prisons

Guards Delegate Security to Prisoners as Understaffing Crisis Evolves

Corrections officers (COs) have long relied on prisoners to do various parts of their jobs. But since the onset of…

September 24, 2024

The Prison Mail Bans Aren’t About Fentanyl. They’re About Understaffing.

On September 19, Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation that would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to begin…

September 23, 2024

Trans Health Care Requires You to Be “Sick.” In Prison, You Can Work That.

On September 17, a federal judge halted the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) ban on gender-affirming surgery for people in…

September 18, 2024

Why Tobacco Harm Reduction? A First Question of Many

When I first heard the words “tobacco harm reduction,” as recently as 2022, I was a little surprised. What is…

September 16, 2024

Prisons Crush Almost All LGBTQ+ Organizing. Our Community Survives.

My name is Tavaria, but people call me Varia, T, Mama T or Queen. Ten years ago, I founded Be…

September 11, 2024

Everyone in Prison Needs a Hustle. For a Small Fee, I’ll Help You Find Yours.

When you enter the men's prison system in Tennessee, you receive two blue, smock-like shirts and two matching pairs of…

September 9, 2024

GDC Senate Study Committee: What If Prisoners Were Allowed Cigarettes?

In February, Georgia lawmakers created a study committee to think about whether people in the state's prison system, at least…

September 5, 2024

In Defense of Contraband Cell Phones

As a transgender woman incarcerated in a men’s prison system, each day was a fight to maintain my sense of…

September 3, 2024

FCC Denies Securus Exemption From Price Caps on Calls From Prisons, Jails

On August 26, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued final rulings on multiple outstanding issues related to its recent order…

August 26, 2024

A New Gaza Strip Tobacco Market, and One in US Prisons That’s Getting Old

In early August, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) air-dropped cigarettes over the Gaza Strip. Attached were leaflets bearing messages like:…

August 22, 2024