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A group of male teenagers dressed in gray sweaters and black pants are walking in two lines, with their hands behind their backs. A man in a dark blue collared shirt and tan cargo pants walks behind them.
Closing Argument April 15
How the Juvenile System Forces Minors Into Unsafe Institutions
Even in states with a drive for reform, many children and teens face long confinement and dirty, dangerous conditions.
By Jamiles Lartey
Jay Jordan, the project director for Time Done, a nonprofit that works with former convicts, in Oakland, Calif., March 7, 2019. Under a proposed law in California, millions of people like Jordan, who spent more than seven years in prison for robbery and auto theft, would have their criminal records automatically sealed from public view. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times).
Closing Argument April 1
How Criminal Records Hold Back Millions of People
More than 70 million Americans with arrest records face barriers to find work or a decent place to live.
By Jamiles Lartey
The wood-paneled and red-carpeted inside of an empty courtroom.
Closing Argument March 18
New Scrutiny on Murder Charges Against People Who Don’t Actually Kill
The U.S. is the only country that still uses the “felony murder” legal doctrine.
By Jamiles Lartey
Three standing police officers surround a sitting passenger in a subway car. The passenger sits hunched over, with their hand on their head.
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
A rectangular illustration divided into five vertical panels shows a person in a prison cell looking out a dark window, crossing numbers of years off on the wall as time passes. In the middle of the illustration, there is an image of a gavel in a small rectangle. In the third panel, a beam of light appears on the floor, and in the following panel, that beam of light gets larger, indicating an opening door. The last panel shows the person being led out of the prison cell by a prosecutor in a suit and with a briefcase.
Feature November 11, 2022
Prosecutors in These States Can Review Sentences They Deem Extreme. Few Do.
Five states now allow prosecutors to seek shorter sentences in old cases. Louisiana shows why many DAs haven’t.
By Matt Nadel and Charlie Lee
The entrance to a Texas prison facility, a gray rectangular building with a detached teal shaded structure in front of it. A black car is parked to the right. There are wired fences and buildings in the background.
Closing Argument September 10, 2022
Why Record Heat Can Be Deadlier in Prisons
Corrections officials across most of the nation have not prepared for warmer summers and record heat waves.
By Jamiles Lartey
Life Inside July 29, 2022
When People Fear Me Based on My Jail Tats and Scars, They Miss the Real Me
A recent ride to a public clinic gave Jose Armendariz a quick break from jail. But he couldn’t escape the fear and judgement of the other patients.
By Jose Armendariz
An illustration shows a side-profile silhouette of a long-haired man against a yellow and green gradient background. The man looks toward a window that displays nature and has prairie animals coming out of it.
Life Inside March 18, 2022
California’s Longest Serving Death-Row Prisoner On Pain, Survival and Native Identity
As the Monache and Cherokee 63-year-old awaits a new hearing for a 1978 murder he denies committing, Douglas Ray Stankewitz shares the cultural tools and memories he depends on to stay alive.
By Douglas Ray Stankewitz as told to Richard Arlin Walker
Analysis September 27, 2021
There Are Fewer People Behind Bars Now Than 10 Years Ago. Will It Last?
Census data show incarceration rates are down. It may have more to do with the pandemic than broad reforms.
By Weihua Li, David Eads and Jamiles Lartey
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
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