Missouri is one of two states where a judge can hand down death when juries cannot agree unanimously on a sentence.

In a term marked by rulings limiting immigrants’ rights, the court sided with several other people harmed by the criminal justice system.

The state Supreme Court wants to know how local courts provide lawyers, if any, to poor people after their arrest.

Social worker Justyna Rzewinski saw people with mental illness “deadlocked” in their cells for months without sunlight, human ...

In the spirit of Frederick Douglass’ historic speech, 20 currently and formerly incarcerated Americans explain what Independence Day means to them.

The concept takes into account nonphysical tactics abusers use to trap their partners. But some worry the new laws will hurt ...

Leavenworth, Kansas, is nearly synonymous with prisons. But when CoreCivic announced plans to detain immigrants there, residents pushed back.

This is the latest version of this reporting toolkit. We updated it on May 7, 2025 with preliminary 2024 data. The 2024 figures are preliminary and may change when they are finalized later in 2025.

In a one-page memo issued months into the new policy, prison system officials signaled to county court clerks that they need ...

Earlier this month, Josh J. Smith, who served five years in the federal prison system on drug charges, was tapped to be deputy director at the agency that had locked him up. The Bureau of Prisons ...

Wilkes County, North Carolina, has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic, but local officials have been open to approaches for making the crisis less deadly. They recently embraced a new strategy: a ...