Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Voting from Jail Is a Right, and Now a Reality in Chicago

    September 21, 2020 |

    70 Million |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    Chicago's Cook County Jail became the first jail in the nation in March to open a polling place behind bars, resulting in about 1,800 voters casting ballots, a sharp increase in voting by eligible voters in the jail. The polling place, combined with expanded voter-registration efforts, resulted from a new Illinois law requiring all counties to expand voting access. Outside of Chicago that means voting by mail. The Chicago experience provides a window into efforts nationwide to expand voting access to people incarcerated in jails and prisons, or with criminal records.

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  • Digging Our Way Out of the Hole: The Safe Alternative to Solitary Audio icon

    September 16, 2020 |

    The Crime Report |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington

    Washington's prison system cut by half the number of people held in solitary confinement by reducing its security system's reliance on the method and helping former solitary detainees transition back to the general population in a healthier way. But a formerly incarcerated journalist who spent more than seven of his 27 years in prison locked in solitary confinement says the state's disciplinary system is still rooted in an overly punitive approach to mostly petty offenses. A system based on positive incentives to good behavior exists in North Dakota prisons, modeled in part on Norway's approach.

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  • Deradicalizing Militants the High-Tech Way

    August 26, 2020 |

    HlídacíPes.org |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Czech Republic

    Czech Technical University's online learning platform, HERMES, combats terrorism based on proven methods of deradicalization of former jihadists and preventing recruitment of new people to terrorism. Interactive exercises and other tools teach prison and court officials to separate radical jihadists from other prisoners. As thousands of people imprisoned on terrorism charges finish serving their sentences and are released from prisons, the programs also target community-based spread of radical thought, including with job opportunities for former prisoners.

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  • The Prison Within

    August 22, 2020 |

    Raw Love Productions |

    Documentary |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    In San Quentin Prison, men convicted of murder attend a 72-week restorative-justice circle where they tell their stories of trauma: what they suffered in their lives, and how they turned that into harm they inflicted on others. The Victim Offender Education Group enables a form of accountability and healing that being locked up doesn’t, because of the dialogue among the men and with others’ victims of violence.

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  • This Chicago Nonprofit Supports Incarcerated Youth and Local Businesses During the Pandemic

    August 21, 2020 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    Liberation Library, a Chicago-based nonprofit, provides books for incarcerated youth. The nonprofit fills the youths' book requests and has also partnered with five Chicago-based bookstores, where shoppers can purchase gift cards on behalf of the nonprofit. Since the onset of the pandemic, it has sent more than 1,100 books, more than double its usual number, along with card games, snacks and art supplies.

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  • In Prison, Learning Magic by Mail

    August 14, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States

    A community of incarcerated magic enthusiasts formed spontaneously around a column published by a magic magazine, thanks to their own initiative and the willingness of Joshua Jay, the magician/columnist, to respond to fan mail. The incarcerated people formed an underground exchange of tips on magic tricks and how to make props from the limited availability of materials in prisons. By perfecting their skills, this community used magic as performative art therapy, easing their sense of isolation and increasing their sense of power and personal worth. One even went pro after his release.

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  • 19 Volunteers Sharing an iPhone Are Trying to Support Incarcerated People Through COVID-19 Audio icon

    August 13, 2020 |

    TalkPoverty.org |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

    Beyond These Walls launched a crisis phone line to provide emotional support for LGBTQ+ people who are incarcerated and to hold prisons and jails accountable for their virus-containment practices. Trained volunteers have fielded 369 calls so far, more than a quarter of which concern fears that reporting virus symptoms could land people in solitary confinement. Beyond These Walls and its coalition partners can provide safety by letting jailers know their practices are being monitored.

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  • ‘We're writing the book' - McCracken jail sees strong early success from vocational programs

    August 09, 2020 |

    The Paducah Sun |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Paducah, Kentucky

    Vocational training and life skills classes at the McCracken County Regional Jail help prepare incarcerated people for stable jobs and living situations once they are released. Of the first 16 to complete vocational training, none have returned to jail and 12 are employed, despite the poor job market during the pandemic. Though the results so far are small and early, jail officials are working to expand the available programs to more people. Particularly useful not only to the incarcerated people but also to their families are cognitive skills classes, which vocational students are required to take as well.

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  • Prison Voicemail: Messages from behind bars

    August 04, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: England

    Prison Voicemail is a smartphone app that lets incarcerated people in the UK stay connected to their families, improving their mental outlook while imprisoned and their chances of success once they're released. The fee-based app closes gaps left by ordinary pay phones and other means of communication by letting people communicate through recorded messages, rather than when they both happen to be available. Sound clips of families talking in this podcast drive home the profound personal impact of children and parents sharing the routine news of their lives across the barrier of prison walls.

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  • Here's a radical idea that will change policing, transform prisons and reduce crime: treat criminals like human beings

    July 31, 2020 |

    The Correspondent |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: Norway

    Comparing Norway's and the United States' approaches to prisons and policing puts the lie to the American notion that being tough and unrelentingly punitive effectively addresses crime. In Norway, even people imprisoned for violent crimes, in maximum-security prisons, are treated with respect and kindness, with privileges that would be unthinkable in most American prisons. The results are telling: Norway's recidivism rate, the lowest in the world, is less than one-third of the U.S. rate. While prison costs are far higher per capita, the ultimate costs in lower crime make the Norwegian approach affordable.

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