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The Too-Many Prisoners Dilemma
Prisons are a vast, undercovered but important beat. Why we need more criminal justice coverage
by Dan Froomkin
There’s a growing national consensus that, as Attorney General Eric Holder stated in August, “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law …
by Dan Froomkin
There’s a growing national consensus that, as Attorney General Eric Holder stated in August, “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law …
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More from this issue:
- The Too-Many Prisoners Dilemma, by Dan Froomkin
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Texas Judges Rarely Disciplined, Seldom Publicly, by Matthew Clarke
- Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster, by Kent A. Russell
- The Real Costs of Incarceration in the United States
- Attorney Fees Not Exempt from Disclosure Under California Public Records Act
- PLN Files Censorship Suit Against Nevada DOC
- Traumatic Brain Injury Rate High Among Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Debtors' Prisons Returning to America, by David Reutter
- Hell on Earth: Sexual Victimization of the Criminally Insane, by David Rosen
- China Vows to Finance Incarceration with Public Funds, Not Prison Profits
- Oregon Considers Subsidizing Prison Medical Costs Through Medicaid
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Tennessee Jail
- Federal Justice Grants Favor Prosecution, Law Enforcement Over Indigent Defense
- Texas Prison Population Drops but Savings Evaporate, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Prisoners Paid During Government Shutdown, but Not Prison Guards, by Derek Gilna
- Minnesota Judge Condemns System that Jails Mentally Ill
- GEO Group Pulls out of Mississippi Prisons, by David Reutter
- Gun Found in Segregation Cell at Privately-operated Mississippi Prison
- New York City Jail Chaplain Fined for Accepting Bribe, Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges
- New Exonerations Registry Catalogs Over 2,400 Wrongful Convictions
- New Hampshire Supreme Court Revives Prisoner's Negligence Action
- Prisoners in Texas Jail Providing Less Slave Labor
- Book Review: Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America, by Christopher Zoukis
- Second Circuit: Bankruptcy Automatic Stay is No Excuse for Non-payment of Restitution, by Derek Gilna
- Third Circuit Reverses More Stringent Conditions of Supervised Release, by Derek Gilna
- Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever!, by Alex Friedmann
- Connecticut Supreme Court Reverses FOIA Disclosure of NCIC Printout
- California: No-Gang-Contact Probation Condition Struck Down
- Ninth Circuit: Adam Walsh Detention Doesn’t Toll Term of Supervised Release, by Derek Gilna
- Four West Virginia Officials, including Circuit Court Judge, Face Federal Charges, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Department of Justice Reports Statistics on State Prosecutors, by Matthew Clarke
- Eighth Circuit Upholds North Dakota Transient’s Failure-to-Register Conviction
- California: Enhanced Presentence Conduct Credits Not Available to Defendants Who Committed Crimes Before Statute’s Effective Date
- California: State Not Liable for Failure to Provide Needed Treatment so Long as Medical Care is Summoned
- Philippines Prison Suspends Thriller Dancers
- ICE Directive May Limit Solitary Confinement of Immigrant Detainees, by Derek Gilna
- Denial of Contraceptive Pill to Prisoner States Cause of Action
- Montana Jail Fresh Air/Exercise Lawsuit Certified as Class Action, Then Settles
- Anonymous PREA Hotlines Not So Anonymous
- D.C. Circuit Clears Terrorism Suspect after 11-Year Ordeal, by Derek Gilna
- Audit Reveals Federal Prison Industries Faces Declining Revenue, Job Losses, by Derek Gilna
- Fifth Circuit: No Right to RDAP for Non-citizen Federal Prisoner
- Prison Sentence Imposed for Sole Purpose of Drug Treatment Vacated by Eighth Circuit, by Derek Gilna
- Court Baffled by BOP's Steel-toe Boot Requirement for Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- News in Brief
More from Dan Froomkin:
- The Too-Many Prisoners Dilemma, Nov. 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Federal Court Blocks Idaho Executions Until Media Access Improves, June 1, 2025. Death Row, Access to Media, First Amendment, rights.
- Fourth Circuit Upholds South Carolina DOC Policy Restricting Prisoner Access to News Media, June 1, 2025. Access to Media, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights.
- Understanding Timestamps in Digital Forensics, Jan. 15, 2025. Videotaping, Media, Forensic Sciences.
- Recovering Deleted Messages, Dec. 15, 2024. Media, Forensic Sciences, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Allegheny County Settles Suit, Lifts Media Gag Policy for Pittsburgh Jail Employees, Dec. 15, 2024. Access to Media, Guards/Staff, Gag Order.
- San Quentin Brings in Hollywood, Moves Out California Death Row Prisoners, Dec. 15, 2024. Death Penalty/Death Row, Media.
- Arkansas Sheriff Grilled Over Hit Netflix Show Filmed at Jail, June 1, 2024. Jail Misconduct, Media.
- Fourth Circuit Finds No Defamation for Inaccurate Media Reporting of Criminal Record of Former Federal Prisoner in West Virginia, April 26, 2024. Media, Criminal History, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Defamation.
- New Head of “Constitutional Sheriffs” Calls MLK a “Thug”, Jan. 1, 2024. Racial Discrimination, Media.
- Citing Improvements at Mississippi State Prison at Parchman, Rappers Drop Suit, Oct. 15, 2023. Conditions of Confinement, Media, Tapes/Music.

