Criminal justice reform

Can Money Help Shrink Jail Populations? The MacArthur Foundation Is Betting $75M on It

The grants will help jail systems develop a plan for eliminating “the overuse and misuse of jails.” But prisoner advocate Dan Berger says this doesn’t address larger issues like police bias and racism.

Puck Lo | Jun 12, 2015

Mental health

Kids on Chicago’s West Side Break the School-to-Prison Pipeline with Restorative Circles

For these Chicago students, restorative justice isn’t just about causing less harm to those around us. It’s also about actively creating safety, on their own terms.

Maya Schenwar | Dec 20, 2014

Mentally Ill People Often Face Violence From Police—But These Cities Are Trying to Fix That

Crisis Intervention Teams train police officers to understand mental illness without resorting to violence.

Daniel Ross | Nov 29, 2014

Undercover University: Palestinians Study Up in Israeli Prisons

More than 40 percent of Palestinian males have spent time in Israeli prisons. The schools that operate within are increasingly important.

Emily Mulder | Nov 26, 2014

Jobs

Why Target Stopped Asking Job Applicants If They’ve Been Convicted of a Crime

More than 60 counties, cities, and states—and some corporations—are reducing discrimination against former offenders by removing one small box from job applications.

Nur Lalji | Jul 19, 2014

4 Da Mountains. Image courtesy Da Cloth.

New York Inmates Draw Strength from Prison-Themed Hip-Hop Album

Members of the Rochester-based group Da Cloth have sent the tape to more than 150 inmates.

Nur Lalji | May 8, 2014

Survivors of solitary confinement. Photos by Terry Foss.

An End to “The Hole”?: 6 Signs that Solitary Confinement Reform Is Coming

Much of the momentum in the movement to reform the use of solitary confinement in the United States comes from the work of prisoners themselves.

Nur Lalji | Mar 21, 2014

Meet the New Rebels Taking Back Our Public Schools

For decades the myth of failing public schools justified industrial-scale testing and a privatization agenda. Now radical educators are bursting the bubble test, getting culturally relevant, and restoring justice to the classroom.

Sarah van Gelder | Feb 22, 2014

Fania Davis with students from Ralph Bunche High School

Discipline With Dignity: Oakland Classrooms Try Healing Instead of Punishment

As executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, Fania Davis sees programs like hers as part of the way to end the school-to-prison pipeline.

Fania Davis | Feb 20, 2014

Officer Greg Ruprecht. Still from video taken by rjcolorado1.

How Restorative Justice Changed This Colorado Cop’s Views on Prison

In restorative justice, those who commit crimes have to face the consequences of their actions. After this Colorado policeman tried it out, he came to believe it's part of the answer to America's prison problem.

Molly Rowan Leach | Jan 15, 2014

This New Bill Could Put 2,500 More People In Prison: Meet the Organization Trying to Stop It

"Violence is not simply shooting people. Violence is also poverty. It's also incarceration—putting people in prison is incredibly violent."

Nur Lalji | Nov 28, 2013

Why Is Texas Planning to Execute a Man Who Killed No One?

The controversial Law of Parties expands the guilt for murder to include accomplices and those who knew the crime was going to occur.

Amanda Lusky, Joan Braune | Sep 19, 2013

Restorative circle at MetWest High School

To Keep Kids Out of Trouble—And Prison—Teach Them to Understand Their Emotions

After teaching students to understand and talk through their conflicts, schools in Denver and Los Angeles have seen major reductions in disciplinary action.

Katherine Gustafson | Jul 2, 2013

Standing with Troy Davis in His Final Days

A year ago today, the state of Georgia executed a man whose guilt was widely contested. Jen Marlowe, friend and journalist, on what it was like to stand with the Davis family on the last day.

Jen Marlowe | Sep 21, 2012