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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
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 Lawrence Bartley and Donald Washington, Jr.
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.
error in byline
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 Jamiles Lartey
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
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 Keri Blakinger
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
A strike at prisons nationwide has been called in response to a riot in which seven inmates were killed at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, S.C.
Commentary August 22, 2018
A Former Warden’s View on Prison Strikes
“An inmate is there as punishment, not for punishment.”
By Robin Washington
The joint resolution proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified December 6, 1865, and abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime.
News September 27, 2016
A Primer on the Nationwide Prisoners’ Strike
Prisoners can be forced to work without pay — the Constitution says so.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
The Frame May 16, 2016
A Peek at the Golden Age of Prison Radio
A new book explores a time when Texas prisons promoted rehabilitation through a wildly successful radio show.
By Maurice Chammah
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