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Feature September 26
The Future of Prisons?
Inspired by Germany, South Carolina let prisoners design their own units, write house rules and settle their own disputes. Then came politics.
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A White woman in a gray suit delivers a speech at a podium with the federal Bureau of Prisons logo on it. In the background, an American flag can be seen on the left and the U.S. Department of Justice flag on the right.
News August 4, 2022
She Tried to ‘Humanize’ Prisons in Oregon. Can She Fix the Federal System?
Inspired by European models, the new Bureau of Prisons director built a Japanese garden in one penitentiary and made official language less demeaning. But some are skeptical of lasting reform.
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Inmates watch television at the Missouri River Correctional Center, a minimum-security facility in Bismarck, N.D., which has based some of its programs on those found in a prison in Norway.
News October 31, 2017
I Did It Norway
Some American prisons are singing a European tune.
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA - DECEMBER 19: (Editorial Use Only) Anthony Alvarez (L), age 82, waits for the daily prisoner count while sitting on the floor of his cell at California Men’s Colony prison on December 19, 2013 in San Luis Obispo, California. Alvarez is helped by the Gold Coats, a volunteer care program where healthy prisoners volunteer to take care of elderly prisoners who either need general assistance with mobility and every day life or who also struggle with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The program, the first of it’s kind in the country, has existed for approximately 25 years. According to Alvarez, he has been incarcerated for 42 years due to a series of burglaries, possession of illegal firearms and escapes from county jail. Eventually these convictions led to him getting a life sentence due to three-strike laws. “I never shot anyone,” Alvarez said, “I had the chance but I could never shoot anyone.” Today is Alvarez’s first day being assisted by the Gold Coats; he largely needs help with mobility. Alvarez tries to work out for a few minutes every other day. He says he would like to apply for compassionate release, a program where prisoners are released from prison after being found no longer a threat to society, or if a doctor deems that they are within the last six months of their life. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Justice Lab March 20, 2015
Too Old to Commit Crime?
Why people age out of crime, and what it could mean for how long we put them away.
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