News

Texas Could Shape Trump’s Proposals to Reform Federal Prisons

Second in size behind Alaska, and trailing just California and New York in population, the state of Texas may turn out to be the biggest of all when it comes to influencing how the Trump administration shapes its proposals and strategy on criminal justice reform. A few years ago, it looked like the time might

Read More »

Prison Reform and Redemption Act: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

On July 24, 2017, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives titled the “Prison Reform and Redemption Act” (PRRA).1 The bill is co-sponsored by nine members of the 115th Congress, four of whom are fellow Republicans. According to the text of the proposed legislation, its purpose is “To provide for programs

Read More »

We Know What Works: The Key to Prison Reform

There’s been much talk about prison reform in this country, but to date, not a lot has changed. While prisoner education programs and other reforms are slowly making ground, the U.S. still has the world’s highest prison population, with nearly a half million more in the prison system than China, which ranks second in the

Read More »

D.C. Court Rules Warrant Required to Track Cell Phones

A District of Columbia Court of Appeals panel ruled by a 2-1 margin on Sept. 21 that a search warrant is required before police can use cell phone tracking devices. The decision marked the fourth time a state or federal court has come to that conclusion, echoing similar rulings by Maryland’s top court and federal

Read More »

Firm, Judge, Sheriff Accused of Bail Fee Extortion

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center have joined to file a federal civil rights and anti-racketeering class-action lawsuit which claims a Louisiana district judge, the East Baton Rouge sheriff, and a firm that monitors criminal defendants released on bail while awaiting trial acted together to force defendants to pay hundreds

Read More »

Prisons Under Trump: Going Forward, Backward or Standing Still?

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEMS DETERMINED TO UNDO PRISON REFORMS LAUNCHED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA. America has a reputation for dehumanizing rather than rehabilitating its prisoners. Jails are crowded beyond manageable levels. Privatization and for-profit measures have pushed more people into incarceration than ever before; for example, those with minor fines and misdemeanors. The prison population has a

Read More »

What humanity learned from the Stanford Prison Experiment

The study aimed to discover whether guard brutality reported in American prisons had to do with their sadistic natures or the prison environment. The Stanford prison experiment ended after 6 days when guards began to abuse prisoners, and prisoners began to experience mental breakdowns. It was 46 years ago that psychologist Philp Zimbardo conducted one

Read More »

Federal Prison Population Dropped 13% In Four Years

A new analysis released by the nonprofit Sentencing Project is a classic case of good news and bad news. On one hand, it finds a widespread trend toward lower incarceration levels: the combined state and federal total number of inmates has declined by 4.9% since hitting its peak in 2009, and the Federal Bureau of

Read More »
Search
Categories
Categories
Archives
X