The coronavirus pandemic is ravaging American communities — and few places are being hit harder than prisons and jails. Massive outbreaks of the disease have struck scores of facilities — and with so few tests being administered behind bars, the problem is undoubtedly far worse than is known. As the virus continues to spread in
In 2019, Devon, a gay man serving time at a prison in Nevada, was raped by two other prisoners whom he considered friends. When he told other inmates, they accused him of lying and warned that if he told staff what happened, he risked being hurt or killed. Still, Devon mustered the courage to come
If you thought the confined spaces of cruise ships, nursing homes and once-crowded bars were especially bad petri dishes for the spread of the coronavirus – think again. Public health officials, medical experts, lawmakers and inmates are bracing for the outbreak to continue crippling overstuffed prisons and jails across the country. “The projections for the toll that
“John moderates a panel discussion on the criminal justice system, incarceration and how to write about them. What’s real, what’s myth, and what stories need to be told? Guests include incarceration policy experts Aly Tamboura and Lovisa Stannow, writer Zach Calig of For Life, and documentarian Dan Birman (Me Facing Life).” Listen to the episode
In 2019, the Alabama prison system had one of its most violent years in a decade. Sixteen prisoners were killed. UNIONTOWN, Ala. – At her home in this tiny town in west Alabama, Sandy Ray settled into a plush recliner, sandwiched between two photos of her son: one printed on her black T-shirt, the other