On April 3, Attorney General William Barr sent his now-well known memorandum to Bureau of Prisons...
Empathy & Accountability in the Time of COVID-19
At this historic moment for our country, we need a new, wiser calculus from those who control the...
Decarceration in the Face of a Pandemic
One of the most urgent — and contentious — debates in criminal justice today is over which...
Some Local Juvenile Detention Numbers Drop, While Coronavirus Cases Inside Youth Lockups Climb
Update: As of May 6, 2020, none of the kids in LA County’s juvenile probation camps and halls...
Pregnant 30-year-old Is First Fed Female Prisoner to Die of COVID-19. Her Sister-in-Law Died in Custody 5 Years Before
On Tuesday, April 28, Andrea Circle Bear became the first female federal prisoner to die in custody...
LA County Supes Release $82.7 Million in Frozen Funding to Sheriff, While Telling Him to Cut Cadet Classes and Pause Promotions
Last October, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors paused the LA County Sheriff’s...
Searing New Lawsuit Describes LA County’s Jail System During the COVID-19 Crisis As “An Incubator for Death”
Jail residents repeatedly found themselves placed into close quarters with people who are coughing...
Paycheck Protection Program Leaves Behind Formerly Incarcerated Business Owners
Caliph Muab-El submitted 150 job applications without success after leaving a Wisconsin prison. His...
How a New LA Partnership and Local Organizations Are Working Help to Victims Isolating With Their Abusers
On Friday, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer and LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey...
LA County Supes May Unlock Some of the LASD’s Frozen Spending Power to Help the Department Respond to Coronavirus Needs
In October 2019, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to freeze $143.7 million in LA...
Presenting WitnessLA’s Uncommonly Excellent Justice & Injustice Book Reading List!
Looking for an outstanding reading list for your stay-at-home days? Not a problem. On Friday...
Op-Ed: Reprieves May Be the Smartest Way to Get Virus-Vulnerable People Out Of U.S. Prisons
At its core, the authority to grant reprieves is an emergency power, which is why it may be...
CA Prison Officials Announce First Coronavirus Death as Prison System Surpasses 200 Cases
An unidentified man has died after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak of the virus in a...
Federal Judge Declines to Force CA Prisons to Mitigate COVID-19 Risk, Says CDCR Is Already Taking Appropriate Actions
Update: This story has been updated to reflect coronavirus cases within the CA prison system as of...
Will the CA Supreme Court Agree To Push LA Courts to Release More Kids From County Lockups Due to COVID-19 Dangers?
On Tuesday, April 14, Loyola Law School’s Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, and...
What Policing During the Pandemic Can Tell Us About Crime Rates and Arrests
Social distancing orders in place across the U.S. have added to the long list of low-level offenses...
COVID-19 Arrives at CA’s Department Of Juvenile Justice As A New Report Shines a Light on DJJ’s Chronic Failures
The COVID-19-driven concern about the dangers inherent in congregate facilities like nursing...
Coronavirus Cases in State Prisons Continue to Climb, as Various Strategies Begin to Lower the Prison Population
Update: As of April 15, a total of 150 people — 69 prisoners and 81 CDCR employees —...