Instead of building new jails, we must focus our efforts on reshaping a post-pandemic society free of the challenges that led to an Indigenous man’s recent death.
In a system that treats people as objects to be counted, chained, searched and assigned a number, art is a way for prisoners to reassert their agency – and reclaim their lives.
As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to rebuild our justice system to invest more in First Nations communities, not prisons. It is vital we not return to the status quo.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, missteps in transitioning the incarcerated back to their communities places this already vulnerable populace at greater risk of getting and transmitting the virus.
About half of incarcerated women in the United States are mothers to children under age 18. Natural spaces within a prison can help maintain their mother-child bonds.
Prison lawyers in Canada are scrambling to fill the gap left by federal inaction on inmate populations who are vulnerable to COVID-19. A recent case in Ontario could provide a legal precedent.
Incarcerated Americans have been tasked with washing hospital laundry, manufacturing protective equipment, disinfecting cleaning supplies and digging mass graves.
Half of incarcerated individuals have either a chronic medical or a mental health condition. But social distancing and rigorous hygiene are unattainable for many US jails and prisons.
Rebecca Tippett, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The 2020 census will now count some groups differently than it has in the past. That could make a difference in the final count – affecting which states receive funding and congressional seats.
Rapidly decreasing the prison population by letting people out is a public health imperative as governments for solutions to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Experiences overseas show that releasing prisoners held on less serious offences early in the pandemic is essential to protect those inside the jail and the wider community.
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.