In the 10 years leading up to 2016, the rate of prisoner mortality rose by 15%. End-of-life options can be limited for inmates.
A ministry program student at a Texas prison. Some inmates cite religion to avoid gang recruitment.
Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
Gangs are still a significant reality in US prisons. But most inmates say that their power has been watered down, and they no longer rule facilities with an iron fist.
There is growing political interest in providing higher education to those behind bars.
AdrianoK/Shutterstock.com
Education for those behind bars is gaining more attention. In these four articles, scholars take an up-close look at efforts to provide – and restrict – higher education in prison.
Students in an advanced bachelor’s degree seminar in the Bard Prison Initiative at Eastern New York Correctional Facility.
Skiff Mountain Films
A scholar who has taught in prison weighs in on ‘College Behind Bars,’ which airs Nov. 25 and 26 on PBS. The documentary prompts viewers to consider the importance of higher education in prison.
Former Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy speaks with inmates.
AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb
In a pilot program, older prisoners sentenced to life mentor younger prisoners who have a chance to lead productive, lawful lives when they get out. The focus is on healing trauma.
Moliere Dimanche would use anything he could scrounge up – pieces of folders, the back of commissary forms, old letters – as canvases.
Moliere Dimanche
From solitary confinement, Moliere Dimanche started drawing on anything he could find. The result was a series of fantastical, allegorical images that depict abuse, racism and profound isolation.
A podcast all about nothing. From the importance of doing nothing to the ill-effects of time spent in solitary confinement and what nothing means in space.
Juvenile residents sit in a classroom at detention center in Atlanta.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Research reveals that the factors that put youth at risk of sexual assault while in custody are significantly different from those that put adults at risk in prison.
Neuroscience can help incarcerated brains.
Donald Tong
Hollywood pushes a fantasy version of what neuroscience can do in the courtroom. But the field does have real benefits to offer, right now: solid evidence on what would improve prisons.
A convict hangs on to a bucking bronco c. 1940.
Courtesy of Texas Prison Museum
Australian jurisdictions should enact permanent solutions to juvenile justice crises that replace large and ineffective youth prisons with a safer, more decent alternative.
No federal database provides reliable info on deaths that occur in police custody. It’s the same situation in 48 states. But now California and Texas are offering new models of accountability.
What helps ex-offenders avoid rearrest?
Stephen Lam/Reuters
Case management from nurses combined with peer coaching from ex-offenders helps recently released parolees avoid the behavior that got them locked up in the first place.
It’s estimated that 3 to 4 percent of women are pregnant when they arrive at prison.
Pregnancy test and handcuffs image via www.shutterstock.com.