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Federal Bureau of Prisons

An illustration in black-and-white shows a trans person, lying on the ground in a fetal position, with one hand over their face. A figure looms in the foreground with a closed fist.
Analysis November 13
3 Things to Know About Prison Violence Against Transgender People
Key takeaways from our story about one trans woman’s legal battle for accountability.
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A White woman in a gray suit delivers a speech at a podium with the federal Bureau of Prisons logo on it. In the background, an American flag can be seen on the left and the U.S. Department of Justice flag on the right.
News August 4, 2022
She Tried to ‘Humanize’ Prisons in Oregon. Can She Fix the Federal System?
Inspired by European models, the new Bureau of Prisons director built a Japanese garden in one penitentiary and made official language less demeaning. But some are skeptical of lasting reform.
By
Analysis June 14, 2022
What Can FBI Data Say About Crime in 2021? It’s Too Unreliable to Tell
The transition to a new data system creates huge gaps in national crime stats sure to be exploited by politicians in this election year.
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A man from a nearby prison was shackled to the bed in a Rhode Island hospital while being treated with a ventilator for COVID-19 in the intensive care unit in December.
Coronavirus June 30, 2021
A Half-Million People Got COVID-19 in Prison. Are Officials Ready for the Next Pandemic?
People who live and work in prisons worry they remain vulnerable, even as life behind bars returns to business as usual.
By , and Claudia Lauer
Death Sentences February 10, 2021
What 120 Executions Tell Us About Criminal Justice in America
The Marshall Project tracked every execution in America for more than five years. For condemned people, the path to death grew longer, more winding and erratic.
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Jennifer Gross holds photos of herself with fiancé Robert Vermett, who is incarcerated at Michigan’s Kinross Correctional Facility and recovering from COVID-19.
Coronavirus December 21, 2020
Moving People—and Coronavirus—From Prison to Prison
As COVID-19 infections soar, prisoners and corrections officers worry that transferring people between facilities is causing outbreaks.
By and Ed White
News October 7, 2020
Thousands of Sick Federal Prisoners Sought Compassionate Release. 98 Percent Were Denied.
Wardens blocked bids for freedom as COVID-19 spread behind bars, data shows.
By and
Feature August 13, 2020
‘Con Air’ Is Spreading COVID-19 All Over the Federal Prison System
U.S. Marshals are transporting prisoners without testing them for coronavirus
By Keegan Hamilton AND
Feature July 10, 2020
Freed From Prison, Dead from COVID-19, Not Even Counted
Officials’ missteps at Butner made it the deadliest federal lockup.
By and Dan Kane
Feature June 28, 2016
Meet the Full-Service Social Media Secretary for Prisoners
How Renea Royster gives prisoners access to the digital world.
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