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The U.S. Penitentiary at Lewisburg in Pennsylvania in 2010.

Pennsylvania

Christopher Sadowski/Splash News, via Newscom
Closing Argument
Fish Tanks, Plants and Podcast Studios — Some States Try a New Approach to Incarceration
America’s experiment with Scandinavian-inspired prison units is growing — and being tested.
A person with dark-toned skin and a person with medium-toned skin, both wearing prison uniforms, play chess while sitting on blue chairs. In the background are doors to prison cells.
A collage shows two black-and-white images. The photo on the left shows three men sleeping on the floor of a jail. The film scan on the right depicts several incarcerated men sleeping or watching TV in Central Jail’s chapel.
News December 12, 2024
‘Sleep Don’t Come’: The Dangerous Problem of Sleep Deprivation Behind Bars
Moldy mattresses, 24/7 lights and constant noise contribute to a persistent health and safety crisis in prisons and jails.
By and
A White woman, wearing glasses and a red dress, sits at the front door of her house. One of her children stands behind her inside. A children's bike is stationed on the right side of the door.
Feature December 11, 2024
Hospitals Gave Patients Meds During Childbirth, Then Reported Them For Positive Drug Tests
Mothers were reported after they were given medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections.
By
Susan Horton, a White woman wearing a black tank top, arranges her children’s toys on top of a table.
Feature September 9, 2024
She Ate a Poppy Seed Salad Just Before Giving Birth. Then They Took Her Baby Away.
Hospitals use drug tests that return false positives from poppy seed bagels, decongestants and Zantac. Yet newborns are being taken from parents based on the results.
By
A musical band of Black men are playing instruments, such as a saxophone, guitar, piano, bass guitar and drums. They play behind bars in a room.
Closing Argument November 4, 2023
The Prison Soul Band That Opened for Stevie Wonder
The band The Power of Attorney flourished when more Americans saw incarcerated people as more than their crimes.
By
Analysis July 13, 2023
4 Reasons We Should Worry About Missing Crime Data
The FBI’s crime data is still incomplete — and politicians are taking advantage.
By and
The wood-paneled and red-carpeted inside of an empty courtroom.
Closing Argument March 18, 2023
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
An illustration of a man balancing on a tightrope, high above a building surrounded with barbed wire.
Feature October 25, 2022
Fetterman and Oz Battle Over Pennsylvania’s Felony Murder Law
Does opposing mandatory life without parole make a U.S. Senate candidate “pro-murderer”?
By and
An illustration shows Aaron Kinzer, who is currently incarcerated, facing his head up with his eyes closed in meditation. An outline of his face overlaps his body and an outline of the brain overlaps his head. Various silhouettes in exercising positions are displayed in the background.
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
Life Inside February 4, 2022
How I Went From Gangster to Geek
Prison forced me to be still and start my mental metamorphosis.
By Jy’Aire Smith-Pennick
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