Former Illinois Prisoner Pursuing PhD After 27 Years of Incarceration by When Illinois prisoner J. Le’Dell Pippins, 54, defied the odds to gain acceptance into the University of Iowa’s Ph.D. in Criminology program, it proved a key factor in the decision by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) to commute Pippins’ 30-year …

“More jobs than people”: Prisoners Training to Work on Ohio Infrastructure Projects after Release by With unemployment at historic lows, Ohio is preparing prisoners for jobs after release by offering training in technical skills. In December 2023, the first group of eight state prisoners completed one such program, after training …