Prison Policy Initiative

Shaming doesn't prevent crime. by Wendy Sawyer and Leah Wang, August 10, 2026 As anyone who cares about mass incarceration knows, bad policies often spread faster than the facts, especially when their rhetoric targets deep-seated fears. There may be no better example of such upside-down policymaking than conviction-based public registries, starting — but not ending — with sex offense registries.

Marci will work with the Prison Policy Initiative team to create social videos that expose the harms of mass incarceration in America. by Regan Huston, August 6, 2026 We are excited to welcome our new Creator-in-Residence, Marci Marie Simmons! This is the second installment of the Prison Policy Initiative’s Creator-in-Residence program.

Spotlight on overlooked problems with federal detention The rapid growth of federal detention also comes at a steep financial cost. ICE spends about $222 a day to detain each person in custody — much more than it costs to incarcerate someone in a federal prison or within the U.S. Marshals detention network, to supervise them, or to release them.17 Yet reports abound of abuse and cruelty, inedible food, and medical neglect in ICE detention and in federal prisons.

An updated table of state-by-state data shows that medical parole (also known as compassionate release) is used so sparingly that very few people are actually released this way. by Emily Widra, July 22, 2026 In almost every state, there are laws on the books offering a way out of prison for people who are seriously or terminally ill.

Civil and criminal courts both mandate the detention of people for extended — and often indefinite — periods of time in state hospitals, essentially extending the already-long arm of the criminal legal system.

Nearly 19,000 people in federal prisons experienced heat-related illnesses between 2022 and 2025. A new bill is looking to change that. by Emmett Sanders, July 16, 2026 On Thursday, July 8, 2026, U.S. Congresswoman Alma S. Adams of North Carolina and Congresswoman Lucy McBath of Georgia introduced the Extreme Temperature Injustice in Prisons Act.

While 17 states and D.C. have taken discretionary parole off the table for most or all incarcerated people, they still have other forms of parole and conditional release that could safely release many more people from prison. Here, we examine these slimmed-down parole systems and other release mechanisms, and show they are not wildly different from states still using discretionary parole.

HB 338 would end access to higher education for people in maximum security prisons in Ohio, making prisons less safe and worsening outcomes after release. by Sarah Staudt, June 16, 2026 On June 10, 2026, the Prison Policy Initiative submitted written testimony in the Ohio Senate Legislature in opposition to HB 338, also known as “Andy’s Law”. The bill claims to promote safety in prisons, but instead is counterproductive.

Two recent studies authored by Professor Carmen Gutierrez and her colleagues show that prior incarceration is associated with various geriatric health conditions and reduced life expectancy later in life.

by Sarah Staudt, June 4, 2026 Protecting family connections and bonds with loved ones during incarceration is one of the most important and, increasingly, one of the most difficult things advocates can do. Contact visitation, handwritten cards and letters, and regular phone calls improve mental health outcomes for both people in prisons and the families who love and support them.