mass incarceration
July 31, 2019 -
A recent study found that judges in North Carolina and two other states hand down longer sentences during their re-election campaigns. It also confirmed that judges in some states treat black defendants more harshly, with the disparity most pronounced in Alabama.
May 24, 2019 -
As the movement for criminal justice reform takes center stage ahead of the 2020 elections, governors and legislators in the South are offering reforms to create a more welcoming reentry process after prison and to restore rights stripped from ex-felons — though progress on that front faces backlash in Florida.
April 11, 2019 -
The issue of reparations for slavery is once again getting attention in Washington, with legislation introduced to study the matter getting unprecedented levels of support. Many of the Democrats hoping to unseat President Trump are embracing the concept.
August 9, 2018 -
With private prisons under scrutiny, some Southern states have moved away from contracting with them — but some have gone in the other direction. Where does your state stand?
June 22, 2018 -
In the current moment of moral clarity over the immigration crisis, Bob Libal, executive director of Texas-based Grassroots Leadership, sees an opportunity to demand fundamental transformation of a system that criminalizes people of color.
February 16, 2018 -
People who have not been convicted of any crime languish in jails simply because they can't afford to post bail. To address the injustice, several Southern cities have reformed their bail policies — and organizers in one North Carolina community are trying to make their city next.
January 11, 2018 -
In Florida state prisons, where a $4 can of soup costs $17 in the canteen, inmates risked their lives performing cleanup duties after Hurricane Irma but were paid nothing in return. This MLK Day, they plan to carry on the tradition of nonviolent resistance by withholding their labor.
