The Appeal
@theappeal.org
We are a worker-run newsroom reporting on the harms of the criminal legal system. You can support our work here: https://theappeal.org/donate/ Sign up for our newsletter: https://theappeal.org/newsletter-subscribe/
Danyel Smith has spent more than 20 years in prison for a crime that likely never occurred. Last month, a Georgia judge ordered a new trial in his case, ruling that the evidence used to convict him of shaking his son to death lacked a scientific basis. theappeal.org/danyel-smith...
After More Than 20 Years in Prison, Georgia Man Wins New Trial in “Shaken Baby” Case
A Georgia judge ordered a new trial for Danyel Smith, who was convicted of a crime that may have never occurred.
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As Congress debates a major tool for government surveillance, it's important to remember one of the most pervasive forms of mass surveillance: prison telecoms. theappeal.org/securus-surv...
FISA Section 702 Isn’t the Only Way the Government Spies on Our Communications
Telecom companies also strip privacy en masse from incarcerated people and those who communicate with them.
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Immigrants detained in Delaney Hall have been on hunger and labor strikes since May 22, overcoming retaliation by ICE and GEO Group staff. They've been joined by protesters outside the facility who have faced weeks of police repression. theappeal.org/delaney-hall...
Everyone Has a Role to Play in Supporting the Strike at Delaney Hall ICE Jail
The uprising at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, has become a focal point for broader resistance to ICE.
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An 18-year-old college student lost an eye after a federal agent shot him with a “less-lethal” projectile while he was filming a protest. Weapons like tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber bullets can blind, maim, and kill. Officers continue to use them. theappeal.org/less-lethal-...
A growing national movement for menstrual equity is calling on prisons to ensure menstrual products are freely available for people who menstruate behind bars. theappeal.org/prison-menst...
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.
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Executives at ICE’s biggest contractors donated more than $1.7 million to 168 members of Congress over the 3 most recent election cycles. Find out if your representatives are among them with our new searchable database built in partnership with @inthesetimes.com theappeal.org/congress-ice...
Pennsylvania has one of the largest populations of people serving life without parole sentences in the country—in part due to its onerous process for clemency seekers, which requires unanimous approval from a five-member board. theappeal.org/pennsylvania...
In Pennsylvania, Lifers Face Steep Hurdles Before They Can Ask for Second Chances
Pennsylvania requires unanimous approval from a five-member pardon board before people incarcerated on life sentences can ask for clemency.
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GEO Group CEO George Zoley suggested that selling private facilities directly to ICE could allow the federal government to dodge lawsuits filed by state and local governments seeking to block detention center operations, elizabethweill.bsky.social reports. theappeal.org/geo-group-ic...
In 1996, Maria Montalvo was sentenced to 100 years in prison after a jury convicted her of burning her children to death. Today, her attorneys say the conviction was based on junk science. theappeal.org/maria-montal...
Debunked Arson Science Keeps Mother Imprisoned for Nearly 30 Years, Attorneys Say
Maria Montalvo was convicted of her children's murders in 1996. Her attorneys say it was based on now-discredited forensic testimony.
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Pennsylvania has the nation’s highest per capita rate of people serving life without parole. More than a decade of abolitionist organizing helped pave the way for a state supreme court ruling that could shift the momentum. theappeal.org/pennsylvania...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down Mandatory Life Sentences for Felony Murder
The state's highest court ruled that automatic life without parole sentences for felony murder violated the Pennsylvania constitution.
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California's Gov. Gavin Newsom has touted the "California Model" as a more humane approach to incarceration. Viewed from the ground at San Quentin, it looks more like an expensive rebranding effort to make California prisons appear less inhumane, says Steve Brooks. theappeal.org/california-d...
CA Should Send Prisoners Home Instead of Spending Millions on New Facilities
A new facility celebrated by Gov. Gavin Newsom will disrupt prisoner-led programming and normalize our captivity.
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Under the felony murder doctrine, a person can be convicted of murder even if they didn't kill anyone. In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court ruled that automatic life sentences were unconstitutional; punishments must consider culpability. theappeal.org/pennsylvania...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down Mandatory Life Sentences for Felony Murder
The state's highest court ruled that automatic life without parole sentences for felony murder violated the Pennsylvania constitution.
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For Trans Day of Visibility, Gabriel Arkles spoke to trans people behind bars to learn how they've navigated anti-trans violence in an increasingly hostile environment. theappeal.org/trans-visibi...
Trans People Behind Bars Share How They Are Navigating the Dangers of Visibility
The vitriol of Trump’s anti-trans attacks has stoked anti-trans violence by prison staff and other incarcerated people.
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Aramark is the largest provider of prison food in the country. A lawsuit filed by prisoner in West Virginia alleges that the company intentionally serves inedible meals to drive up sales of expensive snacks. theappeal.org/aramark-west...
Prison Dining Giant Aramark Serves Inedible Food to Drive Commissary Sales, Lawsuit Alleges
Incarcerated people in West Virginia filed a lawsuit arguing that the nation's largest prison food provider violates consumer protections.
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Over the past 25 years, the share of women over age 55 incarcerated in California prisons has grown by 600 percent, costing the state millions to imprison people who pose little risk to public safety. A new report suggests pathways for expanding releases. theappeal.org/incarcerated...
California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons
California’s incarcerated population has aged rapidly over the past 30 years. A new report recommends pathways for release.
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Willie Cunningham nearly died after his appendix burst while he was incarcerated in Pennsylvania's York County Prison. Nurses working for the jail's for-profit healthcare provider told him he just had heartburn, @elizabethweill.bsky.social reports. theappeal.org/york-county-...
He Almost Died From A Burst Appendix. A For-Profit Jail Medical Provider Dismissed It As Heartburn.
A new lawsuit in York County, Pennsylvania, highlights a pattern of allegations of medical neglect by for-profit correctional healthcare company PrimeCare.
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As ICE seeks to turn commercial warehouses across the country into massive detention centers, communities are fighting back, @bdolinar.bsky.social reports: theappeal.org/ice-wants-to...
ICE has jailed journalists as part of its mass deportation campaign. One unintended side effect: firsthand accounts of detention conditions from trained reporters. theappeal.org/ice-incarcer...
Journalists Jailed by ICE Are Revealing the Horrors of Incarceration
The Trump administration’s attacks on journalists have a side effect: further exposing the violence of prisons.
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And in case you missed it, we cataloged the members of Congress who have taken thousands of dollars from private prison companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group. Find out if your rep is among them: theappeal.org/ice-cold-cas...
ICE-Cold Cash: Private Prison Companies and Executives Have Donated Millions to Members of Congress
Find out if your representatives have taken cash from the companies fueling ICE’s mass deportation efforts.
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The Appeal@theappeal.org · 6mo agoIn earnings calls earlier today, investors in GEO Group and CoreCivic criticized ICE. Their chief complaint? ICE's detained population, despite hitting record highs, still isn't large enough. @elizabeth.weill.bsky.social has more: theappeal.org/ice-geo-grou...
In earnings calls earlier today, investors in GEO Group and CoreCivic criticized ICE. Their chief complaint? ICE's detained population, despite hitting record highs, still isn't large enough. @elizabeth.weill.bsky.social has more: theappeal.org/ice-geo-grou...
Despite Increased Profits, Private Prison Companies Want to Cage Even More People
CoreCivic and GEO Group’s investors expressed frustration that ICE’s record immigration detention numbers aren’t high enough.
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Everett Palmer, Jr., died after he was strapped to a restraint chair in York County's jail in 2018. A grand jury made recommendations to prevent similar deaths. Instead of implementing them, York County used the chair 1,295 times—more often any other jail in PA. theappeal.org/york-county-...
In February 2021, seven men sat down to pray in a Missouri prison. Within minutes, guards put them in shackles and covered them in pepper spray. The incident highlights the dangers Muslims face practicing their religion in prison, @khawlanakua.bsky.social reports. theappeal.org/pepper-spray...
Pepper-Sprayed for Praying
A 2021 incident in a Missouri prison illustrates the barriers Muslims face practicing their religion behind bars.
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NEW FROM ME: for @theappeal.org. After a year of: ✅ Sifting through more than 200 pages of records. ✅ Sifting through more than 3,000 court document searches. ✅ Interviewing many sources. ✅ And filing many public records requests. My story is finally published today. theappeal.org/pepper-spray...
Pepper-Sprayed for Praying
A 2021 incident in a Missouri prison illustrates the barriers Muslims face practicing their religion behind bars.
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A record number of people died in ICE detention last year, @mludwig.bsky.social reports for @truthout.org Six more people have died during the first three weeks of 2026 alone. theappeal.org/ice-deaths-d...
Deaths in Detention Warn of Horrors Behind ICE’s Prison Walls
At least 32 people died in ICE jails in 2025. Six more have already died in ICE custody during the first three weeks of 2026.
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Holly Krig, for @truthout.org: “I don’t want ‘justice’ from the shooters — they have none to give. I’d rather make a demand of the death-making institutions: die, dissolve, decay.” theappeal.org/ice-renee-go...
We Can Honor Renee Nicole Good’s Life by Abolishing Death-Making Institutions
Those of us who see ourselves in Renee Good can take this moment to deepen our solidarities with all who are policed.
theappeal.org
New in partnership with @invisible.institute and @phoenixnewtimes.com: Scotty Bach left the Seattle Police Department after an investigation found that he had attended Trump's rally at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Phoenix hired him anyway: theappeal.org/phoenix-poli...
Seattle Investigated a Cop for Attending Trump’s Rally on Jan. 6. Phoenix Hired Him.
Exposing the harms of the criminal legal system and elevating solutions that keep all people safe.
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A New Jersey Supreme Court decision ruled that the controversial "Shaken Baby Syndrome" lacked scientific support, barring testimony about SBS in criminal trials. @elizabethweill.bsky.social examines the potential ripple effects of the decision across the country. theappeal.org/new-jersey-s...
New Jersey Supreme Court Rejects ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’
The first ruling of its kind in the country could give people convicted based on SBS testimony a new shot at freedom.
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There's the investigation I did for @theappeal.org that looked into the invasive surveillance tech police bought w/ state $ under the premise it'd help fight against organized retail theft. Including ALPRs, real-time crime fusion centers, and social media surveillance theappeal.org/shoplifting-...
Cops Used the Shoplifting Panic to Buy Tons of New Equipment
The “shoplifting panic” myth let cops buy facial recognition software, drones, license plate readers, surveillance tech, and more.
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New Jersey’s highest court has banned testimony on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) from the state’s courtrooms. The decision could help unravel wrongful convictions throughout the country. New for @theappeal.org @truthout.org theappeal.org/new-jersey-s...
New Jersey Supreme Court Rejects ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’
The first ruling of its kind in the country could give people convicted based on SBS testimony a new shot at freedom.
theappeal.org
