The most popular statistic regarding the United States’ prison system is that there are 2.5 million people incarcerated. However, this figure significantly under-represents the number of people caged in this country each year.According to a released by the Prison Policy Initiative, at least 4.9 million people are arrested and jailed each year. Those individuals are disproportionately poor, Black, and lack access to education and health care.Researchers say the 4.9 million figure represents a minimum estimate, as data on arrests and incarceration in the U.S. are woefully inadequate at every...…The most popular statistic regarding the United States’ prison system is that there are 2.5 million people incarcerated. However, this figure significantly under-represents the number of people caged in this country each year.According to a released by the Prison Policy Initiative, at least 4.9 million people are arrested and jailed each year. Those individuals are disproportionately poor, Black, and lack access to education and health care.Researchers say the 4.9 million figure represents a minimum estimate, as data on arrests and incarceration in the U.S. are woefully inadequate at every...WW…

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein about a bill she introduced, which would prohibit the federal government from separating immigrant children from their families during arrests at ports of entry or within 100 miles of the border of the United States.As he asked his question, Tapper brought up a photo taken in 2014 of children sleeping on the floor of a cage at an immigrant detention center.“There were a lot of things done to undocumented immigrants that the immigrant community was very upset about during the Obama years, that Democrats didn’t seem that outspoken...…CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein about a bill she introduced, which would prohibit the federal government from separating immigrant children from their families during arrests at ports of entry or within 100 miles of the border of the United States.As he asked his question, Tapper brought up a photo taken in 2014 of children sleeping on the floor of a cage at an immigrant detention center.“There were a lot of things done to undocumented immigrants that the immigrant community was very upset about during the Obama years, that Democrats didn’t seem that outspoken...WW…

A local police chief and an officer in Carrollton County, Kentucky, were indicted by a grand jury this week after allegedly placing a 31-year-old mentally ill inmate on a bus to Florida instead of taking him to the hospital for a court-ordered psychological evaluation. Attorney General for the state of Kentucky Jack Conway said in a press release today that officers Ronald Dickow and Michael Willhoite were indicted on charges of kidnapping and official misconduct.…A local police chief and an officer in Carrollton County, Kentucky, were indicted by a grand jury this week after allegedly placing a 31-year-old mentally ill inmate on a bus to Florida instead of taking him to the hospital for a court-ordered psychological evaluation. Attorney General for the state of Kentucky Jack Conway said in a press release today that officers Ronald Dickow and Michael Willhoite were indicted on charges of kidnapping and official misconduct.WW…

An incarcerated man at the Angola Prison in Louisiana sued prison officials for throwing him in solitary confinement and denying him due process in retaliation for speaking to a journalist at the local Baton Rouge Advocate. William Kissinger, imprisoned at Angola for over 27 years, should be considered a “model prisoner”…An incarcerated man at the Angola Prison in Louisiana sued prison officials for throwing him in solitary confinement and denying him due process in retaliation for speaking to a journalist at the local Baton Rouge Advocate. William Kissinger, imprisoned at Angola for over 27 years, should be considered a “model prisoner”WW…

California has agreed to restrict the use of long-term solitary confinement in a settlement agreement filed in federal court this week. Restrictions are expected to reduce the number of inmates in isolation, cap the number of continuous years an inmate can spend in solitary confinement to five, and establish measures by which inmates can more easily achieve release back to general population.…California has agreed to restrict the use of long-term solitary confinement in a settlement agreement filed in federal court this week. Restrictions are expected to reduce the number of inmates in isolation, cap the number of continuous years an inmate can spend in solitary confinement to five, and establish measures by which inmates can more easily achieve release back to general population.WW…

2015 has been a big year for Corizon Health Services: in the span of six months, the nation’s largest for-profit inmate healthcare provider has managed to break not one, but two different state records for the largest wrongful death settlement payouts in history.A new report by In The Public Interest (ITPI) illustrates how private companies that operate prisons or services within prisons use correctional associations to gain intimate access to decision makers in government — almost entirely off the books. Private companies pay millions of dollars each year to attend their conferences, lead...…2015 has been a big year for Corizon Health Services: in the span of six months, the nation’s largest for-profit inmate healthcare provider has managed to break not one, but two different state records for the largest wrongful death settlement payouts in history.A new report by In The Public Interest (ITPI) illustrates how private companies that operate prisons or services within prisons use correctional associations to gain intimate access to decision makers in government — almost entirely off the books. Private companies pay millions of dollars each year to attend their conferences, lead...WW…

Under a settlement with ACLU of Northern California, Alameda County & Corizon Health Services can no longer force women in custody to take pregnancy tests.…Under a settlement with ACLU of Northern California, Alameda County & Corizon Health Services can no longer force women in custody to take pregnancy tests.WW…

The complex issue of risk assessment places some people at a disadvantage, despite mitigating factors that could ensure they return to court.The United States Supreme Court determined juvenile offenders serving life sentences for homicides without parole should be granted the opportunity to “show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption.” The decision clarified a ruling issued in the 2012 case Miller v. Alabama, which prohibited life without parole sentences for juveniles who…The complex issue of risk assessment places some people at a disadvantage, despite mitigating factors that could ensure they return to court.The United States Supreme Court determined juvenile offenders serving life sentences for homicides without parole should be granted the opportunity to “show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption.” The decision clarified a ruling issued in the 2012 case Miller v. Alabama, which prohibited life without parole sentences for juveniles whoWW…