Prison Reform

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“It is not the prisoners that need reformation. It is the prisons.”

— Oscar Wilde

“Imprisonment has become the response of first resort to far too many of our social problems.”

— Angela Davis

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“You can chain men, you can torture me, you can even destroy my body, but you will never imprison my mind.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

“We need to end, once and for all, the disgraceful practice of corporations profiting from the incarceration of Americans.”

— Bernie Sanders

Prison Reform News

Investigation finds falsified Dallas County juvenile detention records

September 10, 2024

KERA | By Marina Trahan Martinez Published September 10, 2024 at 5:00 AM CDT A state investigation released Monday found that minors in Dallas County’s juvenile detention center were isolated for 24…

People Caught Up by Criminal Legal System Face More Obstacles to Abortion Access

August 27, 2024

A new report details the unique precarity of seeking abortions while under carceral confinement. By Tamar Sarai Published August 25, 2024 Since its founding in 2003, the legal services and advocacy…

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

The Just Trust is on a mission to tackle the incarceration crisis and address public safety side by side. By supporting the field through strategic advising, real-time public opinion research, and funding, we a can help write the next chapter of the criminal justice system in America. We can help turn generations long battles for justice and safety into lasting solutions that benefit everyone, in all 50 states.

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Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society’s vision is to foster a world where those who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated will thrive as positive, contributing members of society. We do this through a holistic, one-stop model of service provision.

Missouri Prison Reform is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that advocates for Missouri’s incarcerated and their families by elevating their voices, advocating for their needs, and exposing harmful policies that undermine our overall goal of harm reduction, healing, and rehabilitation.

The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute.

We strive to uphold the values of democracy. We stand for equal justice and the rule of law. We work to craft and advance reforms that will make American democracy work, for all.

The Prison Policy Initiative's research and advocacy is at the center of the national conversation about criminal justice reform and over-criminalization. Because essential national and state level data is often completely inaccessible, the Prison Policy Initiative's insightful data analysis and powerful graphics help fill these gaps to bring in new supporters and help other movement leaders achieve their goals.

The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. We have an impact on the system through journalism, rendering it more fair, effective, transparent and humane.

The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.

Vera is powered by hundreds of researchers and advocates working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone in the system is treated with dignity.

The Bail Project strives for a more perfect justice system, one that works for all people no matter their race or wealth. By providing free bail assistance to those in need, we restore the presumption of innocence, reunite families, and gather evidence for change. By advocating for better policies, we seek to take money out of justice and to create a pretrial system that is more just, equitable, and humane.

Get Informed

Fact Sheet

As of 2019, the American criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in prisons, jails and correctional facilities.
Prison Policy Initiative
The US prison population has increased by 500% over the past 40 years.
The Sentencing Project
76% or the people who go to jail throughout each year have not been convicted of a crime. Some have been arrested and will make bail in a few hours or days, but others are too poor to make bail and remain behind bars until their trial.
Prison Policy Initiative
Approximately 10,000 American youths are detained or incarcerated in adult jails and prisons. Studies show that youth held in adult facilities are 36 times more likely to commit suicide and are at the greatest risk of sexual victimization.
National Juvenile Justice Network

33% of Black men can expect to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with 17% of Hispanic men and 6% of white men.
Huffpost
Black male offenders received on average 19% longer sentences than similarly situated white male offenders.
U.S. Sentencing Commission
45% of all Americans have had an immediate family member incarcerated.
Prison Policy Institute
At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. These companies include Microsoft, AT&T, Dell, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Nordstrom’s, Target and many more.
Global Research
Formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public.
Prison Policy Initiative

Resources, Publications, & Articles

· Prison Legal News

· Prison Reform Trust

· U.S. Department of Justice Archives

· RAND Corporation

· Howard League for Penal Reform

· United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Some Major Prison Reform
Challenges in 2022...

Human rights considerations
Imprisonment and poverty
Public health consequences of imprisonment

Detrimental social impact
Cost of imprisonment
Punishment vs rehabilitation

Get Involved

Ways to Take Action

Make Your Voice Heard

Help end mass incarceration by letting your representatives know that you stand for responsible criminal justice policies.

Join Local Efforts

Interested in connecting with reform efforts near you? The Sentencing Project’s directory provides contact information for their state and local allies in criminal justice research and advocacy.

Support Organizations focused on Prison Reform

There are quite a few organizations and charities focused on Prison Reform. One of the best ways to get involved is to join their movement and help support them. Below is a few organizations but there are many more out there and we encourage you to go out and look for one that you support.

Center for Employment Opportunities

Anti-Recidicism Coalition

Criminal Law Reform Project

Upcoming Events

Stay Engaged

Recommended Media

THE FARM: LIFE INSIDE ANGOLA PRISON

This nominee for the 1999 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award takes viewers into one of the nation's most infamous correctional facilities: the Louisiana State Penitentiary, America's oldest and largest maximum security prison. Imprisoning nearly 5,000 inmates at the time of filming, it is known as the "Alcatraz of the South" and "The Farm." Over one year, filmmakers followed the stories of six people; among the film's subjects is a 22-year-old arrival who's only just beginning his life sentence and a death row inmate who allows cameras to accompany him as he enjoys his last meal.

Where to Watch: Apple TV+

LOUIS THEROUX: BEHIND BARS

Notable documentarian Louis Theroux takes viewers into the San Quentin State Prison, one of the nation's oldest maximum security prisons. This prison, located in northern California, has housed thousands upon thousands of prisoners since 1852.

Theroux travels to the notoriously overcrowded prison where he, for an astonishing two weeks, embeds himself into the culture there, mixing with both the incarcerated and their guards. Viewers are given a front row seat to the unique society that exists within prison walls, complete with its own rules and customs.

Where to Watch: BBC, Dailymotion

13TH

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as "punishment for crime." DuVernay makes an exceptionally strong case for mass incarceration as modern-day slavery, citing widespread privatization of prisons and prison labor. Featuring public intellectuals like The New Jim Crow author Michelle Alexander, and Angela Davis, "13th" is a punch-in-the-gut viewing experience — but if you find it hard to watch, can you imagine how hard it is to live it?

Where to Watch: Netflix