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The “afterlife” of mass incarceration

Feb 1, 2021
In a new book, sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller explores the punishments formerly imprisoned people face after their release. Read an excerpt here.
Inmates worship during Christmas Mass at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles. In a new book, sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller examines the effects of incarceration after it ends.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The relationship between drug companies and jails

Jan 9, 2020
Incarcerated people form a large market for pharmaceutical companies. The ethics of that relationship can be complicated.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Private prison stocks aren’t feeling the expected boom

Dec 29, 2017
Stocks in the for-profit prison sector skyrocketed after the election of President Donald Trump. The Obama administration and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had both pledged to phase out their use by federal authorities — an approach Trump rejected. But the industry hasn’t seen the sustained boost many investors expected.  Click the audio player above to […]

Private prisons benefit from new Trump rules

May 12, 2017
The Trump administration is going back to the “tough on crime” policies of the 1980s and ’90s. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered federal prosecutors to bring charges that carry heavy penalties – sometimes mandatory minimum sentences. This is a roll-back of Obama administration rules telling prosecutors not to charge nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that […]

A small Georgia town where prisons play a big role

Jan 13, 2017
McRae-Helena could see its fortunes change under the Trump administration.
McRae Correctional Institution has been in this rural part of southern Georgia since the early 2000s, housing up to 2,000 federal prisoners.
Ali Guillory

Correction officers shortage: a danger to inmates?

Aug 30, 2016
Florida's shortage means delayed showers, cancelled classes and increased violence.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida struggles to keep corrections officers in state prisons

Aug 29, 2016
Hours for corrections officers are long, and pay is low.
The turnover rate among corrections officers in Florida was 22 percent last year. The department has said it plans to hire 4,000 officers in the coming year, to fill current vacancies and to prepare for future ones.
Alisa Roth

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Florida has a shortage of corrections officers for state prisons

Aug 29, 2016
Turnover in the department last year was 22 percent.
Signs posted around the perimeter of the Dade and Homestead prisons in south Florida advertise immediate openings for correctional officers. The state, like most, has a severe shortage of officers, leaving officers and inmates at risk.
Alisa Roth

Private prisons on the way out

Aug 18, 2016
Justice Department to phase out federal contracts.
Condemned inmates sits in housing block at San Quentin State Prison's death row on August 15, 2016 in San Quentin, California. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Western states scrambling for more firefighters

Aug 21, 2015
Wildfires are burning in 10 states, exhausting resources and manpower.