Access to clean water is a human right – but prisons across the U.S. don't seem to agree. From high levels of arsenic and lead to deadly bacteria, poor water quality plagues prisons nationwide. Learn more 👇

Incarcerated people in one TX prison are warned by some staff & doctors to "drink bottled water" because the tap water is too risky. ...except a water bottle from commissary is completely unaffordable when you make $0 per day, as incarcerated folks in TX do.

"No one, inside or outside, deserves to be poisoned by prisons." A grim reminder on World Water Day that prisons are an environmental injustice. And behind bars, people have zero defense against the toxins they are exposed to – including contaminated water.

A new report out of California shows the state spends $300 million each year incarcerating women over the age of 50 Women—especially older women forced to languish in prison—can't get left behind in the fight to end mass incarceration #WomensHistoryMonth

Thousands of people detained by ICE are actually held in local, publicly operated jails. These facilities–run by elected sheriffs–are making money off of the federal government's deportation agenda.

Right now, 657,000 people in the U.S. are in jail. The vast majority have yet to be tried in court and are legally innocent. Does that look like a system built on justice?

We aren't allowed to send healthy food to incarcerated friends in NC. No veggies or fruits. No unsalted nuts. No brown rice. Just a couple of mercury-filled tuna products & one cheese item qualify as real FOOD. That's IT. @ncgovernor.bsky.social @jeffjacksonnc.bsky.social

States are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to keep older adults locked up. Now, they make up 5x the prison population as 3 decades ago Turning prisons into makeshift nursing homes is one of the US' most wasteful, morally bankrupt experiments yet

Jail expansion vs. decarceration is a matter of life and death. Data shows that county-level jail incarceration is associated with an increase in deaths — hurting the entire community. Keep that in mind as DHS & ICE eye warehouses to expand their detention network.

Which state has adopted the strongest law restricting ICE activity? Can local officials block ICE from building more detention facilities—and do zoning rules matter? You asked, we answered nine questions on how localities are responding to ICE.

Many prosecutor and sheriff races draw just one candidate. They’re over before they start, and voters have no opportunity to debate local policies. In North Carolina this year, for instance, that’s the case in 28 of 39 prosecutor elections.

"Jails and prisons as a catch-all solution has starved communities like mine of money and the freedom it grants—and it has also utterly failed to deliver the safety our communities deserve." A public defender sounds off on Gideon Day:

63 years ago today, Gideon v. Wainwright established the right to counsel for those charged with a crime Public defenders are vital to ensuring that people have representation in the legal system. Unfortunately, all too often, public defense systems are underfunded & overworked.

This Women’s History Month, we honor the Black mamas and caregivers who serve as the foundation of our communities. Despite their essential roles, the violence they face is often erased from the public narrative.

Among the 35 jail births identified in the news over 10 years, jail staff ignored repeated cries for help or medical assistance in at least 24 cases. The carceral system is no place for pregnant people.

A recent ruling from a Colorado judge bans prisons from using solitary confinement to force people to work. But advocates worry it still leaves enough wiggle room for prison officials to deduct good time or deny visitation rights for refusing to work.

In 2023, Illinois stopped charging people for their freedom while awaiting trial. Across the US though, most people caged in county jails are still locked up only because they can't afford to pay a money bond. This @prisonpolicy.org graphic shows the current state of pretrial jailing in the US.

Current rules around access to menstrual products in prison also make little to no accommodations for disabled people who menstruate.

This data is alarming — but it doesn't stop with courts. Disabled people are overrepresented in all interactions with the criminal legal system, and at all points, the system is failing them. 🧵

Between 2025 and 2026, the number of people detained by ICE on any given day grew by nearly 60%. Thanks to Trump's deportation agenda, expanded immigration detention accounts for almost all of the growth in mass incarceration since last year.

North Carolina raising the cost of products sold in state prisons by five cents is a significant increase to incarcerated workers who typically earn between forty cents and $1.25 per day.

While we’re on the topic of declining crime rates, let’s clear up another thing: There is no "crime wave" driven by non-U.S. citizens.

Police contact of any kind is not innocuous: most police killings start with officers responding to a suspected non-violent situation or a case where no crime has been reported.

Black people disproportionately experience police misconduct – including slurs, bias, and sexual harassment – during encounters with police Is this really what it means for police to serve & protect?

Since 2017, police funding has increased rapidly – now costing the U.S. more than $200 billion a year. Keep that in mind the next time somebody tries to use calls to "defund the police" as a scapegoat.

Policing & crime do not go hand in hand. Incarceration rates in every single U.S. state are out of line with the entire world, and this disparity is not explainable by differences in crime or “violent crime.”

Today is International Day Against Police Brutality, and as a reminder: It's not just "a few bad apples." Police violence is a systemic problem in the US, and it happens on a scale far greater than other wealthy nations.

MYTH: Some people need to go to jail to get treatment REALITY: Most people in local jails have substance use disorders, yet only a tiny fraction of jails provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Jails are designed for punishment, not care.

It's #PiDay – which means it's time for our annual report, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 🥧 Last year, the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. increased again. But why? We answer that & bust the biggest myths of the carceral system🧵

DHS and ICE are trying to expand their existing detention network, eyeing large warehouses that can detain up to 10,000 people each. This guide from @detentionwatchnetwork.org outlines how communities can fight back against the sinister plan:

📆 Join DWN and partners on March 18th at 4pm PT / 7pm ET for an overview of the federal government’s plans to convert warehouses into immigration detention centers. We will share strategies communities are using to push back against these projects! 🔗 bit.ly/318detentionwarehousescall

If you want to begin to grasp the depth and reach of carceral reality in the US – including the growth of immigrant detention - you need to be following (and hopefully donating to) @prisonpolicy.org. Here's the latest mass incarceraton overview in 2026. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2...

The number of people detained by ICE rose by an astonishing 58% (25,200) between 2025 and 2026; expanded immigration detention accounts for virtually all of the growth in mass incarceration since our last report. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2...

"In the fight for women’s rights, liberation and equality, women in prison must be included as well." #WomensHistoryMonth

Sunshine Week kicks off March 15, bringing together groups in journalism, education, government and more to highlight the importance of public records. Leading up to Sunshine Week, The Marshall Project submitted over a dozen requests to corrections departments seeking their FOIA logs from 2025.

Private prisons are bad, but they’re a small part of the system. Mass incarceration is driven by public policy & spending — choices made by your *elected officials*

The new Whole Pie has landed, as ever the best overview of who's caging people in the USA along with 10 myths about the system. An essential resource:: 🧵

Last year, the number of people detained for immigration reasons grew by 32%. This expansion of immigration detention accounts for virtually all of the growth in mass incarceration since our last report.

MYTH: Crime victims support long prison sentences. REALITY: Most victims of violence want violence prevention. Harm is real, but mass support for mass incarceration is not.

🚨NEW: Last year, the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. increased again. The driving factor? President Trump’s deportation agenda. Our annual report, The Whole Pie, gives the big picture of mass incarceration. Here are some key takeaways 🧵

As food insecurity runs rampant in the U.S., hunger is being used as punishment. Most U.S. states have restrictions on SNAP benefits for people with probation violations — potentially leaving many vulnerable folks behind:

The Trump administration is trying to acquire warehouses to use as ICE detention centers, but local leaders are fighting back. Here's how communities across the country are mobilizing to shut down this cruel effort:

While we're all talking about wages, a reminder that: Nearly 40% of incarcerated workers are paid *nothing* for their work. And the rest are paid at abysmally low wages.

🚨Your local government might be working with ICE in quiet ways that help drive the deportation agenda. Here’s how you can tell – and what you can do to push back 🧵

For #InternationalWomensDay2026, we invite you to learn about the long history of women facing the torture of solitary confinement. Our Senior Writer reminds us that "The more things change, the more they remain the same but this constancy is not inevitable." Read here: tinyurl.com/muf24ajn

With the help of the @prisonpolicy.org we have been able to pursuade the Connecticut legislture to consider removing the question 'does anyone in your household have a violation of parole or probation?' from Connectiut SNAP applications. See their writings below!

80% of women in jails are mothers, and most of them are primary caretakers of their children. Mass incarceration has a ripple effect, causing trauma that can last generations within a single family.

Each year, thousands of pregnant people are incarcerated – yet some states fail to provide basic care and necessary accommodations during pregnancy. Locking up pregnant people does not leave anyone better off.

Every single U.S. state incarcerates women at a higher rate than most of our closest international allies. On #InternationalWomen'sDay and beyond, we're thinking of all the women affected by mass incarceration.

On any given day, 1.25 million kids are without their parents because of mass incarceration.