Doug Smith and Reggie Smith didn’t have much in common until they both went to prison. They are now deeply involved in a movement of formerly incarcerated individuals advocating for criminal justice reform.
Two Smiths, one quest
Conditions of Confinement
Legislators plan to review state jail standards
Sandra Bland’s suicide in the Waller County Jail on July 13 was the 140th time that detainees in Texas county jails have taken their own lives since authorities began compiling jail suicide statistics six years ago.
Escape Should Lead to Drug Law Reform, Advocates Say
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán's brazen escape last week from a maximum-security Mexican prison prompted anger from U.S. officials.
The right choices
America’s bloated prison system has stopped growing. Now it must shrink.
Report offers fixes for Harris County jail
After decades of America's incarceration mania, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer recently told a congressional committee in Washington that America's criminal justice system is broken and that long, mandatory minimum sentences in correctional institutions that don't correct is a terrible idea.
From Solitary to the Street
What happens when prisoners go from complete isolation to complete freedom in a day?
UT study finds longer incarceration for girls, but why remains unclear
When Erin Espinosa was a probation officer in Texas, she often found herself between a rock and a hard place when she had to decide whether to keep a girl detained after committing a crime or return her on probation to a troubled home.
Can Skype-Like Video Chats Replace In-Person Jail Visits?
In Texas, jails in Travis and Bastrop counties have completely done away with in-person inmate visits, but it has led some to question the legality of the cost-cutting measure.
The Death Of Victoria Gray: How Texas Jails Are Failing Their Most Vulnerable Captives
If a reporter asks John Gray to do an in-person interview, he insists that the backdrop is the same: The Brazoria County Jail, in Angleton, Texas, just south of Houston.
Whole Foods' decision to stop using prison labor is a step in the wrong direction
Fellow foodies, here’s a question for your conscience: Do you wonder whose hands helped bring your meal to the grocery?