Prison Policy Initiative

🚨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 🧵

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 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2022/04/2…

Keep in mind that Texas has one of the biggest carceral systems in the world – and it still cannot supply clean drinking water, a basic human right, for folks behind bars. Read the full story here 👇 truthout.org/articles/safe-…

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're exposed to – including contaminated water. prisonjournalismproject.org/2025/05/28/som…

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 theappeal.org/incarcerated-s…

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.

Learn more about the state of mass incarceration from our new report, The Whole Pie: #bigpicture" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie202…

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?

@IamAcop_Jill @LoganSeacrest Have an extra minute? The newest version of an annual report, "Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie" from @PrisonPolicy offers a comprehensive snapshot of nearly 2 million people incarcerated across the United States, breaking down who is behind bars and why. prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie202…

Keeping older adults locked up is inhumane, costly, and counterproductive. Instead, states must invest in release mechanisms, and target the root causes of this crisis, like draconian sentencing. Learn more 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2023/08/0…

Keep in mind that decades of data show that older adults are among the least likely to be re-arrested, re-convicted, and reincarcerated. The cruelty is the point.

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 theappeal.org/incarcerated-s…

Learn more 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/06/2…

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. boltsmag.org/how-state-and-…

🧵(1/5) Here is what women inside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility — NY's largest women's prison — are reporting right now. Three people have died in four weeks. Two by suicide. @GovKathyHochul @NYSDOCCS must act. ⬇️ #Justice4BedfordHills → CTA: nhli.me/Justice4Bedford

"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: inquest.org/public-defense…

Each year, the U.S. spends $445 billion on mass incarceration. Less than 2% of that goes toward indigent defense — public defenders, and private counsel appointed by courts, representing poor folks who can't afford a lawyer. Does that look like a system invested in "justice"?

Here are 9 ways that states can strengthen their public defense system 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/07/2…

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.