-Only Facilities

The basics on how and why this system exists.

Jan 28, 2016 / Seth Freed Wessler

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