prison reform

Since coronavirus entered the U.S., nearly 16,000 have fallen ill of COVID-19 and 134 have died. That number does not include people incarcerated in state prisons across the U.S. The Marshall Project’s criminal justice reporter Keri Blakinger explains why the general public should care about protecting people in prisons.

Roc Nation’s philanthropy arm, Team Roc, filed a lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections earlier this year on behalf of over 150 inmates in the state’s Parchman prison in response to conditions described as “barbaric.” Attorney Jessica Rice, who is working with Team Roc, explains why this case is important in Mississippi and details the long history of...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to significantly shrink the footprint of California’s prison system, partly because of massive budget cuts prompted by the pandemic but also because of philosophy. The revised budget he sent to state lawmakers this week envisions closing two state prisons in the coming years; cutting nearly one in five of the 43 inmate firefighter camps; and…