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Primarily provides prison pen pal services, with various subscription levels and rates.

Provides free prisoner penpal listings when posted by family members or friends, or $5 per listing if posted by site staff. Death row prisoners can always post free penpal ads.

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This site, maintained by the Canadian Foreign Affairs and International Trade Dept., provides information for Canadian citizens who are imprisoned in other countries.

The AFSC, founded by the Quakers in 1917, is a national advocacy group that includes economic justice as one of their main issue areas. In the criminal justice context this encompasses the death penalty, police abuses and prison reform. There are AFSC offices nationwide and overseas.

Black and Pink is a supportive resource site for GLBT prisoners that includes Pen Pals, news reporting and a blog by founder Jason Lydon, a Unitarian minister who was arrested and jailed for protesting at a military base.

The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition is a statewide network of over 100 organizations and faith communities and nearly 5,000 individuals united to stop prison expansion and mass incarceration in Colorado.

FedCURE is a chapter of National CURE that deals with issues specifically related to federal prisons and prisoners. Current issues include reinstating federal parole, increasing good time, restoring PELL grants, and reentry issues. They publish the FedCURE Newsletter.

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The Federal Prison Policy Project is dedicated to reforming the federal prison system. Their goals include eliminating mandatory minimums, monitoring the actions of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), encouraging rehabilitation efforts, revising the U.S. sentencing guidelines, and promoting alternative/diversionary sentencing.

The MBWCP seeks the release of battered women convicted of killing or defending themselves and their children against an abusive partner.

National CURE is a grassroots membership organization that believes that prisons should be used only for those who absolutely must be incarcerated, and that those who are incarcerated should have all of the resources they need to turn their lives around.

This is a national educational group that brings together organizations and individuals to raise awareness and provide support and advocacy to prisoners suffering from Hep C and HIV/HCV coinfection.

The Prison & Jail Accountability Project of the Texas ACLU monitors prison and jail conditions , is dedicated to making prisons and jails safe and humane, and fights to open the prison system to public scrutiny.

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Prisoner Solidarity serves as a catalyst for communication between prisoners and people on "the outside." It publishes updated research, news, opinion pieces and educational material from activists, writers, prisoners and the concerned public. Emphasis on justice-related issues in Ohio.

Stop Prison Abuse's goals are to are to make people aware that physical, psychological and medical abuse occurs in U.S. prisons, to convince Congress to investigate conditions within our prisons, and to pass legislation to protect prisoners from abuse.

SPR is an advocacy group dedicated to ending sexual violence against women, men and youths held in all forms of detention, whether such sexual abuse is committed by guards, correctional staff or other prisoners.

The CCIP's mission is the prevention of intergenerational crime and incarceration. They act as a clearinghouse for information related to parents in prison and children of prisoners, and are an excellent resource for that issue.

The National Prison Project of the ACLU seeks to enforce constitutional conditions of confinement and strengthen prisoners' rights through class action lawsuits and public education. The NPP is the only national litigation program on behalf of prisoners.

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The Whitestone Foundation is concerned with issues related to the civil commitment of sex offenders and their treatment. The link is to the Foundation's Yahoo group (must have a free Yahoo account to join).

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Sisters Inside is an independent community organization that exists to advocate for the human rights of women in the criminal justice system in Queensland, and to address gaps in the services available to them. Sisters Inside works alongside women in prison in determining the best way to fulfill these roles.

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Amnesty International advocates for human rights worldwide; their criminal justice-related projects include advocacy against the death penalty, torture, racial profiling and police misconduct, and support for political prisoners.

Critical Resistance is an Oakland, California based national organization dedicated to ending society's use of prisons and policing as an answer to social problems. CR has chapters nationwide.

Human Rights Watch is a human rights organization; they have produced a number of excellent reports on abuses in U.S. prisons, and track prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners around the world.

This is the official website of Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo's ground-breaking 1971 experiment that substantiated the harmful effects on both guards and prisoners after exposure to a prison environment for only a few days.

The University of Minnesota maintains an impressive online library of human rights-related documents, including materials related to torture, detainees, United Nations treaties, etc.

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The Vera Institute of Justice works on immigration, justice, sentencing, corrections and youth justice issues, to effect changes in institutional and societal criminal justice policies.

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Provides extensive information and online services for prisoners -- including personal ads, legal ads, webpages, email accounts, a prison directory with over 1,400 listings, message boards, prison-related articles, etc.

Despite its crude-sounding name, PrisonSucks is an excellent resource for research, books, fact sheets and statistics on issues related to imprisonment. Documentary videos are also available, as well as prison-related music. This site is linked with the Prison Policy Initiative.

Thai Prison Life is a detailed site / blog that details the prison system in Thailand from a prisoner's perspective.

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Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice operates the Justice Project, which will consider cases of wrongful conviction in Arizona ONLY.

Forejustice, a companion site to Justice Denied, includes a database of exonerated prisoners, articles book reviews and audio clips on wrongful convictions. Created in the spirit of The White Rose to increase justice in the world.

The Innocence Project at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York handles only cases of actual innocence provable by DNA testing. The Project has been instrumental in freeing dozens of prisoners who were wrongly convicted. The site also contains detailed information on why wrongful convictions occur, and links to other innocence projects by state.

The Innocence Project Northwest is a non-profit group of attorneys, professors and students working to free innocent prisoners. IPNW will ONLY consider cases from the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho or Montana involving people with substantial claims of actual innocence. The efforts of IPNW attorneys and law students have helped to free 11 innocent prisoners since 1997.

Innocent Inmates Assoc. of Ohio is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the rights of Ohio citizens who have been imprisoned unjustly and publicizing their cases.

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Justice Denied, The Magazine for the Wrongly Convicted, is the only magazine in the world exclusively devoted to publicizing cases of wrongful convictions and how they occur. Extensive information is available on their website, including books and DVDs related to innocence and exonerations.

A comprehensive list of innocence projects and projects related to wrongful convictions are available at forejustice.org.

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The Cornell University Law School maintains this brief overview of prisoners' rights with selected links to related materials.

National

The Office of Defender Services is the federal department that provides training and support for federal public defenders. Their site includes training materials and other publications on habeas, death penalty appeals and federal criminal law.

Pennsylvania

The Lewisburg Prison Project is a non-profit organization that provides legal and other assistance to prisoners in Central Pennsylvania. The LPP is dedicated to the principle that prisoners are persons with incontestable constitutional and human rights who deserve both justice and compassion.

National

The National Center for State Courts has links for state courts and legal services, a huge publications library, and court statistics. The Center operates various projects related to juvenile justice, criminal justice and civil justice.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project provides free legal assistance in civil matters to low-income people who are incarcerated or institutionalized in the state of Pennsylvania.

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Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York is a private, not-for-profit corporation that provides civil legal assistance to indigent prisoners in New York state facilities. PLS has been operating since 1976.

Southern U.S.

The Southern Poverty Law Center handles civil rights cases against hate groups, as well as litigation involving immigration issues, workers' rights, prison conditions and juvenile justice. The SPLC also tracks hate groups nationwide and publishes a quarterly magazine.

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A "Comprehensive Practice Guide to Prison and Parole Law," Third Edition. Written by experienced prison law attorneys, the Handbook's 17 chapters include detailed discussions of the laws governing prisoner rights and the policies and practices of the California DOC (2006 supplement available). Includes many sample forms and pleadings. Sold by the Prison Law Office.

An educational and informational site for federal courts and federal judges.

The Journal of Prisoners on Prisons features peer reviewed, academically-oriented, critical writings of current and former prisoners designed to enlighten public discourse about imprisonment and criminal justice policies and issues.

A publication about public safety and policing, published by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

The Little Red Rules Book is a pocket-size publication containing the Federal Rules of Evidence, some selected Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and some other useful references for use in court published by the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho. The publication contains annotations with case citations. To obtain a copy please send a check or money order for $6.00 payable to the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho; 10 North Post St., Suite 700, Spokane, WA 99201.

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Protecting Your Health and Safety is a 328-page manual designed to help inmates who are not represented by an attorney. It explains the legal rights that inmates have regarding health and safety, including the right to receive medical care and the right to be free from inhumane treatment such as excessive force by prison guards. It also explains to inmates how they can enforce those rights when they are violated. It provides an overview of the legal system, a glossary of legal terms and explains how to file and litigate pro se complaints in federal courts. It does not cover criminal matters. Published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and available from PLN in book form (click the "Book Store" tab on our home page).

The Citebook contains many hundreds of positive caselaw citations related to dozens of areas of civil and criminal law. A new edition is published each year. Is a unique and valuable legal research resource for prisoners, particularly those that don't have access to a law library. Also available through PLN.

The Prisoner's Guide to Survival is a comprehensive legal assistance manual for prisoners covering post-conviction relief and prisoner's civil rights. 750 pgs (soft cover). $54.95 postage paid for prisoners, $69.95 for non-prisoners.

An annual, comprehensive guide to prisons in England and Wales, edited by Mark Leech.

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Newsletter dealing with prisoner rights. For information please contact: Coalition For Prisoner's Rights Newsletter; PO Box 1911; Santa Fe, NM 87504-1911.

The Corporate Crime Reporter, a weekly print publication with an on-line presence, reports on all things related to white collar corporate crime. Especially read "20 things you should know about corporate crime."

Fortune News is the magazine of The Fortune Society, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about prisons, criminal justice issues and the root causes of crime. They also help ex-offenders and at-risk youth break the cycle of crime and incarceration through a broad range of services. Subscription is free to prisoners.

Graterfriends is a prisoner-oriented newsletter published monthly by the PA-based Prison Society. It includes lots of interesting and useful information about criminal justice matters, with a focus on Pennsylvania.

Hepatitis C Awareness News is the bi-monthly newsletter of the HepatitisC Awareness Project. It contains useful information related to Hepatitis C and prisoners, including its diagnosis and treatment. There is no charge for this newsletter, but donations are appreciated.

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The National Prisoner Resource List is published quarterly by the Prison Book Program (although the latest version available is dated Dec. 2006). It contains numerous informational resources available for U.S. prisoners; however, some of the information may be dated. Note that the link will open a .pdf file.

The Nebraska Criminal Justice Review is a quarterly publication, available from the Archdiocese of Omaha, that strives to improve public understanding of the criminal justice system in Nebraska and the needs of offenders and victims.

The Nuclear Resister is a bi-monthly newsletter published since 1980 that provides information for and about imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists.

The Razor Wire is an excellent newsletter published quarterly by the November Coalition. It predominantly deals with issues related to the war on drugs and sentencing reform.

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A practical guide to state and federal habeas corpus under the AEDPA; useful information on habeas issues, with an emphasis on California. Published by Kent Russell, an attorney in San Francisco.

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The Prison Pipeline radio show broadcasts every Tuesday at 6:30pm West Coast time on KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland, Oregon. The program is broadcast live world-wide over the Internet at www.kboo.org. You will need to have either RealPlayer or WinAmp installed on your computer to listen to KBOO over the Internet.

Ray Hill's "The Prison Show" has been broadcast on Houston Pacifica radio station KPFT (90.1 FM) weekly since March 1980. You can tune in on Friday nights at 9 p.m. CST; previous shows are archived on the website.

Thousand Kites is sponsoring the "Calls from Home" radio show, which is a one-hour program that lets family members send greetings to their incarcerated loved ones. It will be recorded on Dec. 13, 2007 and available on their website soon afterwards.

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This on-line guide to the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) contains plenty of useful details on how to file FOIA requests. Provided by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Government Attic.org provides access to federal documents that have been obtained through FOIA requests -- many are related to law enforcement and the military.

This site, which is part of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press site, includes a complete compendium of information on every state's open records and open meetings laws. Each state's section is arranged according to a standard outline, making it easy to compare laws in various states.

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The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents offers a comprehensive site for information about incarcerated parents, with an emphasis on the prevention of intergenerational crime and incarceration. They sponsor a variety of projects and programs dealing with incarcerated parents and offer an extensive catalog of research papers and publications on this topic.

Families for Fairness advocates for prisoners who committed sex offenses when they were teenagers (e.g., statutory rape), in an effort to bring fairness to the punishment imposed on such offenders.

Family and Corrections Network is an advocacy group for prisoners' families. FCN has information about children of prisoners, parenting programs for prisoners, prison visiting, incarcerated fathers, hospitality programs and related topics. They have an extensive publication list, a list of reading materials for children and incarcerated parents, resources for service providers and numerous links to family-related prison projects.

Forever Family (formerly AIM) is a service organization based in Georgia (with chapters in other states). The agency assists incarcerated mothers, their children and other family members in maintaining critically important family ties during the mother's incarceration.

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) offers a comprehensive site dealing with issues involving incarcerated parents, families and children of prisoners, and women prisoners. Their focus is on women prisoners and their families, as well as prisoners rights. Publications available through their site include the Incarcerated Parents Manual, which is highly recommended.

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Site for the film "Prison Lullabies," a documentary about four women who gave birth while they were incarcerated. Ordering information, media kits and outreach links are available.

Save Kids of Incarcerated Parents (SKIP) has chapters in several states; the organization provides supportive services to children of incarcerated parents and their families, and seeks to increase public awareness of the underlying problems these children face.

Site for the film "When the Bough Breaks," which reveals how incarceration impacts the children in three families. Ordering information and information about mothers in prison is available on their site.

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This section of the ACLU's National Prison Project website is related to legal cases/lawsuits and issues involving women prisoners.

Amnesty International's Women in Prison Fact Sheet page includes information on sexual assault, sentencing, medical neglect and more.

A project of the Women's Prison Association (which offers services and programs in New York), the Institute on Women & Criminal Justice fosters dialog, research and information about criminal justice-involved women, their families and communities, and offers a publication list, training manuals and fact sheets.

Women and Prison tells stories of women's experiences in the criminal justice system, and "serves as a dedicated space for prisoners, those previously incarcerated, activists, students, academics and everyone who strives for social justice."

Information page maintained by prisonactivist.org on issues related to incarcerated women (includes links to useful articles and other resources).

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A project of the Correctional Association of New York, the Women in Prison Project provides services, programs and advocacy in New York state, and offers useful fact sheets on women-in-prison issues.

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This site, related to California's Proposition 83 (Jessica's Law), which imposes restrictions on sex offenders, maintains a collection and archive of news articles on this topic.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums is the premiere organization for information, advocacy and research on federal mandatory minimum sentences (plus info on state sentencing issues, too). FAMM publishes the FAMM-gram newsletter, a print publication.

Families to Amend California's Three Strikes is an organization specifically dedicated to amending California's "Three Strikes" law to ensure it is narrowly applied to violent offenders. This site is a good source for statistics, stories of petty crimes resulting in life sentences, etc.

Considered one of the best sources for research and information on sentencing policies, alternative sentencing, felon disenfranchisement and related issues. Affiliated with the National Association of Sentencing Advocates (NASA), a membership organization dedicated to the promotion of fair, humane and equitable sentencing.

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Referrals to agencies that deal with wrongful convictions; the President of Innocent!, Doug Tjapkes, was involved in the exoneration of Maurice Carter.

Excellent source for information on wrongful convictions; based in Illinois and a project of Northwest University School of Law.

Advocacy organization that works to free innocent people who have been wrongly sentenced to life or received a death sentence. They have numerous success stories to their credit.

This section of the DPIC site specifically addresses wrongful convictions resulting in death sentences. There have been over 120 cases of innocent defendants sentenced to death since 1973.

News articles, case studies and an extensive database of people who were wrongfully convicted, plus a listing of Innocence Projects and other resources.

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Publishes a print newsletter for those who are wrongly convicted, including self-help and pro se legal information. Advocates for the wrongly convicted and innocent.

Information about wrongly imprisoned people both in the U.S. and internationally. Hosts a number of discussion forums.

Comprehensive information on cases of innocence (including an extensive database). Publishes the "Justice Denied" magazine for the wrongfully convicted.

The primary site for the original Innocence Project (at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law), with links to other Innocence Project chapters. Case profiles, causes and remedies of wrongful convictions, and much, much more on this topic.

An educational organization that educates the public regarding the vulnerabilities in the U.S. criminal justice system that make the criminal conviction of wholly innocent persons possible.

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Abu Ghraib / Iraq torture and abuse,Torture (restraint chairs, tasers, asphyxia, etc.)

Salon has posted a collection of Abu Ghraib photos and video clips, arranged by category.

Torture (restraint chairs, tasers, asphyxia, etc.)

Link to the American Friends Service Committee's 2001 report on torture in U.S. prisons.

Abuse and Violence

The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's prisons is a national effort to clarify the nature and extent of violence, sexual abuse, degradation, and other serious safety failures and abuses in U.S. prisons and jails through public hearings.

Sexual Abuse & Rape

Extensive report by Human Rights Watch on male rape in U.S. prisons. (2001)

Sexual Abuse & Rape

Formerly Stop Prisoner Rape, this is the premiere advocacy organization and information center on the problem of prison rape (both male and female rape). Offers a resource guide for rape survivors, numerous publications and other resources.

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Sexual Abuse & Rape

Home page for the commission that was involved with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (which has since been signed into law).

This is a joint project by the National Institute of Corrections and the Washington College of Law that provides training to corrections staff on the issue of sexual misconduct and abuse.

Abuse and Violence

Site dedicated to profiles of prisoners who have died in custody, often from abuse by guards or medical neglect.

Torture (restraint chairs, tasers, asphyxia, etc.)

Articles, scholarly papers and other information on deaths caused by restraint asphyxia (positional suffocation); some articles on tasers, too.

Sexual Abuse & Rape

Informative article posted on Slate about prison rape, by Robert Weisberg, Professor of law at Stanford Law School, and David Mills, a senior lecturer at Stanford Law School (with rebuttal by SPR).

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Stinger Systems sells a Taser-like stun gun, stun restraint device and stun shield for law enforcement use.

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Weekly radio show that reviews police misconduct, abuse and corruption from news reports (includes list of stations that air the show).

Citizen initiative (with chapters in many cities) to "police the police." Maintains a database of police abuse/misconduct and sponsors discussion forums.

Information and resources related to civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies.

A project of the National Lawyers Guild; includes a list of civilian review boards and other resources.

Excellent site on police abuse, with numerous "caught on tape" incidents. Offers fee-based services for investigations of alleged police misconduct. Run by a former police officer.

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Site devoted to citizen rights, police brutality and misconduct, filing complaints against officers, etc.

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Activist organization seeking an end to control units; site includes a petition, national news, a history of control units, etc. A project of the Maoist Internationalist Movement.

Link to the American Friends Service Committee's report on control units/supermax facilities (2003).

The StopMax site is working to promote and support a national movement to end the use of solitary confinement and related forms of torture in US prisons.

Part of the prisonactivist.org site devoted to control units - what they are, conditions in control units, groups working against them, etc.

Informative site on Pelican Bay State Prison, the notorious California suprmax facility.

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StopMax is a project of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which works to end solitary confinement, which is often the norm in supermax facilities.

News, reports and profiles on supermax prisons.

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Information page for the Federal Bonding Program, which provides free fidelity bonds to employers as an incentive to hire ex-prisoners.

This site, maintained by the Dept. of Justice, profiles prisoner reentry grant programs and resources. A number of downloadable publications related to reentry and recidivism are also available.

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The site for Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety. Works to address the needs of "Inmates & Victims, Children and the Prison Reform Community," with an emphasis on California, where they are based.

This is the site for the Prison Moratorium Project, which works on prison and criminal justice issues, including stopping the "school to prison pipeline."

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The ABA's Death Penalty Moratorium Project seeks to obtain a nationwide moratorium on executions until the death penalty process can be administered in a fair and constitutional manner.

The Campaign to End the Death Penalty has local chapters that focus on the problems and shortcomings of capital punishment, with the aim of abolishing the death penalty.

Provides extensive information on all aspects of the death penalty - including cases of innocence, research, a database of executions, news reports and other resources.

National advocacy organization opposed to capital punishment. Issues execution alerts, publishes a newsletter, and offers fact sheets and research on the death penalty.

This site addresses juveniles who have been sentenced to death in Iran, despite Article 37(a) of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits such capital sentences under international law.

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The Drug War Clock site provides a running tally of the cost of the War on Drugs, including money spent by the government and citizens arrested and imprisoned.

Plenty of useful information on this topic and an enormous index of drugwar-related articles, plus a large number of relevant links.

Self-explanatory advocacy/educational organization.

Site devoted to everything you could possibly want to know about the War on Drugs and its effect on our society. They publish the Razor Wire.

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AllLaw.com is a general resource site for legal issues, with a variety of subject areas for both consumers and legal professionals.

Legal Advocacy Organizations

The ACLU National Prison Project is involved in prison-related litigation nationwide, often through class-action lawsuits, and also advocates for criminal justice policy reform.

The Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collects information and documents from civil rights cases in a variety of subject categories, including prison conditions, jail conditions, policing, juvenile facilities, and election/voting rights.

Legal research / case law

A low-cost paid subscription legal research site devoted exclusively to criminal law, with some information on prison legal issues, too.

Legal research / case law

FindLaw provides a comprehensive set of legal resources legal professionals, businesses, students and individuals. These resources include Web search utilities, state and federal cases and codes, legal news, an online career center, message boards and even free e-mail.

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Jailhouse lawyers / lawyering

Description and purchasing information for "A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual," which is an excellent resource for doing prison litigation. Two-volume set, also available in Spanish.

Legal Advocacy Organizations

The Prisoners' Rights Project advocates for constitutional and humane conditions of confinement for prisoners in the New York City and State correctional systems.

Legal research / case law

Provides a look-up service for locating attorneys.

Legal Advocacy Organizations

The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy organization dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system; members include lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers. They sponsor a Jailhouse Lawyers project and a Prison Law Project (New York).

Legal research / case law

Multimedia project that maintains audio files of select U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments.

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Legal Advocacy Organizations

A non-profit public interest law firm that litigates prison-related issues in California. They offer a variety of prisoner legal self-help materials on their site.

This Washington University Law website includes links to grievances policies for all state prison systems and a number of jails.

Legal research / case law

This page includes a number of scholarly articles/studies on prisoner litigation by Margo Schlanger, Professor of Law at Washington University.

Legal research / case law

Easily accessible U.S. Supreme Court decisions (full text) from 1791 to 2004. Plus blogs on the Supreme Court and Constitutional rights.

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Link page maintained by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) for media access rules for state prison systems.

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Extensive information about "The Rock," including escape attempts, rules and regulations, famous prisoners and historical background.

Site about the Eastern State Prison in Philadelphia, PA, which was built in 1821 and is is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Includes links to other prison museums worldwide.

This site contains an archive of text and images related to corrections/prison history in New York.

Virtual pictoral tour of this famous island prison.

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This site offers support to familes and friends of those incarcerated in the Illinois DOC, though forum discussions.

Prison Talk Online provides a number of useful forum discussion boards on everything prison and corrections-related. Very helpful for prisoners' families who want to share and learn.

This well-known and well-regarded site describes itself as an "online magazine with liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news."

This is a great informational blog site with news reports about prison and immigration-related issues in Texas.

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Opposition to Prison Privatization

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) maintains a site about corrections workers, which includes information against prison privatization. A publication titled "Don't be a prisoner to empty promises" is available in the AFSCME privatization section.

Company Sites

APCTO is an industry special-interest group for for-profit prison companies and companies that provide prison-related services.

Company Sites

Site for the company newsletter of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), which is distributed to "customer agencies, elected officials and other external audiences."

Company Sites

This is the corporate site for Cornell Companies, Inc., one of the larger private prison operators in the U.S.

Opposition to Prison Privatization

CorpWatch has a number of good articles on prison privatization, both through their research section and the privatization issue page. For example, try doing a site search for "CCA."

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Company Sites

Corporate website for CCA, the nation's largest private prison company.

Company Sites

Corporate site for the Geo Group (formerly Wackenhut Corrections).

Opposition to Prison Privatization

Grassroots Leadership, a civil rights organization, is involved in the fight against the nations largest private prison proposed to be built in Memphis, Tennessee. Their site contains other information and resources about prison privatization, with an emphasis on private prisons in the southern U.S.

Company Sites

Corporate site for Management & Training Corporation (private prison operator).

Private Prison Research / Information

Monitors prison privatization news both in the United States and internationally. Publication and back issues available online. One of the best sources for international prison privatization news coverage.

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One-stop clearinghouse for information about the private prison industry with a state-by-state listing of news and events, company rap sheets, reports and studies, etc. Assists communities and groups opposed to prison privatization.

Tennesseans Against Puryear is a site coordinated by PLN associate editor Alex Friedmann, which opposes the judicial nomination of Gustavus A. Puryear IV, general counsel of Corrections Corp. of America (CCA). Mr. Puryear has been nominated for a lifetime appointment to the federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee, the same jurisdiction where CCA is headquartered.

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This site, by the International Centre for Prison Studies, provides numerical data for the highest and lowest prison populations in various categories in different regions worldwide, with excellent data on international prison systems.

Jail Media provides informational web pages about individual jails (e.g., the Maricopa, AZ jail;, the Sacramento, CA County jail, etc.). This link is for the list of individual jail web sites they maintain.

Conferences, meetings and panel discussions

Held in April 2006 in Austin, TX, the "Opening Up a Closed World" conference, which addressed the need for accountability and transparency in corrections systems, focused on effective prison oversight. This was an invitation-only gathering that included the top names in the criminal justice field, including federal judges, DOC directors, prisoners' rights activists and representatives from a variety of agencies including the ACA and ACLU. The three-day event included frank discussions about the closed world of prisons and how effective oversight could be achieved.

Public Resource.org maintains links to government public information sites and documents.

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) website provides detailed evaluations and data on an ongoing reentry study conducted in conjunction with the Urban Institute.

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The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is a treasure trove of data related to crime, corrections and criminal justice in the United States. This site maintains the data from the last Sourcebook published.

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Cellblock Visions, a site maintained by Phyllis Kornfeld, provides a gallery of prison art and information about art behind bars.

This site, hosted by PrisonsFoundation.org, has free downloadable music by the Sobin Guitar Trio, which features ex-prisoner Dennis Sobin. The music can also be ordered on CD.

The Robben Island Singers are composed of three South African former political prisoners who were incarcerated on Robben Island. They perform stories, songs and discussions regarding forgiveness and building community.

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4Struggle Magazine focues on U.S. political prisoners, and publishes 3 times a year. While this is primarily an e-publication, hard copies are available, too (free for prisoners).

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AntiPolygraph.org has everything you want to know about why polygraph tests are unreliable and "bad science"; includes a section on polygraph-related litigation.

ARC provides information and consultation regarding firearms, ammo, explosives, ballistics and related forensics sciences.

This site, operated by Charly D. Miller, who is a consultant and expert witness, contains a wealth of information on the issue of positional asphyxiation and asphyxiation while in restraints -- which are often involved in jail and prison cases where prisoners die after being restrained or subjected to use of force.

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The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programs partners college students with prisoners in mutually-beneficial, hands-on educational courses that discuss criminal justice-related issues. This site is for the Inside-Out program at Temple University; other programs have been started at other colleges.

School to Prison discusses how children are channeled from schools into the criminal justice system, e.g., through disciplinary expulsions, alternative education programs and interaction with the juvenile justice system, with the goal of finding solutions to this problem.

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Detention as Business is an excellent and informative site that profiles CCA's involvement in the immigration detention business, from financial and political connections with the federal government to stock trends and an increasing number of ICE contracts. Includes multimedia, audio and graphs.

Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a broad coalition of groups that works to educate the public and policy makers about the U.S. immigration detention and deportation system, and to advocate for humane reform of immigration detention and policies. An excellent source of information and materials for those interested in immigration detention issues.

This site, maintained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), lists the agency's standards f