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Sentencing

An illustration shows the back of a judge sitting on a chair. The head is a white, hollow silhouette. A paper stack is placed in the bottom right corner.
St. Louis June 26
Judges in Missouri Can Levy Death if Juries Deadlock. Some Say the Law Is Unconstitutional.
Missouri is one of two states where a judge can hand down death when juries cannot agree unanimously on a sentence.
By
Louisiana Rep. Delisha Boyd, a Black woman wearing glasses and a black dress, speaks into a mic while standing in front of a podium. Two Black men wearing suits stand in the background.
Closing Argument June 21
These States Are Debating Castration for Sex Crimes. Experts Call It Cruel and Pointless.
Critics say there’s no evidence that castration prevents future sex offenses. Yet several states are weighing such measures.
By
An illustration shows a silhouette of a man with his hands up in frustration as he looks at a woman on a laptop screen. The background is a large representation, blurred with color, of the same woman, who is White with shoulder-length gray hair.
Cleveland April 17
All Stick, No Carrot: Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law Acts as a ‘One-Way Ratchet’ for Prison Time
Intended to curb prison violence with promises of early release, the law is turning out as unbalanced as critics feared, with sentences extended at every turn.
By
An illustration shows a man with medium skin tone and black hair wearing a blue prison uniform in four scenarios. Clockwise from the top left: The man raises his fists in front of a White man in a prison uniform who is yelling and pointing at him; the man sits on his bed with his head down, looking at a piece of paper; the man sits at a table in front of a woman with a ponytail and medium-dark skin tone; the man stands in an office in front of a laptop, where a woman on a screen is speaking to him. There are four quotes around the figures that read: “It’s a dangerous place here. It got to the point where I had to defend myself.” - Giovanni Lee, “Long story short, they never investigated what happened. They just found me guilty.” - Lamont Clark, “You all had my fate sealed before I even got in the room.” - Edward Navone, and “I’m about to go home. They ended up maxing me out, giving me my whole time.’”- Giovanni Lee
Cleveland April 10
How Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law Keeps People in Prison Longer
It came as a response by lawmakers to a horrific crime. Now, thousands of people imprisoned since 2019 risk more time behind bars for breaking rules.
By
A woman in an orange jail uniform crouches toward the ground, against a fence.
Closing Argument March 29
How States Are Undoing Criminal Justice Reforms
Louisiana, New York and other states are rolling back reforms — and efforts to reduce excessive sentencing or expand parole are smaller in scope.
By
Two men wearing black uniforms clasp their hands behind their backs as they walk through a fenced pathway.
Closing Argument February 1
How the U.S. Turned Away From the Death Penalty and Toward ‘Death by Incarceration’
The number of people imprisoned for life continues to climb, even as the overall prison population declines.
By
A voter casts a ballot during early voting in the Bronx Borough of New York City on November 1, 2024. (Photo by David Dee Delgado / AFP) (Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty Images)
Closing Argument November 2, 2024
Election Day 2024: Where Criminal Justice Is On the Ballot
From reproductive rights to border enforcement and marijuana legalization, voters across the nation will weigh in on criminal justice issues.
By
A group of people, wearing blue prison uniforms with the words "CDCR prisoner" on their backs, walk through a prison yard.
Closing Argument August 31, 2024
How Efforts to Cut Long Prison Sentences Have Stalled
Crime victim advocates and conservative groups are resisting moves to revisit “truth-in-sentencing” laws.
By
Life Inside November 18, 2021
Tackling a Huge Taboo: Sexual Desire Behind Bars
On the outside, most discussions about incarceration and sexual desire are limited to exploitative “reality” shows, violent movies and terrible jokes about homosexuality and prison rape. But like all humans, we deserve some semblance of dignity.
by Tariq Maqbool
Life Inside May 21, 2021
Mr. Sitthivong Goes to Washington
Felix Sitthivong, who is serving 65 years in a Washington prison, recently testified before the state’s House Public Safety Committee in support of a bill that could decrease his time. “They can stall our bills,” he writes of the “disappointing” outcome, “but they can never stall our dedication.”
By Felix Sitthivong
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