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Correctional officers beat and stomped more than 30 prisoners following an injury to an officer at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y., according to inmates.

Dangerous Conditions in Prisons/Jails

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
Closing Argument
Why Closing Prisons — Even Bad Ones — Is Complicated
From politics to economics, closing old or bad prisons is not always straightforward. Even some incarcerated people have mixed emotions.
An aerial view of a tan brick prison facility with cars parked in front.
A Black woman with braids and a pink shirt holds her hand on her chest while holding a golden cross necklace.
Looking Back July 17
The First Trans Prisoner Who Took Her Case All the Way to the Supreme Court
From her prison cell, Dee Farmer drafted the lawsuit that became one of the most cited cases of all time, Farmer v. Brennan.
By
A photo illustration with a black and white photograph of the exterior of a prison in the background with red rectangles overlaying it. In the middle is a semi-circle with the typewritten text from several phrases, including “tortured for 18 hours with an..” and “I began to feel a sharp pain on the left side of my chest.” Below the text is a photo of an officer's hands on the wrist of a man in handcuffs.
News July 11
Shackled For Days and Weeks: A Federal Report Finds Widespread Abuse in Prisons
The report, by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, comes after an investigative series by The Marshall Project and NPR exposed similar abuses.
By Joseph Shapiro, NPR
A photo, taken from a low angle, shows the outside of a light brown tower with narrow, horizontal windows. The pale blue sky is visible above the building.
Cleveland July 3
‘I’m About to Die Here’: What a Power Outage and Heatwave Were Like in a Jail With No AC
Cuyahoga County officials say no one incarcerated in the jail needed treatment for heat illness. People inside say it was life-threatening.
By and
Tom Robbins, a man with light-toned skin and gray hair, wears a suit jacket and stands in a newsroom with eight other people. Behind them are offices visible through glass walls.
Analysis May 29
Remembering Tom Robbins
Our founder reflects on the legacy of the reporter who helped set the standard for The Marshall Project’s investigations into prison abuse.
By
An illustration shows a grid of different jail cells with small or narrow windows, or no windows at all.
Analysis May 21
The Unbearable Darkness of Jail
Jails in St. Louis, Cleveland and Jackson, Mississippi, don’t provide direct access to sunlight and fresh air – even when their own policies require it.
By , and
An orange illustration shows a bird’s-eye view of a person in a prison uniform sitting on the edge of a bed, leaning their head on their hands, covered in beads of sweat. The wall is wavy as if from heat and there are cockroaches on the floor.
St. Louis May 14
These Missouri Prisons Get ‘Brutally Hot.’ In Solitary, It’s Even Worse.
A recent class action lawsuit from the MacArthur Justice Center sheds light on how extreme heat creates life-threatening conditions for those in solitary confinement.
By
A pregnant woman wearing an orange prison uniform places her hand on her belly.
Closing Argument May 10
Why We Still Don’t Have Enough Solid Data on Pregnancy in Prison
A new report sheds light on pregnant people behind bars, but misses their lived experience.
By
The CoreCivic corporate headquarters in Brentwood, Tennessee, in 2023. The private prison operator is proposing to run an immigration detention center in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Closing Argument April 26
Not In Our Backyard: Some Pro-Trump Towns Push Against Detention Centers
Opposition to an immigration detention center in Leavenworth, Kansas, illustrates a tension playing out across the country.
By
A photo collage displays a jail, a brick building surrounded by wire fences, men in jail uniforms holding a burning fabric by a broken window, a demolition excavator, a badge that reads “City of St. Louis Division of Corrections” and a text clipping.
St. Louis April 21
St. Louis Jail Is a ‘Potential Powder Keg’
A facility built for progress reflects ‘decades of neglect’ and the city’s deepest struggles, from mental illness to systemic dysfunction.
By
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