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Inside Out
July 1, 2021
Prisons Have a Health Care Issue — And It Starts at the Top, Critics Say
When coronavirus hit federal prisons, the top officials had no health care experience.
By
Keri Blakinger
News
June 22, 2017
The Mental Health Crisis Facing Women in Prison
A new study shows a striking disparity between incarcerated men and women.
By
Manuel Villa
News
September 20, 2017
When a Mental Health Emergency Lands You in Jail
Colorado just outlawed jail for people in a psychiatric crisis, but plenty of states still do it.
By
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
Feature
November 21, 2018
Treatment Denied: The Mental Health Crisis in Federal Prisons
The Bureau of Prisons set higher standards for psychiatric care. But instead of helping more inmates, the agency dropped thousands from its caseload, data shows.
By
Christie Thompson
and
Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
News
February 26, 2018
How Bad is Prison Health Care? Depends on Who’s Watching
A federal judge considers $1 million in fines for one state’s “pervasive and intractable failures.”
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Closing Argument
December 17, 2022
Mental Health Care is Broken. Is Police Hospitalizing More People the Answer?
In New York City and other areas across the country some leaders are pushing to forcefully commit more people.
By
Christie Thompson
Feature
October 31, 2021
Arizona Privatized Prison Health Care to Save Money. But at What Cost?
A landmark class-action lawsuit goes to court this week, featuring grisly testimony about botched medical care in state prisons.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
and
Jimmy Jenkins
Justice Talk
May 30, 2016
Join Our Chat On Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System
We’re talking all about mental illness and justice during our next Justice Talk with Digg, on Wednesday, June 1. For context, browse our guide to key reading on the issue.
By
Blair Hickman
News
June 14, 2017
For Corrections Officers and Cops, a New Emphasis on Mental Health
An intensive study and new programs to combat stress that often goes overlooked.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Commentary
December 2, 2015
New York Disarms the ‘Mentally Ill’
Why mental health experts are up in arms.
By
James B. Jacobs
and
Zoe Fuhr
Life Inside
March 8, 2018
Caring for My Sick Husband From Prison
A federal inmate feels helpless as her partner’s health deteriorates.
By
Connie Farris
, as told to
Christie Thompson
Analysis
August 12, 2015
When Heroin Hits the White Suburbs
Suddenly it’s not a crime problem, it’s a health problem.
By
Andrew Cohen
Looking Back
August 19, 2019
In Sickness, In Health—and In Prison
A Nebraska couple fighting to marry behind bars wouldn’t be the first: Three decades ago, two prisoners took their bid to marry all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
By
Mia Armstrong
Commentary
March 21, 2019
“Medicare for All” Is Missing a Vital Group: The Incarcerated
“Can criminal justice reform succeed without addressing the health of incarcerated people?"
By
Ashwin Vasan
News
December 3, 2014
New York Explains Itself
Some questions and answers about the city’s new mental health initiative.
By
Andrew Cohen
News
December 3, 2020
Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early?
Public health experts urge making them a priority—but some push back.
By
Jamiles Lartey
,
Michelle Pitcher
and
Keri Blakinger
Coronavirus
April 24, 2020
These Prisons Are Doing Mass Testing For COVID-19—And Finding Mass Infections
Health experts say not testing staff could be a blind spot.
By
Cary Aspinwall
and
Joseph Neff
Case in Point
December 5, 2016
How America’s Most Famous Federal Prison Faced a Dirty Secret
The case that awakened us to the mental health trauma of “Supermax”
By
Andrew Cohen
News
July 13, 2020
How Long Can You Hide a Dead Body in a Prison Cell?
Mental-health problems, short staffing plague a Texas lockup in COVID lockdown.
By
Keri Blakinger
News
June 4, 2020
We Were Gassed, Arrested, and Maybe Exposed to COVID-19
The things that make mass arrests especially awful are now health risks.
By
Keri Blakinger
and
Abbie VanSickle
Feature
August 30, 2021
The Black Mortality Gap, and a Century-Old Document
1 in 5 African American deaths happens earlier than if they were White. Black doctors say the Flexner Report holds clues to the health system’s role in racial health disparities.
By
Anna Flagg
Looking Back
May 21, 2015
When a Psychologist Was in Charge of Jail
Cook County Jail will soon be run by a mental health professional. And it’s not the first time.
By
Melanie Newport
One Year Later: The Pandemic Behind Bars
March 15, 2021
“Hell No”: Correctional Officers Are Declining The Coronavirus Vaccine En Masse
Public health experts worry that high refusal rates could undermine efforts to control the pandemic inside and outside of prisons.
By
Nicole Lewis
AND
Michael Sisak
Coronavirus
March 6, 2020
When Purell is Contraband, How Do You Contain Coronavirus?
Handwashing and sanitizers may make people on the outside safer. But in prison it can be impossible to follow public health advice.
By
Keri Blakinger
and
Beth Schwartzapfel
Coronavirus
May 15, 2020
For Mentally Ill Defendants, Coronavirus Means Few Safe Options
While their mental health deteriorates, some are stuck in jail as hospitals are decreasing admissions to prevent the spread of infections.
By
Christie Thompson
Feature
November 22, 2022
As Police Arrest More Seniors, Those With Dementia Face Deadly Consequences
Many cities are changing how they respond to mental health calls, but less attention has been paid to the unique risks for people with Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
By
Christie Thompson
Feature
June 22, 2020
The True Costs of Deportation
Even after the Supreme Court ruling sparing DACA, many immigrants can face deportation. Here are the stories of three families where deportation brought financial ruin, mental health crises—and even death.
By
Julia Preston
Life Inside
August 26, 2021
My Uncle Died the Day He Was Released From Jail. I’m Still Trying to Understand Why.
“Sudden cardiac death,” is the cause listed on my uncle Bryan’s death certificate. But it didn’t feel sudden at all — not when you factor in his underlying mental and physical health problems, years of poor prison medical care and the fact that he caught COVID-19 in his Arizona jail.
By
Mia Armstrong
News
October 8, 2015
Were These Transgender Prisoners Paroled — Or Just Kicked Out?
Three prisons were ordered to provide transgender health care. Three prisoners were suddenly set free.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
June 11, 2015
Why New York Dropped Corizon
It’s not just the big profits and dead inmates.
By
Maura Ewing
News
October 27, 2020
What Could Have Kept Me Out of Prison
We asked people behind bars what services and programs could have changed the course of their lives. Therapy, affordable housing and a living wage topped the list.
By
Nicole Lewis
,
Aviva Shen
and
Katie Park
Justice Lab
August 24, 2015
Do You Age Faster in Prison?
Science tries to catch up with the problem of ‘accelerated aging.’
By
Maurice Chammah
Feature
November 8, 2020
When Going to the Hospital Is Just as Bad as Jail
A new lawsuit claims Black Americans with mental illness are being forced into traumatic emergency room stays.
By
Christie Thompson
News
May 30, 2018
The $580 Co-pay
In prison, seeing the doctor can cost up to a month’s salary.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Coronavirus
March 19, 2020
This Chart Shows Why The Prison Population Is So Vulnerable to COVID-19
Those 55 and older are a growing share of the people in state prisons. They’re also the most at risk as coronavirus spreads.
By
Weihua Li
and
Nicole Lewis
News
May 17, 2017
Crime Victims Stand to Lose Aid, If Obamacare Goes Away
Without it, state compensation funds would again bear more of the burden.
By
Alysia Santo
Coronavirus
June 9, 2020
Have COVID-19? Cops May Have Your Neighborhood on a “Heat Map”
Critics call high-tech maps overreach, but police say they keep officers safe.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
News
June 12, 2017
Where Crossword Puzzles Count as Counseling
A new lawsuit alleges poor care for mentally ill inmates at one of the highest security prisons in the country.
By
Christie Thompson
Commentary
June 28, 2015
Join Our Facebook Chat On Rikers Island
Bill Keller, Dana Goldstein, Alysia Santo and Eli Hager will answer your questions on what life is like on Rikers, and recent reform efforts.
By
Blair Hickman
Life Inside
April 8, 2022
Surviving Prison is 90% Mental. That’s Why I Teach Workouts That Strengthen the Mind
The sessions I lead are intense enough to match the mental strain that we endure daily: the rejected phone calls, denied visits, humiliating random pat-downs and other microaggressions.
By
Aaron M. Kinzer
News
November 6, 2015
Is the U.S. Ready for Safe Injection Rooms?
A widespread heroin problem could open the door to a once-radical idea.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
December 20, 2016
Child Support Relief Coming for Incarcerated Parents
In the last days of the Obama administration, regulators quietly ease the child support burden on parents in prison.
By
Eli Hager
Analysis
March 24
What Irvo Otieno’s Killing Tells Us about Mental Healthcare in the U.S.
The system can end up prosecuting patients and relying on police — with sometimes fatal results.
By
Christie Thompson
Feature
December 6, 2016
Out of Prison, Uncovered
Medicaid for ex-prisoners saves money and lives, but millions are released without it.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
and
Jay Hancock
Life Inside
July 13, 2017
My Friend Killed Himself in an Alabama Prison
A rash of suicides in solitary confinement hits an inmate close to home.
By
Anonymous
as told to
Beth Schwartzapfel
Coronavirus
April 16, 2020
Infected, Incarcerated—and Coming to an ICU Near You?
Without ventilators, prisons lean on local hospitals to care for coronavirus victims.
By
Joseph Neff
and
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
December 9, 2015
Could Trees Help Stop Crime?
Researchers think turning more vacant lots green might work.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
News
February 22, 2016
Why Some Prisons are Spending Millions on a Pricey New Drug
Corrections facilities are ground zero for treating hepatitis C — but at a cost.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
November 24, 2015
The $33 Test in Prison That Could Save Countless Lives on the Outside
Treating Hep C isn’t cheap, but experts say it’s cost-effective.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Feature
February 15, 2018
Too Sick for Jail — But Not for Solitary
Tennessee locks ailing, mentally ill, pregnant and juvenile prisoners in isolation to help jails save money.
By
Allen Arthur
with additional reporting by
Dave Boucher
Case in Point
June 6, 2019
Mentally Ill and Languishing in Jail
A Pennsylvania case illustrates a national problem: People with psychiatric illnesses often remain incarcerated while they wait for a hospital bed.
By
Christie Thompson
,
Leila Miller
and
Manuel Villa
News
August 2, 2017
Guess Who’s Tracking Your Prescription Drugs?
Your doctor, your pharmacist... and the police.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Coronavirus
March 23, 2020
How Coronavirus is Disrupting the Death Penalty
Colorado abolished capital punishment. But COVID-19 is pausing it everywhere else.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Keri Blakinger
News
July 1, 2015
The Case for Smoking in Prison
When cigarettes are outlawed, only outlaws have cigarettes.
By
Alysia Santo
Q&A
June 16, 2015
The Corizon CEO on Losing Its Contract With Rikers
"You win some, you lose some."
By
Maura Ewing
Coronavirus
April 6, 2021
As States Expand Vaccine Eligibility, Many People in Prison Still Wait for Shots
Despite CDC advice to vaccinate prisoners quickly, two-thirds of states lag behind the general population.
By
Katie Park
,
Ariel Goodman
and
Kimberlee Kruesi
News
August 27, 2015
When Prisons Need to Be More Like Nursing Homes
Finding new ways to treat the growing pool of older, ailing inmates.
By
Maura Ewing
Analysis
August 21, 2020
COVID-19’s Toll on People of Color Is Worse Than We Knew
New data shows deaths from all causes—COVID and otherwise—have gone up 9 percent among White Americans, but more than 30 percent in communities of color.
By
Anna Flagg
,
Damini Sharma
,
Larry Fenn
and
Mike Stobbe
Coronavirus
May 8, 2020
Why Did It Take the Feds Weeks to Report COVID-19 Cases In Privately Run Prisons?
The Bureau of Prisons reports 110 confirmed cases among 17,000 prisoners—and that may be an undercount.
By
Joseph Neff
Testify
October 26, 2022
How We Analyzed Cases of People Cycling In and Out of Cleveland’s Courts
The Marshall Project examined tens of thousands of criminal cases in Cuyahoga County.
By
Ilica Mahajan
and
David Eads
Closing Argument
February 18
How ‘Cruel and Not Unusual’ Conditions Persist in Many Lockups
Insight from a discussion with journalists, formerly incarcerated people and experts.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
July 24, 2020
This City Stopped Sending Police to Every 911 Call
Riding along with the civilian “crisis responders” of Olympia, Washington.
By
Christie Thompson
News
May 8, 2017
Treating Cancer with Ibuprofen
Medical care is already bad for immigrant detainees. Will Trump policies make it worse?
By
Christie Thompson
Commentary
August 30, 2017
Trump Sells Snake Oil on Opioids
Instead of offering real solutions to the epidemic, the president is race baiting.
Maria Mcfarland Sánchez-Moreno
Commentary
October 3, 2017
It’s Time We Talk About Police Suicide
More cops die of suicide than die of shootings and traffic accidents combined.
Andy O'Hara
Commentary
September 28, 2017
After Executions, Defense Attorneys Have Their Own Grief
A therapist on the emotional price lawyers pay to defend individuals sentenced to death.
Susannah Sheffer
Coronavirus
May 27, 2020
How To Hide a COVID-19 Hotspot? Pretend Prisoners Don’t Exist
A county trying to reopen its economy wrestles with a virus outbreak in prison.
By
Abbie VanSickle
The Marshall Project Inside
May 14, 2021
COVID-19 and Vaccine Mistrust Behind Bars
The second episode of The Marshall Project’s new video series, designed for audiences inside and outside of prison, reflects on how the COVID-19 vaccine has been received in lockups.
By
Donald Washington, Jr.
and
Lawrence Bartley
The California Experiment
April 23, 2019
Who Begs To Go To Prison? California Jail Inmates
Effort to cut prison overcrowding puts some jails in crisis.
By
Abbie VanSickle
and
Manuel Villa
News
January 5, 2016
Why Do Obama’s Gun Initiatives Sound Kind of Familiar?
Perhaps because he’s been here before.
By
Eli Hager
Life Inside
January 4, 2018
The Doctors Say I’m O.K, But Then There’s This Pain…
A fretful prisoner struggles with an ever-growing list of symptoms.
By
Rahsaan Thomas
Coronavirus
May 28, 2020
Is COVID-19 Falling Harder on Black Prisoners? Officials Won’t Tell Us.
Some prison systems aren’t collecting race data. Others won’t disclose it. Experts say these are big mistakes.
By
Maurice Chammah
and
Tom Meagher
Analysis
July 9, 2020
Biden Inches Leftward On Immigration
A task force designed to forge unity and turn out Sanders voters proposes ambitious rollback of Trump policies.
By
Julia Preston
News
May 10, 2017
A Fresh Take on Ending the Jail-to-Street-to-Jail Cycle
For troubled repeat offenders, a chance at a supportive place to live.
By
Christie Thompson
Coronavirus
March 19, 2020
First ICE Employee Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Case confirmed at Elizabeth, N.J., facility currently holding almost 200 detainees.
By
Emily Kassie
Feature
July 2, 2015
California’s Jail-building Boom
What comes after mass incarceration? Local incarceration.
By
Anat Rubin
Coronavirus
March 28, 2020
How Is The Justice System Responding to the Coronavirus? It Depends On Where You Live.
While some cities free people from jail and stop arrests, others are much more business as usual.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Analysis
December 15, 2016
How Blacks and Whites Die Differently in Prison
New federal data shows some stark racial disparities.
Story and graphics by
Yolanda Martinez
News
October 15, 2018
Police With Military Experience More Likely to Shoot
Dallas cops who were veterans fired their weapons more than those who never served in the armed forces, study shows.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Coronavirus
May 21, 2020
Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort Got to Leave Federal Prison Due to COVID-19. They’re The Exception.
Just a small fraction of federal prisoners have been sent home. Many others lack legal help and connections to make their case.
By
Joseph Neff
and
Keri Blakinger
Life Inside
July 8, 2022
‘You Shouldn’t Have Used the D-Word’
Saying “I’m depressed” to jail staff landed Nicholas Brooks in solitary. But with his peers, he has found a way to speak freely.
By
Nicholas Brooks
Life Inside
April 27, 2017
I Escaped My Manic Demons, but My Clients Usually Can’t
A social worker struggles to keep the mentally ill poor out of jail.
By
Kristen Anderson
News
July 20, 2016
Did the Cop-Killers Have PTSD?
We may never know, because “it is so easy to fall through the cracks.”
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
News
April 22, 2015
When Your Insulin Pump is Contraband
What diabetics face behind bars.
By
Christie Thompson
News
September 16, 2015
In New York, Padlocked Jumpsuits for Prison ‘EXPOSERS’
An effective way to curb behavior, or ‘an extreme form of restraint’?
By
Jie Jenny Zou
Coronavirus
April 6, 2020
A New Tactic To Fight Coronavirus: Send The Homeless From Jails To Hotels
California and New York City are booking hotels so homeless people released from jail don’t accelerate the pandemic.
By
Abbie VanSickle
Life Inside
December 1, 2016
‘Please Find My Grandson’
What I saw tracking down the mentally ill in jail.
By
Margaret Altman
Graphics
June 23, 2022
Out on Parole in Colorado? You Can Vote.
This explainer tells you how.
By
Alexandra Arriaga
,
Andrew Rodriguez Calderón
,
Celina Fang
,
Bo-Won Keum
, and
Liset Cruz
Closing Argument
November 19, 2022
Policing the Police: A Week of Racism, Abuse and Misconduct
Federal civil rights investigations can examine an entire agency — but they are not the only way to check for police misconduct.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Inside Story
March 23
Violence on the Inside, Mentorship From the Outside
We investigate violence at one of the newest federal prisons and talk with La La Anthony about preparing incarcerated youth for life on the outside.
By
Lawrence Bartley
and
Donald Washington, Jr.
What You're Saying
August 17, 2015
‘Access to Emergency Care Is the Very First Step in Saving a Life.’
A selection of recent letters from our readers.
By
Jasmine Lee
News
July 12, 2017
Federal Watchdog Finds Mentally Ill Are Stuck in Solitary
A new report contradicts a claim from the Bureau of Prisons.
By
Justin George
Commentary
June 19, 2019
The Case for Abolition
“We have grown weary of worn-out debates over the feasibility of a world without prisons.”
By
Ruth Wilson Gilmore
and
James Kilgore
Feature
September 24, 2021
No Driving, No Working, No Dating: Inside A Government Program That Controls The Lives of People Leaving Psych Hospitals
For those found not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity and put into California’s CONREP program, strict supervision can last decades.
By
Christie Thompson
Case in Point
March 6, 2017
Death by Mismanagement?
A case that tests corporate liability for chaos.
By
Andrew Cohen
Feature
July 22, 2016
The Strange Death of José de Jesús
Lost in America’s deportation bureaucracy.
By
Marlon Bishop
and
Fernanda Echávarri
Q&A
January 14, 2019
How Dangerous is Marijuana, Really?
A Marshall Project virtual roundtable.
By The Marshall Project
Inside Out
August 12, 2021
‘They Should Have Been Watching’: Suicides Rise in Texas Prisons During Pandemic
Prison suicides have been rising for years. Experts fear the pandemic has made it worse.
By
Keri Blakinger
Commentary
June 9, 2015
Fixing the Jail Where Kalief Browder was Held
Former corrections chief Martin Horn has some ideas for Rikers Island.
By
Martin F. Horn