Author: kanopi

February 26, 2026 The buzz is already underway ahead of this year’s Academy Awards. One nominee for Best Documentary Feature Film may be getting some extra attention here in Alabama. The film “The Alabama Solution” is shining a light on conditions in the state’s prison system. The documentary uses footage shot by inmates and smuggled…

What does it mean to grow up in prison—and come home determined to change the system that confined you? On this episode of Prison to Promise, host Dr. Craig Waleed sits down with Bryan Widenhouse, a formerly incarcerated advocate who spent over 30 years serving a life-without-parole sentence for a crime committed as a teenager.…

Teenagers as young as 12 years old in New York juvenile detention centers are held for prolonged periods in solitary confinement cells without plumbing, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month. A federal  class action lawsuit  filed by the Legal Aid Society and the law firm Jenner and Block alleges that the New York…

January 20, 2026 Lawmakers in Illinois passed legislation requiring prisons to submit annual hospice and palliative care data reports. The new law is designed to improve end-of-life support among incarcerated populations. Read More

In 1998, a new law quietly multiplied the years many people would spend locked up in Illinois prisons.  “Truth-in-sentencing,” a policy passed by the Illinois General Assembly during a wave of “tough-on-crime” laws, promised to create more transparency around prison sentences.  Instead, the policy rolled back opportunities to earn sentence reductions by eliminating or sharply…

A  new HBO documentary  is bringing national attention to the problems behind Alabama’s prison walls, and it was topic of discussion in the state legislature’s joint prison committee. The Wednesday morning meeting was the first time the committee has held a public meeting since the documentary’s release. Some people who attended the meeting wore t-shirts…

Jan. 28, 2026 When we closed the curtain on Gov. Phil Murphy’s tenure, he left behind some big shoes for Gov. Mikie Sherill to step into as her term began. As part of my work, I often speak with government officials who are wary of using their powers to give incarcerated people second chances due…

February 4, 2026 WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years as authorities struggled to keep enough guards on the job, according to a government-funded report to be released on Wednesday. The United States locks away more people than any…

Feb 3, 2026 JEFFERSON CITY — Competing criminal justice philosophies were on display in the Missouri House last week as lawmakers debated bills to help inmates get out of prison sooner and one that would expand the use of mandatory minimum sentences that critics say would keep convicts behind bars longer. Read More

February 4, 2026 An incarcerated person diagnosed with a terminal illness could be released to a care facility or home setting under a bill advanced by an Iowa House subcommittee. House Study Bill 314 would require that each case be reviewed by the Iowa Board of Parole. Victims of the offender could submit input, and…