Prisons
After Inviting Reporters to Outdated Jail, Kenney Kicks Them Out
There must have been a miscommunication, because Mayor Jim Kenney was clearly unhappy to see a small corps of reporters at the House of Correction […]
MacArthur Grant Will Give City Tools to Cut Prison Population
Philadelphia officials gathered Wednesday afternoon at the Criminal Justice Center to officially announce and celebrate a $3.5 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation that will allow the city […]
9 Bold Ideas From Philly’s Plan to Cut the Prison Population
Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration announced today that it has won a $3.5 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation to implement a bold plan to reduce […]
For the First Time, Philly’s Prison System Will Be Led By a Woman
Mayor Jim Kenney just named his new prison commissioner: Blanche Carney, a 21-year veteran of the Philadelphia Prison System. She will be the first woman to head the city’s prison system. […]
Tracking Devices Alone Can’t Fix Philly’s Prison Problem
Our new Mayor, Jim Kenney, has already joined a chorus of voices taking on Philadelphia’s crowded prisons. But one solution the city’s looking toward — electronic monitoring devices — […]
Pope Francis Just Stuck It to the U.S. Prison System
Follow Philadelphia magazine’s live coverage of Pope Francis’s historic visit all weekend long. Pope Francis eloquently criticized the state of the American prison system in a speech […]
Feds Charge Six Philly Prison Guards With Smuggling OxyContin to Inmates
On Wednesday afternoon United States Attorney Zane David Memeger announced charges of attempted extortion and attempted distribution of controlled substances against four current and two […]
Officials: Philly Prison Guard Was Stabbed 12 Times
[Update, 1:30 p.m.] Ken Gavin, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, said “the plans for the pope to visit the correctional facility have not […]
Will the Pope Shame City Hall Into Fixing Its Atrocious Prison Problem?
The Cool Pope is visiting Philadelphia’s Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility during his trip to the city this fall, the Vatican announced Tuesday. When Pope Francis tours the jail, […]
No New Prison for Philly (for Now)
It’s official: Councilman Bobby Henon’s bill that would have paved the way for a new prison in Philadelphia is dead for the season.
Penn Study: Trying Kids as Adults Can Reduce Recidivism
A number of academic studies have found that prosecuting juveniles as adults increases the likelihood that they’ll end up back in the criminal justice system, with recidivism going up […]
The Brief: City Council Signs Off on a $7.27 Million Purchase of Land for New Waterfront Philadelphia Prison
1. A City Council committee has authorized spending $7.27 million to buy a new 58-acre parcel on the Delaware waterfront for a new city prison. […]
Mumia Abu-Jamal Was in Diabetic Shock, Say Supporters
On Tuesday, Mumia Abu-Jamal‘s lawyer and supporters held a press conference outside the Schuylkill Medical Center in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where the convicted cop killer was […]
Mumia Abu-Jamal in ICU After “Medical Emergency,” Say Supporters [UPDATE]
UPDATE: New details have been released about Mumia Abu-Jamal’s hospitalization. For the full story, go here. ORIGINAL: On the same day that a federal judge […]
Penn Profs: Bring Back Mental Asylums
A group of bioethicists at the University of Pennsylvania have taken a bold stand in a paper published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association: They say […]