Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton is among a small group of district attorneys working to dial back decades of tough-on-crime approaches. Photo by Ashleigh Reddy. In 2017, three months after she became theContinue reading
A 10-year-old in a magenta zip-up sweatshirt playfully stretches a ball of slime between her hands while she stares at a computer screen. On it, she can see her father, Charles Redding, in a courtroomContinue reading
William Anderson, then 64, breathes a tiny sigh of relief when he sees his youngest son, Naeem, sitting across the table from him. His son looks back with the same wide brown eyes he’s alwaysContinue reading
Kenneth Clark sported a colorful striped shirt and black shorts the last time his two daughters, Kira and Kenae, saw him. The father of five slung his bag over his shoulder and set out forContinue reading
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit American incarcerated people hard. Besides being subject to higher rates of infection in often overcrowded and unsanitary facilities, they’ve found themselves cut off from in-person visits, one of their onlyContinue reading
In the late 1980s, it was a weekly ritual for my four brothers and I. Something I relished more than playing hide-and-seek, and I loved that game. I sat on my grandmother’s sofa waiting forContinue reading
My Dad Went to Prison When I Was 5. Now I Write About Families Like Mine. Growing up with a father who was incarcerated didn’t define me. But it certainly taught me to challenge stereotypesContinue reading
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” - Martin Luther King Jr. I was stunned into hand-over-mouth silence as I sat on my couch watching the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man,Continue reading
A clean dusting of snow coats the hoods of cars parked along Philadelphia’s West Norris Street. The trees are mostly bare, withered leaves buried in the corners of benches. This winter morning, the massive rust-brickContinue reading
2.7 Million Kids Have Parents in Prison. They’re Losing Their Right to Visit. My small feet thump the concrete as I hurry toward the door. My four older brothers trail closely behind. Upon entering, weContinue reading
Ali Knight is the president and CEO of Fresh Lifelines for Youth, (FLY), a Bay Area nonprofit that works to prevent crime and incarceration among marginalized youth. Photo by Lance Yamamoto. Each morning, Ali KnightContinue reading
Within an oppressive and unjust prison-industrial complex, fighting for a space where families can forge bonds. EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from “The Shadow System: Mass Incarceration and the American Family,” by Sylvia A. Harvey,Continue reading
Few aspects of life are untouched by coronavirus and resulting global lockdowns. From an emerging “quarantine state of mind” to a new era of frugality to expanding how we vote, here’s what next. Part ofContinue reading
