Jonathan Kirkpatrick

Seattle Recriminalizes Drug Use, Adds Arrest Alternatives It Won’t Pay For

On September 26, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (D) unveiled his proposed 2024 budget. It indicates the city will not be…

September 27, 2023

“Never Give Up”: Rep. Tarra Simmons on Clearing Her Felony Record

Washington State Representative Tarra Simmons (D), the first person convicted of a felony to be elected to the state legislature,…

September 15, 2023

Learning to Do HIV Peer Education in the ’90s, by Unlearning What to Say

In the summer of 1992, a few weeks after I'd learned I had HIV, I was down at the local…

August 24, 2023

How We Clean Knife Wounds in Prison, Without Going to Medical

[Read Part 1 of this story here] Fighting is a fact of life in prison. I've spent most of the…

August 14, 2023

How Wound Care Works in Prison, Without Doctors or Running Water

Most wound-care guidance in the United States is premised on access to potable water. Even for first aid in outdoor…

August 10, 2023

FDA Blood Donor Ban Ends for Gay Men, While Staying in Place for Others

On August 7, the Red Cross implemented a new blood donor eligibility assessment that doesn't discriminate against men who have…

August 7, 2023

COVID Testing in Our Prison Has Been Used to Harm, Not Help

In early July, for the first time since COVID-19 protocols were lifted in April, a general-population prisoner at Washington Corrections…

July 27, 2023

Violence Harm Reduction: How Peer De-Escalation Works Inside Prisons

In 1992, the year I learned I had HIV, a friend got me a dishwasher job at a restaurant in…

July 18, 2023

Sharing Needles as Street Kids in LA, During the Rise of the HIV Epidemic

In 1989 Los Angeles, the kids who did sex work had communal syringes stashed in hiding places around the city.…

July 10, 2023

As Blake Decision Expires, New WA Drug Law Ushers in Two-Tier System

On July 1, as Washington State's embattled "Blake decision" expires, a new drug possession law takes effect. After a winding…

June 30, 2023