mass incarceration

Waiting for Tennessee to Reform Its Felony Murder Rule

The trajectory of most proposed changes to Tennessee’s criminal-legal system is for all of us to stay in prison as…

January 21, 2025

TN Prisons Don’t Expedite Early Release. What If It’s an Emergency?

Douglas Richmond’s case for early release from prison is relatively straightforward. He’s served six years on a first-time, nonviolent conviction,…

December 26, 2024

Years Pass in a County Jail, Asking for Public Defenders Who Never Answer

In the three years and two months that Pareshkumer Desai has been detained pretrial, the only time he's been inside…

December 17, 2024

In Final Meeting, GA Prisons Senate Committee Votes for the Status Quo

Brought into existence to tell us whether Georgia's notoriously unsafe prison system is unsafe, a state Senate study committee has…

December 16, 2024

After Biden Clemency Action for Drug Convictions, Most People Want More

As President Joe Biden announces a new round of pardons and commutations—including several for people with marijuana and other drug…

December 13, 2024

Georgia’s Jails Are Less Violent Than Its Prisons. That Comes at Other Costs.

Six weeks after the United States Department of Justice published the findings of its investigation into Georgia Department of Corrections…

November 27, 2024

Advocates, Lawmakers Urge Biden to Expand Cannabis Clemency Now

On November 20, advocates, formerly incarcerated people, their families and congressmembers gathered at the United States Capitol, urging President Joe…

November 21, 2024

How Tablets Changed Georgia Prisons, More Than GDC Intended

In 2015, when I was about three years into a 14-year prison sentence, the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) started…

November 19, 2024

Georgia Probation Is an Alternative to Something, But Not Jail

[Part 1 and Part 2 of this series were published in October] Just about everyone who makes it out of…

November 6, 2024

Enough With the Sex Offender Registry

Law enforcement has done a good job of portraying recidivism as a kind of unfortunate tendency some people just can't…

October 23, 2024