Corrections

Pretrial diversion programs are effective. And expensive for participants.

Courts often charge high fees for people to get into programs that allow them to avoid prison. Alabama's Jefferson County is trying a different approach.

  • By Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector

‘The world is watching.’ Alabama executes inmate using nitrogen gas

The state opted for the method following a botched execution of the same inmate in 2022. Two more states have since adopted the until now never tried method.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

To put a dent in opioid addiction, start with the corrections system

Pilot programs have offered incarcerated individuals medications for opioid use disorder, but now it’s time to start expanding those programs for long-term success, observers say.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

States and localities in 2023: A look at the top stories of the year

The first half of the year was marked by the end of pandemic-era benefits. The second half was dominated by the shutdown. All the while, leaders were preoccupied with infrastructure, technology and flags.

  • By Route Fifty Staff

County cuts recidivism with juvenile justice diversion programs

King County, Washington, is pushing counseling and diversion programs and considering closing its juvenile detention facility.

  • By Kery Murakami

Graying prisons face accelerating health care needs

Rapidly growing numbers of older inmates with diabetes, dementia and liver disease are forcing states to reevaluate early release policies and the social safety nets that might prevent incarceration.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

‘IGNITE’ing an educational fire in U.S. jails

An initiative launched in a Michigan county jail has been embraced as a national model for reducing jail violence and inmate recidivism.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

The nation’s biggest public union wants to help fix the workforce shortage

The group has launched a listening tour and has already received feedback from state and local workers on what governments can do to attract and retain employees.

  • By Kery Murakami

A Model for Reducing Female Incarceration and Breaking the Generational Cycle

A program in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been changing lives for addicted women and their children. Here’s how it works.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

Bail Reform Faces Backlash

New York rolled back key parts of its 2019 bail reform law amid fears of rising crime. Those concerns are echoed in communities nationwide—especially in places forging ahead with their own laws—despite data that shows bail reforms don't negatively impact public safety. Plus, more news to use from around the country in this week's State and Local Roundup.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Reducing the Staggering Backlog of Court Cases

COMMENTARY | State and local leaders can tackle the massive backlog of criminal cases by expanding pretrial services, transforming indigent defense and embracing restorative justice processes.

  • By Marc Levin

Death Penalty Used Sparingly by States in 2020 Amid Pandemic

States suspended executions due to the coronavirus outbreak and put just 7 people to death this year. Meanwhile, federal executions resumed for the first time in 17 years.

  • By Andrea Noble
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Inside the Covid Unit at the World’s Largest Women’s Prison

The Central California Women’s Facility quarantined prisoners with Covid-19 with those who never tested positive for the virus.

  • By Ko Bragg and Kate Sosin, The 19th

Family Members Raise Concerns as Florida Inmate Deaths Rise

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | "Pooled testing" could speed up results ... Minneapolis council votes to get rid of police PIO ... Los Angeles County sheriff slammed for sexist statement.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman

The Prison Was Built to Hold 1,500 Inmates. It Had Over 2,000 Coronavirus Cases.

Prison overcrowding has been quietly tolerated for decades. But the pandemic is forcing a reckoning.

  • By Dara Lind, ProPublica

‘Prisons Are Bacteria Factories’; Elderly Most at Risk

“You’re going to see devastation that’s unbelievable.”

  • By David Montgomery, Stateline

This State Has Figured Out How to Treat Drug-Addicted Inmates

More jails and prisons are starting to offer medication-assisted treatment for inmates addicted to opioids. But it's available at just a very small fraction of correctional facilities across the country.

  • By Christine Vestal, Stateline

The Human Cost of Missing Data in Prisons

COMMENTARY | Nowhere is good information about operations more critical than in prisons and jails. But too often states simply lack the kind of data that holds officials accountable.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

California’s Jails Are in a Deadly Crisis. Here’s How Experts Suggest Fixing Them.

An investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica found unchecked violence and inhumane conditions in county jails, but the state’s oversight agency has no power to stop it. Experts say that needs to change.

  • By Jason Pohl and Ryan Gabrielson, ProPublica

Chicago Is Making the Case for Releasing Pregnant Inmates

Women in jail typically have limited prenatal support and return to custody soon after giving birth. One program is testing a different approach.

  • By Sarah Conway, The Atlantic

Restore Pell Grant Eligibility to Incarcerated Students

COMMENTARY | The National District Attorneys Association, the largest group representing prosecutors, supports federal grant funding for prisoners to get college degrees.

  • By Duffie Stone