Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of second-degree murder of Black teen Laquan McDonald in 2014, is expected to be released in February 2022. While he remains in custody, it’s unclear where he will serve the remainder of his sentence.
Prison
The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting systemic racism that Black and Brown communities have faced for decades, including systemic racism in the prison and criminal justice system.
The federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will resume visits for inmates at its 122 facilities beginning Oct. 3, though these meetings will include several safety precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
So far, three incarcerated men in Illinois — two who had been housed at Stateville prison in Crest Hill and a detainee at the Cook County Jail – have died from complications related to the coronavirus. A pair of court battles are now brewing.
An 80-year-old man who spent nearly 60 years in prison after being convicted of killing one of three suburban Chicago women whose brutalized bodies were found in a state park walked out of prison Friday.
A new documentary series explores the rigorous Bard Prison Initiative that offers degrees to a select group of incarcerated men and women. Filmmaker Lynn Novick and program graduate Dyjuan Tatro join us in discussion.
Albert Woodfox was held in solitary confinement for decades in Louisiana before his release in 2016. Now, he’s written a book about his experiences. He joins us to discuss “Solitary.”
A conversation with Emily Bazelon, an investigative journalist at the New York Times Magazine whose new book takes a hard look at how prosecutors contribute to overcharging and mass incarceration.
Local journalists detail the discrepancy between the discipline of men and women in prisons across the U.S., including Illinois. We speak with Jessica Pupovac, lead reporter of the yearlong investigation.
About 4 percent of women incarcerated in state prisons across the U.S. were pregnant when they entered jail, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Local attorneys filed a suit on behalf of the Chicago chapter of Black & Pink – a nonprofit that offers prisoners news updates on LGBTQ issues through a monthly newsletter and other publications.
A first-of-its-kind program in Illinois allows inmates to earn college credits and liberal arts degrees inside the maximum-security prison some 40 miles from Chicago.
One hundred women – including former inmates, corrections officials, judges and prosecutors – are calling for a 50-percent reduction in the number of women behind bars in Illinois. We speak with Deanne Benos, who is leading the initiative.
Most women in U.S. prisons and jails lack access to birth control. But for many of these women, incarceration is not the only obstacle to such care. A new program in Chicago is trying to change the trend.
Women are the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in the U.S., but data on pregnancies and births in prisons is either outdated or nonexistent. Illinois is now among 22 states participating in the first large-scale, comprehensive study of pregnancy in American prisons.
The nation’s prison system was in the spotlight last week at an event hosted by Chicago Ideas and the New York-based Vera Institute of Justice.
