There isn’t much Michael Simmons can do but hope and wait. The 46-year-old has spent more than two decades in Illinois Department of Corrections custody. If he’d taken the plea deal prosecutors ...

This week, The Appeal launched its third annual Impact Report, which offers a small window into the many ways our journalism made a difference in 2024. Our stories have contributed to policy changes, ...

I spent years visiting prisons and courts. At every turn, facilities forced me to comply with invasive searches that left me feeling sexually violated. As an adolescent, I learned what it’s like to ...

Twice the number of detainees at Georgia’s notorious Clayton County Jail died in 2024 compared to the previous year. In 2022, former Sheriff Victor Hill was convicted of violating the civil rights of ...

In the last few weeks, President Joe Biden pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys and his own son. But it remains unknown if he will extend that grace to the 40 men on federal death row. Today, U.S.

This afternoon, the head of Virginia’s Department of Corrections dismissed complaints about inhumane conditions at Red Onion State Prison— and instead told lawmakers that prisoners who intentionally ...

The City of Atlanta may have violated its own ordinance in its apparent attempts to undermine a pre-arrest diversion program’s pending contract with the city. After an open bidding process for ...

This article is supported by a grant from The Ridgeway Reporting Project, managed by Solitary Watch with funding from The Vital Projects Fund. In February 2021, Washington State Representative David ...

The Appeal and the Reynolds Journalism Institute are thrilled to announce a new resource for news leaders and entrepreneurs: The Care & Collaboration Toolkit. This toolkit serves as a practical ...

Billie Allen says he is an innocent man on death row. Allen and his supporters want President Biden to pardon him before Trump takes office.

Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative is still waiting on Mayor Andre Dickens to approve the organization’s contract.

A group of congress members says Joe Biden should pardon people or commute sentences before his term ends.