The Sentencing Project calls for states and the federal government to terminate private prison contracts, require greater disclosure of private prison records, and stop sending inmates to prisons far from their homes.

The lawsuit filed in each state alleged the constitutional rights of the inmates were being violated by the prison’s failure to accommodate their religious practices and provide adequate nutrition.

Both a guard and a therapist are accused of assault.

Texas's reforms, including diversion programs for low-level drug offenders, increased attention to rehabilitation and work readiness, and other “second chance” measures, reduced recidivism and the incarceration rate. The federal Justice Department should take notice.

While policy changes and a move away from for-profit prison systems will go a long way in aligning America’s prisons with those of more progressive countries, education remains a key driver in preventing citizens from going to jail in the first place, in becoming more attractive prospects for hire, and in reducing recidivism.

Criminals find more and more ways to be stupid – or hypocritical. (You can't make this stuff up.)

Looking admiringly at drug laws in countries like Singapore and the Philippines, Trump and his Department of Justice are angling toward pushing for capital punishment for drug dealers.

In a recent 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a dispute among lower federal courts about how large a share of damage awards won by inmates in civil rights cases must be paid towards their lawyers’ fees.

The simple act of learning what is good to put in your body and how to budget for the healthy food you need, along with how to prepare it, should be taught not only in every prison, but in every school and in every household in America. One Arkansas program for female inmates is lighting the way.

The care of a family should not be a solo venture that falls on one woman's shoulders. In the best of circumstances, it should be shared among immediate and extended family and the greater community. If the burden were lightened and shared, the result might be that we'd see fewer women – and men – behind bars.