PETA’s Cruel and Unusual Crush

PETA’s Cruel and Unusual Crush

The provocative animal rights group PETA famously despises cages. Press statements from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have described birdcages as a “death sentence” for avian pets, likened crating dogs to incarcerating them, and condemned...
The Ultimate Captive Market

The Ultimate Captive Market

Now here’s a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose situation: Three of the contracts Arizona signed with private companies to house its prisoners require 100 percent occupancy. That’s right: If the state fails to send along enough jailbirds to fill all the beds,...
Locking Up Our Future

Locking Up Our Future

Finally, there’s a sign that our national passion for locking up more and more Americans could be subsiding. Our “correctional population” is gradually shrinking after decades of robust growth. We had 2.9 million people behind bars in 2011, down from...
Isolation on Both Ends of the Line

Isolation on Both Ends of the Line

When Martha Wright’s grandson went to prison more than 20 years ago, she learned a stark lesson about the cost of maintaining ties with a family member who is incarcerated. Beyond the isolation and deep wound of being separated from a loved one, there’s...
Our Nation’s Failing Prisons

Our Nation’s Failing Prisons

Prisons now All out of scale, Keeping extra Guys in jail. You can tell there’s good money in prisons these days — Wells Fargo is investing in them. And why not? Since America incarcerates more of its citizens per capita than any other country, jails look...