Jails and Prisons

Stars and Bars Stars and Bars

How did the American criminal justice system go so wrong?

Aug 9, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Lazare

Pardon Whom? Pardon Whom?

Dear George Bush: Don't stop with Scooter Libby. Why not go all the way and pardon everyone unfairly held behind bars?

Jul 12, 2007 / Column / Katha Pollitt

The Sounds of Silence The Sounds of Silence

Voting is a privilege and a responsibility that every American bears. Allowing prisoners to vote will keep us honest.

Jan 29, 2007 / Walter Mosley

Incarceration Nation Incarceration Nation

America now leads the world in the number of people behind bars. But hope is emerging that state governments and the courts will seek to hold back the hand of the carceral state.

Jan 5, 2007 / Feature / Silja J.A. Talvi

Generation Lockdown Generation Lockdown

California's juvenile justice system is broken everywhere you look. An ambitious plan for reform could bring much-needed improvements, but does it go far enough?

Jun 25, 2006 / Feature / Mark Sorkin

‘They Deserve It’ ‘They Deserve It’

Prison rape is not a dirty joke; it's one of the most frequent and widespread human rights abuses in America.

Jun 21, 2006 / Feature / Dan Bell

Left to Die Left to Die

If a society is measured by the treatment of its prisoners, we are in deeper trouble in New Orleans than we realize. The biggest prison crisis since Attica is now unfolding in the ...

Dec 15, 2005 / Feature / Billy Sothern

Two Prisoners Named Williams Two Prisoners Named Williams

The lives and deaths of two prisoners intersected this week--Stanley Tookie Williams and Richard Williams, flawed men whose political perspectives and pursuit of personal redemptio...

Dec 14, 2005 / Feature / Dan Berger

Seeds of Abu Ghraib Seeds of Abu Ghraib

Americans wondered how Army Specialist Charles Graner could torture detainees in the gruesome Abu Ghraib scandal. In war, people do things that would otherwise be unthinkable. But ...

Dec 8, 2005 / Feature / Sasha Abramsky

Ban Torture or Protect Torturers? Ban Torture or Protect Torturers?

A showdown looms in Congress this week over two competing measures involving bedrock human and legal rights: John McCain's legislation to ban all forms of torture and Lindsey Graha...

Dec 2, 2005 / Feature / Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith

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