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Slavery

Three firefighters carrying power tools walk through a forest.
Closing Argument January 11
Incarcerated Firefighters Do Risky, Low-Pay Work. Many Say It’s The Best Job Behind Bars.
More than 900 prison firefighters were responding to the crisis in Los Angeles — but their pay is low and the ethics of their choice are complicated.
By and , The Marshall Project, and , The Los Angeles Times
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
An incarcerated man, wearing a gray sweater and blue pants, places a basket of harvested turnips onto a cart. Prison farm workers, wearing blue uniforms, are standing in a field in the background.
Closing Argument June 22, 2024
The New Battle Over an Old Institution: Forced Prison Labor
Inside the latest legal and legislative efforts to close state constitutional loopholes that allow slavery as punishment for a crime.
By
A man, wearing a blue prison uniform, white T-shirt, tan cap, and glasses, holds onto two yellow bins in front of an industrial ice cream machine.
Closing Argument February 3, 2024
The Food on Your Table, Brought to You By Prison Labor
Incarcerated workers help produce some of America’s most popular food brands, but get few of the benefits and protections afforded to others.
By
Left, a man wearing an olive green Nike-branded hooded sweatshirt and an olive green Yankees hat; right, a Black woman with braided hair is wearing earrings and a plum-colored shirt.
Inside Story February 9, 2023
Prison Labor, Low Wages and the Side Hustle
Incarcerated workers turn to side hustles to survive. On the outside, comedian Luenell reflects on her time behind bars — and in show business.
By and
A light-skinned person, wearing a red hat and blue jacket, casts their ballot at a voting booth. An electronic voting machine can be seen on the left, in a different voting booth.
Closing Argument November 12, 2022
7 Key Criminal Justice Takeaways From the Midterms
Sheriffs. Prosecutors. Abortion and slavery amendments. Here’s what you should know about this week’s results.
By The Marshall Project
Prisoners stand in line at Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala., in 2015. Thousands of Alabama prisoners began a work strike this week to protest poor prison conditions.
Closing Argument October 1, 2022
What an Alabama Prisoners’ Strike Tells Us About Prison Labor
Exploitation of incarcerated people isn’t limited to lockups. Voters in some states have a chance to curtail it.
By
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
Prisoners from the Ferguson Unit picking cotton outside of Huntsville, Texas, in 1968. The unit was named after James E. Ferguson, a governor in the 1910s with a troubled record of condoning anti-Mexican violence.
News July 29, 2020
Will The Reckoning Over Racist Names Include These Prisons?
Many prisons, especially in the South, are named after racist officials and former plantations.
By
Voters in Hialeah, Florida, outside Miami cast their ballots on Nov. 6.
Commentary November 13, 2018
Voters Want Criminal Justice Reform. Are Politicians Listening?
Midterms show wide support across party lines for changing the system.
Daniel Gotoff and Celinda Lake
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