The U.S. currently has 2.3 million people behind bars, the largest prison population in the world. Whether they were incarcerated for drug crimes or other offenses, one thing is constant for all of them: the world outside did not stop when they were imprisoned. What Prisoners Leave Behind Of the 2.3 million people in jail, most have families and friends waiting for them outside. Most also have their own responsibilities to take care of, and handling those affairs from inside is never an easy …
Incarceration
Kentucky Among Progressive States for Bail Reform
For anyone that watches television programs focusing on crime, bail may seem like a simple thing. Based arbitrarily on the judge’s whim and dramatic effect, a good guy gets a bail that seems too high and a bad guy always seems to find the loophole that allows him to pay far too little. But the reality is much different. There are standards, practices and precedents that indicate to a judge how much bail should be set for a defendant, based on several different factors. First of all, bail can …
[Read more...] about Kentucky Among Progressive States for Bail Reform
We Can, and Should, Do More for Ex-Cons
After a felon is released from his sentence, the idea is that he or she has served their time for their actions and paid society back for whatever law or laws they may have broken. But many times being released from jail is just the beginning of their difficulties. Aside from adjusting to life outside prison, the practical considerations many former inmates face may seem insurmountable. The two biggest issues are finding employment and sometimes even housing, but those barely scratch the …
[Read more...] about We Can, and Should, Do More for Ex-Cons
The Immigration Detention Crisis
Immigration was one of the most hotly debated topics in the 2016 presidential election. It’s been the subject of polls, speeches, proposals and endless conversations. Yet, for all the talk about our nation’s policies, one aspect of immigration in the United States has largely been absent from our debates. Few Americans realize the appalling conditions of our immigrant detention system. As bad as things are in our jails, state prisons and federal prisons, things are significantly worse …
Prisoners Have Civil Rights, Too
Our prison system is often criticized for offering terrible living conditions, exploitative work conditions and poor medical care. For those who have little to no interaction with someone serving time in prison or jail, it can be tempting to simply ignore these conditions and chalk it up to well-deserved punishment for the crimes prisoners have committed. But failing to acknowledge the injustices that face prisoners could cause us to overlook abuses that could befall any of us, or any of …
