Of 2 million people incarcerated in the US, 16-24% are diagnosed with a severe/persistent mental illness. A @prisonpolicy.org report "How Forced Hospitalization Expands the Criminal Legal System" examines the drawbacks to criminalizing mental illness. bit.ly/4xkRQFB

Involuntary Commitment: How Forced Hospitalization Expands the Criminal Legal System - Prison Policy Initiative - Felony Murder Elimination Project

Of the 2 million people incarcerated in the US, 16 to 24 percent are diagnosed with a severe/persistent mental illness. A Prison Policy Initiative report "How Forced Hospitalization Expands the Crimin...

bit.ly

Parole and probation extend state control. It's good and necessary to get our people out of jail or prison so they can defend their case. But we've also seen probation officers deny someone the ability to travel out of a ban state to get an abortion, robbing them of basic dignity.

Prison Policy Initiative@prisonpolicy.org · 4mo ago

🚨NEW REPORT: Most people think of probation and parole as pathways away from the carceral system — but that couldn't be further from the truth. New data reveal how community supervision has grown in parallel with mass incarceration and widened the net of social control 🧵

❌ Myth: Guaranteed income creates a disincentive to work ✅ Reality: Guaranteed income actually helps people find suitable and sustainable work that leads to more stable employment:

"Traffic stops as a whole cause extensive psychological and economic harm, with Black and Latino drivers disproportionately stopped, searched, and subjected to use of force."

Traffic Stops Were Already Harmful. ICE Is Making Them Worse.

A decade ago , the killings of Sandra Bland and Philando Castile forced people in the United States to reckon with the harms of traffic stops—especially…

vera.org

Texas Prisoners Are Baking to Death. The State Keeps Saying No to AC. (via @slate.com) https://pulse.ly/qgq4fnepq5

Texas Prisoners Are Baking to Death. The State Keeps Saying No to AC.

A 90-year-old with hypertension could still fail to qualify for a bed with AC.

pulse.ly

Hundreds of girls in the US are confined by the juvenile justice system for “status offenses,” like running away or truancy. Confinement for these offenses is particularly troubling because those behaviors tend to be responses to abuse. More care, less confinement.

In the 1960s, Colorado and several other states eliminated most mental health care beds in its hospitals, shifting toward community-based care. But funding and infrastructure never caught up, and now many people with severe mental illness are held in jail.

The Jail That Replaced Boulder’s Mental Health System   - Bolts

Colorado’s dysfunctional system for restoring competency for defendants with serious mental illness leaves people cycling in and out of jail, where harsh conditions can further erode their mental health.

boltsmag.org

As the U.S. expands criminalization, the situation is particularly dire for folks who struggle with mental illness. One study shows that forced hospitalizations double the risk of being charged with a crime and risk of death by suicide/overdose in the 3 months after discharge:

Older adults who have ever been behind bars are expected to live nearly 6 fewer years than similar peers who have never been incarcerated. Mass incarceration is shaving years off people's lives:

"No such site could be trauma-informed when incarceration itself is inherently traumatic... investment in the jail ultimately reflects the county’s long-term commitment to incarceration."

The Cook County jail’s new $7 million visitation center

Cook County wants to create an oasis inside the infamous jail. But the renovation will do little to address the harm of incarceration itself

chicagoreader.com

Behind bars, pads & tampons are scarce, and the ones sold at commissary cost a fortune. To make matters worse, menstruation is treated as misconduct: Bleeding through uniforms can lead to severe punishment.

Bleeding Behind Bars Is Extra Grim When Prisons Fail to Offer Menstrual Products

Twenty-two states have laws requiring prisons to provide free menstrual products, but not all of them do.

truthout.org

While Americans struggle to buy groceries, ICE is burning through nearly $14,430,000 per day on the detention of 65,000 people.

ICE's deportation agenda wouldn't be possible without the help of local police. Take a look at Florida, which requires local law enforcement to collaborate with federal agents. As a result, the state has had much higher rates of immigration-related arrests:

Being stopped by the police is difficult for everyone. If you are deaf, the experience can be worse. Here's what to do when dealing with police as a deaf person: https://www.acludc.org/know-your-rights/deaf-rights-what-do-when-dealing-police/

Deaf Rights - What to Do When Dealing with Police KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: DEAF RIGHTS- WHAT TO DO WHEN DEALING WITH THE POLICE| ACLU of DC ACLU-DC

Being stopped by the police is difficult for everyone. If you are deaf, the experience can be worse. Learn more about how law enforcement can effectively work with deaf and hearing impaired citizens i...

acludc.org

Thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children could lose their lawyers beginning Friday as federally funded contracts supporting them are set to expire, prompting advocates to warn that the move will leave vulnerable minors to face deportation proceedings frightened and alone.

Thousands of Migrant Kids Are Set to Lose to Legal Representation

Expiration of federally funded contracts will leave some 20,000 children to face deportation proceedings alone.

truthout.org

Disability Pride Month may be ending, but the U.S.'s rampant criminalization & incarceration of people with disabilities remains a crisis. People with disabilities are overrepresented at all stages of the criminal legal system, from jail and prison to probation and parole.

California prisons restrict access to food and communication for people accused of breaking rules. “How does cutting off access to writing paper and stamps and food reduce violence?” asks a lawyer representing prisoners with mental health issues.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Solitary Reforms in California - Bolts

California officials dial back the minor reforms they

boltsmag.org

A reminder on the 61st anniversary of Medicaid: Expanding public benefits is good for public safety. Expanding Medicaid ➡️ fewer arrests

👉 In 2024, there were fewer than 100,000 federal bookings. 📈 Now, the Trump admin projects that in 2027 it will book 250,000 people into jail — with a primary focus on immigration-related criminal charges. This rapid expansion of the federal system makes us all less safe.

"The latest in a decades-long pattern of redesigns that promise humanity without addressing the harm of incarceration itself." This "oasis" is nothing more than a multi-million-dollar attempt to rebrand carceral harm as care.

The Cook County jail’s new $7 million visitation center

Cook County wants to create an oasis inside the infamous jail. But the renovation will do little to address the harm of incarceration itself

chicagoreader.com

"Unsanitary food and water, lack of medical care, widespread physical abuse... along with racist abuse and a complete absence of justice and due process" ICE spends $14 million PER DAY on detention, and its facilities are still hellscapes rife with abuse.

Hunger strikes spreading in ICE jails amid due process violations, advocates say

Immigrant rights advocates say more detainees are risking their lives to protest inhumane conditions and legal rights violations

prismreports.org

1 in 61 people nationwide are under some form of correctional control — and the vast majority of them are on probation or parole. Mass punishment in the U.S. is off the charts, even in "progressive" states.

Federal agents have killed 4 people this month. These shootings aren't isolated tragedies—they are the predictable consequence of a public safety strategy that prioritizes arrests and political spectacle over actual safety, accountability, and human life.

Out-of-Control Federal Law Enforcement Is Undermining Public Safety

This month, agents of the federal government, including the National Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Immigration and Customs…

vera.org

This latest episode of Rattling the Bars is based on a report by @prisonpolicy.org, whose indispensable research provides insight and clarity on how to organize against the prison-industrial complex. Thanks to Sarah Staudt for authoring it! www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2026/03...

Bad Omens: Reform rollbacks in Washington D.C. are a warning sign for state-level advocates

Bills in Congress that repeal bail reform, worsen mandatory minimums, and further criminalize youth threaten to undo decades of criminal legal system reform in D.C.

prisonpolicy.org

The Real News Network@therealnews.com · last wk.

Cash bail, mandatory minimums, incarcerating children as adults—the Trump-led GOP is destroying decades of criminal justice reforms for “tough on crime” policies that are not only cruel but objectively don’t work. @rattlingthebars.bsky.social therealnews.com/republicans-...

As usual, essential reading from @prisonpolicy.org. Particularly of note is their explanation of how "ICE detention" can't be easily separated from local jails, which are contracting to house immigrant detainees all the time. It's all one, awful, hellish system.

Prison Policy Initiative@prisonpolicy.org · last wk.

🚨NEW: Pres. Trump's belligerent use of policing and prosecutions has already left its mark on the federal system. Over the last two years, federal incarceration and detention have grown by 12%, with immigration detention and prosecution being a main driver. 🧵

"The system uses isolation as its ultimate weapon of control... they wield it against anyone who dares to maintain their dignity or fight for basic human rights" Incarcerated writers @kwanetaharris.bsky.social & @chriswblackwell.bsky.social on the torturous reality of solitary:

“Designed to Break You:” Two Incarcerated Writers on the Heavy Toll of Solitary Confinement

The authors of a new book on solitary answer your questions about their experiences with isolation and the movement to end the torturous practice.

boltsmag.org

thread

Prison Policy Initiative@prisonpolicy.org · last wk.

🚨NEW: Pres. Trump's belligerent use of policing and prosecutions has already left its mark on the federal system. Over the last two years, federal incarceration and detention have grown by 12%, with immigration detention and prosecution being a main driver. 🧵

🚨NEW: Pres. Trump's belligerent use of policing and prosecutions has already left its mark on the federal system. Over the last two years, federal incarceration and detention have grown by 12%, with immigration detention and prosecution being a main driver. 🧵

Since the 1980s, the number of people confined by the federal government has exploded by 631%. So much for the "land of the free."

36 years ago today, the #AmericansWithDisabilitiesAct was signed into law. This historic legislation made progress in many aspects of life, but (perhaps unsurprisingly) the criminal legal system continues to fail people with disabilities every day.🧵