Prison Reform

Policing and criminalization don't prevent or solve crimes. It doesn't cure addicts.

The United States condemns one out of every seven prisoners to die in prison. Over two-thirds are people of color.

It would have blocked its use for pregnant and postpartum women, the mentally and physically disabled, and those under 25 or over 59 years old.

While U.S. leaders moralize about alleged human rights abuses in Russia and Chine to justify proxy wars, prisoners in the U.S. routinely suffer from inhumane treatment.

The prisoners create a problem for both their families and the taxpayer's money. Valuable education teaches habits of dependability and interpersonal skills.

It’s not at all unusual to feed prisoners animal-grade food to save money. It happens all across the country every single day.

Rikers is not the worst prison in the world, as many believe. It’s not even the worst prison in New York.

Yehudah Pryce: Let’s stop falling for the politically expedient talking point of opening and expanding jails due to public safety concerns.

April Short: Megacorporations tend to dominate food contracting with schools and other large facilities in America. In Chicago, Black formerly incarcerated people are prepping locally sourced meals for schools, nursing homes and transitional housing facilities.

Rosemary Jenkins: Many who have genuinely reformed, evolved, and transformed themselves, and are ready for well-deserved and diligently earned second chances, encounter seemingly impermeable roadblocks to promising employment.

Emma Peca: For companies whose profits depend on immigrant detention, it feels especially concerning that campaign donations could be used to secure influence over our elected officials.

Craig Farris: D.J. Vodicka sacrificed his decorated fifteen-year career, his livelihood, and even his own physical safety to blow the whistle on the shocking, systemic corruption that ruled the California Department of Corrections and its personnel.

There is no proof of anything that can be called a concentration camp or of forced labor, yet these stories are repeated endlessly.

Michael Rapkin: Guantanamo has shown us, and the world, that America’s justice system -- the rule of law -- does not apply to everyone equally and equitably.

Shandre Delaney: I knew if my son could endure what he was going through, even at the threat of losing his life, then I could be brave enough out here on the streets.

Andreya Garcia-Ponce De Leon: Given the increased risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars, Sims’ already unjust sentence could prove fatal if he is not released from jail

Robert Reich: The unregulated operations of prisons has increasingly mandated cheap service for maximum profit.