Prisons

The coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the labor market have pushed many prison staffing systems into crisis

The most populous U.S. state not surprisingly has the most people being released from its prisons and jails. And now it has what organizers said Thursday is the nation’s first statewide coordinated effort to help them reintegrate back into the community.

A judge has partially blocked an order taking effect this week that required California prison employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“They didn’t know what to do with us,” says Jermaine Archer, who caught COVID while incarcerated at Rikers Island. The New York City jail holds people pretrial and has faced criticism for deaths and crowded conditions. NBC New York’s Kay Angrum was live outside after 2 counter-protesting groups spoke on behalf of corrections workers and the incarcerated.

Pope Francis has called for “more humane” prison life in the wake of bloodshed in a prison in Ecuador in which 118 people died and dozens more were injured.

A top DOJ official cited the more than 40 suspected or confirmed homicides of Georgia prison inmates in announcing the civil rights investigation.

The California’s high court has ruled that prison inmates cannot legally possess marijuana behind bars under the state’s 2016 law allowing recreational pot.

Here’s how one nonprofit is helping the formerly incarcerated become entrepreneurs.

Federal regulators are considering allowing state prisons across the country more technological options to combat contraband cellphones.

Texas death row inmate Quintin Jones is scheduled to be executed May 19. But Jones is pleading to Gov. Greg Abbott for clemency, telling the New York Times contributor Suleika Jaouad that he is a different person than he was 2 decades ago. Jones was put on death row after confessing to the murder of his great-aunt. His family has...

State corrections officials say the goal is to reward inmates who better themselves while critics fear the move could have serious consequences

The changes were approved this week by the state Office of Administrative Law, with little public notice. NBC 7’s Allie Raffa reports

California is giving 76,000 inmates the opportunity to leave prison earlier

A federal judge ordered areas where disabled inmates gather in five California prisons must have surveillance cameras installed.

The report provided new details on last spring’s catastrophic decision to move inmates from the California Institution for Men east of Los Angeles to San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco. The inmates were put onto buses for the more than 400-mile (680 kilometer) trip and the tight quarters increased the risk of infections spreading.

One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Alabama over conditions in the state prisons

In many states across the country, people with felony convictions are prohibited from voting, or only allowed to vote under certain conditions, even after they’ve served their sentence. Jay Jordan, who served time in prison as a young man and is currently the Director for Californians for Safety and Justice, explains how limiting their rights hurts more than just former...

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.

California has launched a $30 million program to provide thousands of parolees with community services after they complete their prison sentences or are released months early because of the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Thursday.