criminal legal system

219 posts

Deported after reporting sexual assault: A Florida worker’s fight for justice

Jennyfer told police that her manager assaulted her. Within weeks of reporting, she was charged with a DUI and deported to Nicaragua

•
9 Min
By: Alexandra Martinez

Never eat the candy on your pillow: The ache of uncertainty

My first months of reentry are forcing me to confront the reality that freedom, while liberating, brings its own set of burdens and responsibilities

•
6 Min
By: Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

These men had their sentences commuted. Now they are fighting for Californians serving life without parole.

Allen Burnett, Jarrett Harper, and Dara Yin were sentenced to life without parole in their youth. They want California to pass a bill to open parole eligibility for people convicted before age 25

•
6 Min
By: Victoria Valenzuela

Judge’s reopening of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ raises ethical concerns

Advocates say Judge Barbara Lagoa, whose husband represents the state of Florida in other legal cases, should have recused herself from ruling on the detention center

•
8 Min
By: Alexandra Martinez

After some states repeal HIV criminalization, activists hope to continue momentum

North Dakota and Maryland became the fourth and fifth states to completely repeal laws that make it a crime to expose someone to HIV without their knowledge

•
5 Min
By: Adam Rhodes

Illinois police officer killed a preschooler 19 seconds after entering his home

Terrell Miller was just 4 years old in March 2024 when Macomb Police Department Lt. Nick Goc shot him and his mother’s partner while responding to a domestic violence call. Goc has faced no repercussions for his use of deadly force

•
10 Min
By: Kelly X. Hui

Under Trump, the criminal legal system now targets another population: Green card holders

While there is little public data about the number of lawful permanent residents targeted at ports of entry, a recent uptick in reports leaves many immigrants fearful of traveling abroad

•
6 Min
By: Maurizio Guerrero

Never eat the candy on your pillow: The reentry effect

Once out of prison, it felt like the world was shifting beneath my feet, and even the weather conspired to keep me off balance

•
6 Min
By: Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

‘What could we build instead of prisons?’: New projects at the intersection of abolition and design

Collaborations between Designing Justice + Designing Spaces and the furniture firm Formr offer a new approach to transitional housing

•
7 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Weaponized compliance: Tear gas in women’s prisons

Guards deploy tear gas for cursing, for walking too slowly, for asking too many questions. It’s not about safety; it’s about control

•
5 Min
By: Kwaneta Harris

Men inside San Quentin had ‘no expectation of survival’ during California tsunami scare

The state’s failure to include incarcerated people in emergency plans shines light on the life-threatening dangers facing people in custody as climate change worsens

•
6 Min
By: ray levy uyeda

Is sentencing your neighbors to death ‘the will of the people’? 

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are pushing a bill that would end the state’s moratorium on executions by bringing back the electric chair and implementing a firing squad

•
10 Min
By: Lyle C. May

Showing 12 of 219 total posts

Sign up for Prism newsletters.

Stay up to date with curated collection of our top stories.

Please check your inbox and confirm. Something went wrong. Please try again.