The U.S. unemployment rate just hit a four-year high at 4.4%. Now, try wrapping your head around the idea of a 43% unemployment rate. That’s the reality formerly incarcerated Black women face, thanks to the prison penalty:

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Far too many trans people are targeted by the carceral system and caught in its vicious conditions.

The U.S. just received a D+ grade on maternal healthcare from @marchofdimes.org. Again. That's horrific. And for the nearly 60,000 pregnant people who get sent to prison or jail every year, the standard for maternal healthcare in the U.S. is even WORSE. 🧵

Important Report from @prisonpolicy.org The criminal legal system doesn't have to get any bigger in 2026. Here are 34 actionable policies I'm counting on lawmakers to follow for meaningful criminal justice reform. By Sarah Staut & Emmett Sanders

Today, the House will vote on whether or not to reinstate cash bail in D.C. – an outdated policy that hasn't been in effect there in 30+ years. Cash bail doesn't make communities safer. It throws them deeper into poverty:

“It was like a machine... And it creates more harm than good.” Time & time again, the system traps kids of color–particularly Black & Native American–in the system with no way out. And we're all worse off for it.

And on November 11th of THIS YEAR, the Federal Communications Commission voted to roll back limits on how much companies can charge incarcerated people and their families for phone and video calls. Under the new interim rules, phone calls will cost up to $0.11 per minute in large

113 million U.S. adults have an immediate family member who has ever been to prison or jail. As the holidays approach, it's hard not to think of the millions of people currently separated from their loved ones by prison & jail cells.

For much of this nation's history, health care for incarcerated people was provided directly by state prison or health authorities. But today, roughly two dozen states use for-profit health care contractors.

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.

Charlotte reels as immigration raids bring North Carolina city to a ‘standstill’ @us.theguardian.com

"'We the People' includes we the incarcerated. It’s long past time to allow all voting-age Americans the freedom to vote." Story co-published with Reckon News.

Poor people in the United States are a primary target for policing, especially those forced to live on the streets. Data shows that more than 40% of unhoused people booked into jail were booked again within the year.

A reminder during Native American Heritage Month: The legacy of centuries of oppression and theft from Native people is their vast overrepresentation in state prisons.

The vast range of prison rules makes it nearly impossible to avoid infractions – and the punishments are horrific Should people really face solitary confinement–a form of torture–for receiving a minor violation behind bars? www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/disc...

Trans people are disproportionately targeted by the carceral system: 1 in 6 trans people have been incarcerated at some point, including nearly half of Black trans people. #TransgenderAwarenessWeek

Rather than trivializing how much toilet paper Ghislaine Maxwell has access to behind bars, remember that most incarcerated people have little to their name. Toilet paper isn't a luxury – it's a basic necessity.

If the U.S. is serious about ending the housing crisis, it will dismantle the revolving door between incarceration and homelessness. It's time to put housing first instead of criminalizing vulnerable people for not having access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.

Punished for... having a period? Yes, you read that right – behind bars, menstruation is treated like misconduct. Here's how prisons punish people for a bodily function they have no control over 🧵

170,000 disabled people, many over 50 years old, are about to get kicked out of their homes, thanks to the Trump administration's latest attack on Housing First programs. Ripping necessary support away from vulnerable people will not make anyone safer.

As a teacher’s assistant, I receive paltry pay, zero workplace protections and punishment for refusing work.

I know that's right partna' 😤

Prison disciplinary policies often target menstruators and make it even harder for them to access menstrual products. My analysis with @prisonpolicy.org dug into this widespread issue.

Everyone is supposed to have an equal voice, but an outdated U.S. Census Bureau policy counts incarcerated people in the wrong place, giving a few residents a megaphone – aka prison gerrymandering But states can fix this – here's how, where, and why👇

Executions are rising in the US. This reverend witnesses them. On this week’s “More To The Story,” death row spiritual adviser Jeff Hood talks about how his longtime activism for racial justice led him inside America’s execution chambers. Listen here: apple.co/3LGCB7c

“That person might be innocent for whatever they’re charged with, but because they are caught by immigration, they’re trapped.” In thousands of counties, ICE uses local jails to target undocumented people who are inside on minor charges.

From January to June, 45% of all ICE arrests were transfers from local jails But this is not “proof” that Trump is fulfilling his promise to target “criminals" – instead, these often involve minor charges that would not lead to jail time for U.S. citizens

Reminder this Veterans Day: While comprehensive data on the relationship between military service & incarceration is not available, one thing is clear - The U.S. has left many veterans behind & does not provide enough support for one of the most vulnerable populations. 🧵

The U.S. spends $13.6 billion every year locking people up who haven't even been convicted of a crime.

📣 Did you know our Advocacy Dept. can provide free research help & technical support on projects across all stages of the system? From pre-arrest diversion to post-conviction issues, we're here to help other orgs in the fight to end mass incarceration 👇 prisonpolicy.org/trainings/

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.

13,300 confined children in the U.S. are detained pretrial – aka, they’re legally innocent Locking kids up in deplorable conditions is traumatizing and counterproductive to public safety in the short & long term

Reminder: Crime in the U.S. is at its lowest since 1961.

The idea that incarceration is a problem unique to big cities is a myth. Take a look at New York: People in state prisons come from every corner of the state, but upstate counties send the most people to prison per capita. #30DayMapChallenge | Day 8 - Urban

Each year, one-third of jail admissions are for misdemeanor charges. Yes, this includes charges for behaviors like jaywalking or even sitting on a sidewalk – and, evidently, throwing a sandwich.

⚖️ The Trump administration is firing scores of immigration judges, many w/ a background in defending immigrants, while hiring new judges tied to DHS, ICE, & the military. For many, this isn’t just a reshuffle. It’s a restructuring of who gets to decide who stays in the U.S.🧵

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are incarcerated at 3x the rate of straight people, despite only making up a fraction of the total population. Jails & prisons are not safe places — especially for the LGBTQ+ community.

Nearly a million incarcerated people depend on rural hospitals for care – but now, thanks to Trump's 'big beautiful bill,' many of those hospitals are at risk of closing This will devastate entire communities, including people behind bars More here👇

Native women are disproportionately affected by every part of the system. They account for a larger portion of the Indian country jail population than they do in other jails across the US. They’re also incarcerated at higher rates than women of any other racial or ethnic group.

🎙️Emily Widra of the @prisonpolicy.org and James Morgan of MOSES Madison talk about the inequities of the carceral system and how Medicaid cuts will reduce access to life-saving healthcare for incarcerated people in rural areas. Listen here: www.wortfm.org/when-rural-h...

The ugly truth about the "big beautiful bill:" It will come with the closure of many rural hospitals. This will have disastrous consequences for entire communities across the U.S. – especially incarcerated people who have no choice about where they receive medical care.

Older people now make up 5x as much of the prison population as they did 3 decades ago. Turning prisons into “makeshift nursing homes” is one of the nation’s most wasteful, morally bankrupt experiments to date.

Nearly half of people with multiple arrests have incomes below $10,000/year, according to 2017 data. The carceral system perpetuates poverty. It's time to support communities instead of locking them up.

At least 20 people have died in ICE custody in 2025, making this year the deadliest in decades. With increases to ICE’s funding, workforce, and detention space, the system riddled with abuse and neglect will undoubtedly be more life-threatening in 2026. www.npr.org/2025/10/23/n...

"In Idaho prisons, more than two dozen women say guards prey on them with little fear of consequences — and those who speak up are often punished." The U.S. is a leader in women's incarceration, and behind bars, women are anything but safe. 🧵

An #ElectionDay reminder: 4 million people in the U.S. have been stripped of their right to vote due to a felony conviction. Is that what democracy is supposed to look like?

Prisons & jails are already inherently harmful, and placing people in solitary confinement can be lethal to their mental health:

Today, 1 in 5 formerly incarcerated people is experiencing food insecurity. That's at least 1 million people nationwide. We should be making it easier for vulnerable people to access healthy food, not harder.

Harm is real – mass support for mass incarceration is not.

Across the US, 113 million adults have an immediate family member who has ever been to prison or jail. Mass incarceration has far-reaching consequences that don't stop at the prison gates.