How Cook County Jail Became the Country’s First Jail-Based Polling Place
Many incarcerated people have the right to vote, but steep barriers can make it nearly impossible. In Cook County, Illinois, that’s starting to change.
The Contradictions of a Progressive Police Chief
Newly-appointed CPD Superintendent David Brown left a complicated legacy in Dallas. Will he have his second chance in Chicago?
In Jails, “A Catastrophe Waiting to Happen”
Facilities across the region have begun releasing incarcerated people due to dangerous conditions. It's not the first time.
Game Day at the Ohio Pen
Remembering the Ohio State Penitentiary Hurricanes—and the day my father played against them in 1965.
Robert Smith’s Last Ride
The first person in West Virginia to die from the Spanish flu pandemic was an incarcerated Black man.
Fit to Kill: A Reactionary Existence (Part One)
An excerpt from "Life Sentences: Writings from Inside an American Prison."
Lost and Gain
An excerpt from "Life Sentences: Writings from Inside an American Prison."
The Rippling Effect of Baron Walker
In 2015, a study found Milwaukee's 53206 ZIP code imprisoned sixty-two percent of Black men under the age of thirty-four. Baron Walker was one of them.
Performing Shakespeare in Prison
At Indiana's Pendleton Correctional Facility, a company of incarcerated men is finalizing its latest show.
Sentencing the Old Iowa State Penitentiary
Once the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi, the facility is now empty, falling apart, and waiting for its next chapter.
Disappearing Act
Prison gerrymandering is distorting democracy in states across the Midwest and nationwide, leaving incarcerated people with inequitable representation—or none at all.
The Ultimate Price
"With a teardrop punctuating the final line of the emotional missive, A.S.A. Barnes painted a vivid picture in dark, irate hues, depicting my disregard for human life."