Prisons

It hasn’t even been a year since the U.S. government said abuse at the facility was an “open secret” — but how was abuse an open secret? And why wasn’t something done about it?

Three prison guards are charged with misconduct stemming from a violent attack on at least six female inmates, including one who was punched 28 times and pepper-sprayed, New Jersey’s attorney general said Thursday. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal detailed the attack during a video news conference in which he said the guards at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women covered…

The report provided new details on last spring’s catastrophic decision to move inmates from the California Institution for Men east of Los Angeles to San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco. The inmates were put onto buses for the more than 400-mile (680 kilometer) trip and the tight quarters increased the risk of infections spreading.

About 30 officers have been placed on paid leave, according to the corrections officers union, after an inmate said officers handcuffed her and others before beating, stripping and dragging her to a shower, after which she said a male officer got on top of her and groped and sexually assaulted her

Prior to Sept. 24, the prison system had seen 774 total confirmed cases, and since then New York prisons have recorded three times as many new virus cases — with more than 1,000 in December alone

One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Alabama over conditions in the state prisons

In many states across the country, people with felony convictions are prohibited from voting, or only allowed to vote under certain conditions, even after they’ve served their sentence. Jay Jordan, who served time in prison as a young man and is currently the Director for Californians for Safety and Justice, explains how limiting their rights hurts more than just former...

Since coronavirus entered the U.S., nearly 16,000 have fallen ill of COVID-19 and 134 have died. That number does not include people incarcerated in state prisons across the U.S. The Marshall Project’s criminal justice reporter Keri Blakinger explains why the general public should care about protecting people in prisons.

California’s corrections secretary is retiring after two years in a job that Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said involved “unparalleled challenges” — most recently coronavirus outbreaks that swept state prisons and led to calls for new leadership amid increasing social pressure to ease mass incarceration. Ralph Diaz will retire Oct. 1 after 30 years with the California Department of Corrections…

There has been a major drop in the number of people behind bars in the U.S. An analysis by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press found that between March and June, more than 100,000 people were released from state and federal prisons

As the coronavirus pandemic decimates many companies, big business that has become synonymous with the world’s largest prison system continues to make money

The top doctor at Rikers Island has come out swinging at city district attorneys, saying they’ve failed to appreciate the “public health disaster” unfolding before their eyes. Rikers Island chief physician Ross MacDonald took to Twitter Monday night to strike back at New York’s five district attorneys and special narcotics prosecutor, who sent a letter to the City expressing...

First responders across our area are preparing to battle with the coronavirus. Sarah Wallace reports.

Five DAs have raised the alarm that releasing inmates to prevent the spread of COVID-19 could mean releasing dangerous people back into society.

The federal Bureau of Prisons is struggling to manage the growing coronavirus pandemic as advocates and even prison guards call for major reforms to head off a potential outbreak behind bars

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives an update on the number of coronavirus cases in the state Monday morning.

Inmates in New Jersey will now be counted as residents of their most recent address when it comes to drawing the state’s legislative districts. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law Tuesday that will change how the state’s political power is distributed when it comes to prisoners. New Jersey became the seventh U.S. state to enact such...

Three federal correction officers from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn have been arrested for allegedly raping and sexually abusing female inmates after a nearly year-long investigation. Checkey Beckford reports.