Crime, Reform & Abolition

562 posts

State officials deny incarcerated people the ability to view Monday’s historic eclipse

The Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) operated as a prison for 80 years until its closure in 1990 following a class action lawsuit by incarcerated people for inhumane conditions and overcrowding. Now, OSR is better known as the backdrop for movies and historic tours, conferences, Halloween events, and even eclipse viewings.

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3 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Intrusive new digital tools in the criminal legal system transfer ‘one concern for another’

In an ad released last spring by top electronic monitoring manufacturer BI Incorporated, viewers are introduced to the VeriWatch, one of the latest in the company’s suite of digital surveillance tools. The short video follows a day in the life of a VeriWatch user: how he starts his morning

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14 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Death of a mentally ill migrant in solitary confinement lays bare ICE’s cruelty and lack of accountability

The death of a 61-year-old migrant with mental illness from Trinidad and Tobago is raising questions about the U.S. federal immigration agency’s adherence to international, federal, and state regulations governing the treatment of detainees.  Charles Leo Daniel died on March 7 after being held in solitary

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6 Min
By: Maurizio Guerrero

‘It never warms up’: Surviving extreme cold in Texas prisons

The brutal heat wave that swept Texas last summer posed extreme risks for many incarcerated people, garnering the attention of lawmakers, advocacy organizations, and everyday Texans. This winter we faced a different extreme: cold.  For the past eight years I’ve lived in solitary confinement, the heat goes out every

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4 Min
By: Kwaneta Harris

Activists say police killing of Ryan Gainer emphasizes need for community safety programs

Fifteen-year-old Ryan Gainer was fatally shot by San Bernardino police during a mental health crisis

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4 Min
By: Gracelynne West

How the media facilitates climate criminality

A climate protester named Mama Julz spent February 1 locked to a grounded helicopter, the kind usually used to transport construction workers to remote portions of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the rushed and ecologically destructive pet project of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. After a few hours, police arrested Mama

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15 Min
By: ray levy uyeda

Never eat the candy on your pillow: Release 

Dear Reader, This week’s subject is release. When I first stepped foot in prison, it felt like my life ended. What would release feel like? Would leaving prison be like a new beginning? Prison has a way of distorting time. Days become weeks that feel like years. Waiting on

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5 Min
By: Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

COVID-19 is far from over for the incarcerated

When I first heard about the coronavirus in early 2020, I braced myself, thinking about its unchecked spread and our vulnerability to disease behind bars. Four years later, as I remain incarcerated, I watch as the pandemic continues to damage our incarcerated community.  Despite the false and damaging narrative from

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5 Min
By: Carla J. Simmons

New York affordable housing proposal showcases non-carceral solutions

This past December, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled plans for Seneca, a slate of new affordable housing units located at the site of the former Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem. The minimum-security men’s prison, located at West 110th Street across from Central Park, was shuttered in 2019

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6 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Stop Cop City Bay Area unites for Palestine

As momentum to stop the construction of the $43.6 million police training facility in San Pablo, California, grows among local organizers, so has the urgency to mobilize in support of Palestine. In January, the Stop Cop City Bay Area coalition organized a march and rally in the city’s

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5 Min
By: Gracelynne West

Georgia bill threatens to expand cash bail and constrict charitable funding

A Georgia bill that would require cash bail for more than two dozen additional criminalized acts is moving forward in the state legislature. Senate Bill 63 passed through the Georgia General Assembly on Feb. 6 and now waits to be signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp. If passed, SB

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5 Min
By: Jocelyn James

‘One Million Experiments’ showcases liberatory future-building on a micro scale

Since 2021, radio hosts and movement workers Daniel Kisslinger and Damon Williams have hosted “One Million Experiments,” a podcast created in collaboration with Interrupting Criminalization that seeks to help listeners better understand abolition as not just a buzzword but as an everyday practice rife with creative potential.  “One Million Experiments”

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19 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Showing 12 of 562 total posts

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