Hundreds of Black People Are in Prison for Life Even Though Jurors Thought They Were Innocent
Roderick Vidau with two of his childrenCourtesy of Vidau’s attorney 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.Roderick Vidau didn’t think the jury would convict him. In 2005, when Vidau was 28 years old, a police officer in…
How a Private Prison Company’s Defamation Suit Against One of Its Critics Backfired
Robyn Beck/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.The mother who would end the Trump administration’s family separation policy arrived at the US-Mexico border in November 2017 with her 6-year-old daughter in tow. Ms. L, as she…
Congress Is About to Bar Unidentified Federal Agents From Policing Protests
Bureau of Prisons agents block protesters from assembling in front of Lafayette Park in Washington DC on June 3, 2020.Sue Dorfman/ZUMA Wire 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.Congress is set to approve a defense policy bill…
The Freakout About Giving COVID Vaccines to Prisoners Has Already Begun
Sandy Huffaker/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.Toward the end of a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was asked about a proposal to give the state’s prisoners early access to the forthcoming…
Private Prison Stocks Drop as the Reality of Biden’s Win Sinks In
Sue Ogrocki/AP For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.Private prison companies have taken a financial hit in the past week as President-elect Joe Biden’s win became apparent. Stock prices for the country’s two largest prison companies, the GEO Group and CoreCivic, have fallen 14…
How a Domestic Violence Loophole Could Doom a Campaign to Cut Oklahoma’s Harsh Prison Sentences
Shepard Sherbell/Getty For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.For the last four years, the fight against mass incarceration in Oklahoma has been a story of unlikely success. In 2016, after decades of creeping prison populations, the state’s incarceration rate reached levels so astronomical that…