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Life Inside
How a Long Sentence Changed New Year’s Into a Time of Reflection, Not Celebration
Analysis
How People Are Dying In America’s Prisons and Jails
Cleveland
Cuyahoga Judge Celebrezze Resigns After Being Charged With Records Tampering
Cleveland
Criminally Ill: Systemic Failures Turn State Mental Hospitals Into Prisons
A photo shows incarcerated people seen through a fence covered in black mesh, standing in a yard outside.
Analysis December 23
How We Cleaned Up and Clarified Federal Data on Deaths in Custody
Data collected under the Death in Custody Reporting Act has some serious problems. Here’s how we fixed some of them.
By
Two light-skinned hands hold a small piece of foil with white fentanyl powder. There are tweezers and an open red-and-blue container on the floor next to the hands.
Closing Argument December 19
What Trump’s Orders on Marijuana and Fentanyl Actually Do
When the federal government changes how it categorizes a drug on paper, what changes in the real world?
By
Sheriff’s officers in brown uniforms stand in front of a white bus in motion in a parking lot.
News December 18
ICE Data Reveals What Happened to 1,600 People Arrested During Chicago’s Blitz
Most of those arrested were swiftly shuttled to a sprawling array of detention centers in 13 states, many with reports of troubling conditions.
By and
St. Louis December 17
The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Officers
Too many detainees and too few staff have pushed the City Justice Center and County Jail to a breaking point.
By
A collage of photos and illustrations. Clockwise from top left: A photo of a Black woman holding a framed picture, of her embracing and looking toward her son, while posing for a portrait in front of her home; a photo of a man in a suit, seen from behind, standing in front of one of two doors; a photo of a beige building with narrow horizontal windows, and is partly in shadow; an illustration of a opaque hand interfacing fingers with a transparent hand and both hands being wrapped by a beaded necklace; a photo of protesters standing on the side of a road; ; an illustration of a spreadsheet, where the cells contain small drawn figures of people in teal-colored jumpsuits in different poses (sitting, standing, leaning). On the right is a menu of options: Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete Cell. Delete Cell is highlighted; and a photo of barbed wire.
Analysis December 17
We Spent a Year Covering Deaths Behind Bars. Here’s What We Learned.
Every year, thousands of people die in prisons, jails and law enforcement custody.
By
A collage of photos and illustrations. Clockwise from top left: A collage illustration with images of the city of St. Louis, a river, two silhouetted heads and barbed wire; a black-and-white photo of a Black woman in a blouse facing away toward a gravestone; a Black woman holding a photo of a Black man while standing in a line of protesters; an illustration of a Black woman in a cream-colored prison uniform looking at the silhouette of a guard; an illustration of a cockroach; a photo of a gray-haired Black man kissing a Black woman's cheek; an illustration of a white sheet covering the outline of a body, in front of a teal background, with a death certificate printed on the lower part of the sheet and a person in a long orange skirt pushing it open like curtains and walking away into darkness inside; a photo of a line of police officers standing on a corner wearing riot gear and holding batons.
Analysis December 17
Some of Our Best Work of 2025
Online, in print, and on radio and TV — we examined Trump administration orders, immigration detention, deaths behind bars and more this year.
By
A photo shows four people, including two children, walking toward a complex of tan, one-story buildings.
News December 17
ICE Threw Thousands of Kids in Detention, Many For Longer Than Court-Prescribed Limit
Former immigration staffers argue ICE is choosing to detain families for prolonged periods to speed deportations and compel them to leave.
By and
An illustration shows three people on patient beds inside a dark room, with the orange sky visible through the window. On the right side, there are dark silhouettes of dialysis machines and tubes with puddles of water on the floor.
Feature December 16
Women Are Sent to This Federal Prison for Dialysis. They Say It’s Killing Them.
Patients at Carswell medical prison in Texas describe unsanitary conditions, missed treatments and substandard care.
By Kaley Johnson
[Use this form](https://airtable.com/appR7SW9BhPZGdXp9/pagDZ0cMp3LJ9uimP/form) to tell us about how menopause and perimenopause affects women behind bars.
Get Involved December 16
What’s It Like to Go Through Menopause in Prison? We Want to Know
Your insights will help inform a guide about the critical life stage that we’ll share with incarcerated people.
By
A photo shows Luigi Mangione sitting at a courtroom table, wearing a gray blazer and red-checkered shirt, leaning to his right and engaging in conversation with an attorney out of the frame. Behind him are two court officers dressed in navy blue uniforms, with a pair of shiny handcuffs attached to the officers’ waists.
Death Sentences December 15
How Cases Like Luigi Mangione’s Could Widen the Death Penalty Divide
Even as more state leaders try to expand capital punishment, fewer jurors are choosing it.
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