United States of America
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country. This is a short description of prison conditions on a national scale.
USA: cleaning supplies are so scarce at this arizona prison, detainees are using shampoo and menstrual pads, lawsuit says
The plaintiffs want an independent expert to assess whether the facility has implemented social distancing measures, testing procedures, and hygiene practices adequate enough to reasonably protect detainees from contracting COVID-19 while in custody.USA: COVID-19 takes a hidden toll behind bars
COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in U.S. jails and prisons, but testing of inmates and staff remains spotty and many confirmed cases are going unreported. The resulting lack of data has deep implications for the fight against the virus, because prison outbreaks can move easily to surrounding communiti…USA: Kim Kardashian est devenue une actrice-clé de la réforme carcérale
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
USA: le Missouri va mener une exécution avec distanciation sociale
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
USA: crime doesn’t pay but prison does, even amidst a pandemic
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As factories and other businesses remain shuttered across America, people in prisons in at least 40 states continue going to work. Sometimes they earn pennies an hour, or nothing at all, making masks and hand sanitizer to help guard others from the coronavirus. Those same men and…USA: el coronavirus se ensaña con las cárceles
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
USA: inside the deadly coronavirus outbreak at Oakdale federal prison
“I just feel like we were all let down,” said one prisoner. At least 39 staff and 113 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a staff source. Alfred Reece says the outbreak began when his teacher got sick. A former accountant serving an 8-year sentence for convictions related…USA: the violent history of Angola prison
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is named after the slave plantation that existed on that land where the prison now stands. Columbia University explains that the plantation took its name from the nation its slaves were taken from: Angola. In 1880, former Confederate Major Samuel James purchased the…USA: what data exists about Native American people in the criminal justice system?
Problems with data collection - and an unfortunate tendency to group Native Americans together with other ethnic and racial groups in data publications - have made it hard to understand the effect of mass incarceration on Native people. The scarcity of data on Native Americans in the U.S. criminal…USA: inmates at N.J. women’s prison endured years of sex abuse, justice dept. finds
WASHINGTON — Inmates at New Jersey’s only state prison for women were regularly sexually assaulted by guards and sometimes forced to engage in sex acts with other prisoners while staff members looked on, according to a Justice Department report released on Monday detailing widespread, pervasive sex…USA: el miedo al coronavirus en las cárceles provoca huelgas de hambre, protestas y motines
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish
USA: la détresse des détenus libérés en pleine pandémie
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
USA: prison outbreak affects health of entire state
Absent immediate action, COVID-19 will overrun Connecticut’s jails and prisons. Connecticut’s Department of Correction has now confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the prison population after announcing that three DOC officers tested positive for the virus last week. This affects us all and the…USA: how Louisiana’s oil and gas industry uses prison labor
This story was published in partnership with Southerly for our Powerlines series, which looks at climate change, justice, and infrastructure in the American South. The series is supported by the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University, and is part of…USA: L.A. County releasing some inmates from jail to combat coronavirus
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is releasing inmates from its jails and cutting down on how many people it books into custody to protect those housed in close quarters from the growing coronavirus pandemic. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said deputies and police officers across the county have…