“It’s Terrifying, It’s Almost Crippling”: Texas Jails and Prisons Are Freezing Over
The Harris County Jail in 2014Eric Gay/AP Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.On the seventh floor of the Harris County Jail in downtown Houston, Andrew Garamillo wrapped a blanket around his shoulders as he walked around…
Solitary Confinement Policies Could Make the Prison Pandemic Worse
Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via Getty Images Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.This article was originally published by Undark. Read the original article. In December, COVID-19 infections in prisons in the United States hit a record 25,000…
A Last-Minute Trump Move Threatens to Send Released Prisoners Back to Prison After the Pandemic
Nikki Kahn/Washington Post/Getty Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.On his way out the door of the White House, President Donald Trump issued leases for Arctic oil drilling, attacked civil rights protections, and commuted the sentences of his…
Letting People Out of Prison to Avoid COVID Isn’t That Controversial
A woman wearing a mask takes part in a vigil outside Queensboro Correctional Facility on April 23, 2020Johannes Eisele/Getty Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.A new poll indicates widespread public support for releasing some prisoners early…
Watch How Quickly a COVID Outbreak Exploded Through a California Prison
The COVID-19 outbreak at California’s San Quentin State Prison last summer was a catastrophe of epic proportions. Twenty-eight people serving prison sentences and one correctional officer died. Nearly two in three prisoners tested positive over three months; many were transferred out for treatment, straining San Francisco Bay Area hospitals. “It’s like a horror movie,” one…
Southern California Jails Have Become COVID Superspreaders
FG Trade/Getty Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.This week, COVID-19 cases in Orange County jails increased more than 400 percent. It’s exactly what the ACLU saw coming. In June, the ACLU, on behalf of half a…