by Daniel A. Rosen
Seventy-nine-year-old Beth Curtis has been nicknamed the “Mother Theresa of Pot Prisoners” for good reason. The self-described “incessant nag” has lobbied for years on behalf of those sentenced to life for marijuana offenses. She founded the website LifeforPot.com in 2009 to advocate for clemency for her ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
“This is an industry that profits from human suffering.”
—David Fathi, Director, ACLU’s
National Prison Project
Starting with math may be a bad idea, but numbers help tell this story: In Virginia, keeping the average prisoner behind bars costs taxpayers about $30,000 per year; in some ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
Heriberto Delvalle’s story sounds like a Kafka novel, but it’s sadly true. After serving his 15-year sentence for attempted murder in a Florida state prison, he was detained by federal immigration officials, and remains there to this day — almost 12 years later. The 70-year-old Cuban ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
Joseph Messere, a 68-year-old prisoner in Massachusetts, was just days away from death in December 2020 when his attorney got a phone call from state officials. The Parole Board and state Department of Corrections told David Apfel “we really want your client released as soon as ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
Folsom Prison was once the setting for an iconic musical performance, when Johnny Cash first played live there in 1968. Now, Folsom prisoners are performing their own songs, and telling their stories with help from the Prison Music Project.
The Long Time Gone album was released ...
by Daniel E. Rosen
In most states, prisoners pay an average of $2 to $8 copays for medical appointments, lab tests, and medication. But as prisons across the country have become COVID hotspots, some departments are waiving the fees to encourage prisoners to seek treatment for virus symptoms.
Most states ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
A jail prisoner in Broward County gave birth in her cell recently, with staff ignoring her pleas for help until just prior to delivery. Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony fired two top administrators at the jail on October 15, 2020, just 24 hours after learning of the ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
Virginia recently settled two outstanding lawsuits alleging the abuse of solitary confinement.
Taken together, the payouts cost the state’s taxpayers over $250,000. At a time when Virginia’s General Assembly made progress on other justice issues — abolishing the death penalty, legalizing marijuana and restoring felon voting ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
Like local jails and prisons across the country, Alabama’s carceral system is being sorely tested by COVID-19 — and prisoners are paying the price.
For weeks, Dylan Garrard fell asleep on a thin foam mat on the floor of his jail cell, next to a toilet. ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
In 1995, during a tough-on-crime era across the country, Virginia abolished parole entirely, along with several other states. But it wasn’t until 2000 that jurors sentencing defendants were told of that change. As a result, jurors may have recommended more prison time, incorrectly believing offenders would ...
