Prisons

Rock Sweet Rock: A Children's History of Alcatraz

The Big Veto: Our Governors Hate Inmate Media-Access Bills

Gov. Brown Won't Let Reporters Have Easy Access to Prison Inmates

Assembly Bill 1270, passed by both chambers of the state legislature, would have allowed journalists to set up interviews with specific inmates in state prisons. Eight times over the past two decades a similar bill had passed through to the governor's desk, and all eight times it was vetoed.The stre ... More >>

Senate Attempts to Reassess Solitary Confinement

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights held a hearing to reassess the consequences of solitary confinement in prisons. The hearing opened with a video, playing testimony from a young woman whose 17-year-old brother committed suicide after ... More >>

Murder, She Wrote

Prison Break: Realignment Inmates Enter Rehabilitation in S.F.

Inside Out

Pelican Bay Hunger Strike: Lawyers Turn to Gov. Jerry Brown for Help

You won't get Starbucks in solitary confinement ​Yesterday marked the first official day of the hunger strike taking place at eight prisons across the state, with as many as 4,000 inmates refusing state-issued meals. In response, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issued a ... More >>

San Francisco One of the Few California Towns with Room for Prisoners

California Asks Facebook to Close Down Prisoners' Accounts

Would you be his Facebook friend?​Prison is just that place where you have tons of time to kill (no pun intended) and not that many friends. So it makes sense that inmates in California prisons are finding creative ways to access Facebook and other social-networking sites. However, the state has c ... More >>

Pelican Bay Hunger Strike: Supporters Plan to Rally, Possibly Disrupt the Evening Commute

Maybe commuters should start protesting protesters ​What we learned from the BART protest earlier this week is that activists can bring commute traffic to a screeching halt. Which is why we are delivering this warning now: Duck out of work early today unless you want to get stuck in yet another pr ... More >>

Pelican Bay Inmates on Hunger Strike Are Growing Weak and Sick, Activists Say

​The health conditions of inmates who are striking to protest conditions in the California state prison system's maximum-security units have "deteriorated to critical levels," and some prisoners could start to die if immediate action isn't taken, activists say.The strike began two weeks ago at the ... More >>

Gov. Jerry Brown Ready to Send State Prisoners to County Jails

Gov. Brown is dumping prisoners in your hometown ​Last month, SF Weekly told readers about a Supreme Court decision to force California to cut its inmate population -- drastically. Today, Gov. Jerry Brown told the courts that he has the perfect plan in mind: Shift state prisoners to county jails.A ... More >>

California to Reduce Prison Population by 46,000, Supreme Court Rules

Mass exodus in the making ​Supreme Court justice have backed an order to reduce California's prison population by 46,000, a move that some are calling a "judicial travesty."At the same time, the state's overcrowded prison population is creating "injury and harm" to the inmate population, which is ... More >>

California Leads The Nation in Imprisoning Criminal Immigrants

10 percent of California's inmates are non-citizens.​It's not a winning spot to brag about, but the Golden State is No.1 when it comes to incarcerating criminal immigrants. In fact, California is the only state to break the 100,000 mark. What's worse -- the state is shouldering the majority of the ... More >>

Will Lil Wayne's Stardom Survive Lockup? Look To 10 Other Jailed Rappers

RJ Shaughnessy​Lil Wayne, perhaps the most commercially successful and critically-lauded rapper of the past few years, was recently granted a reprieve from his date with destiny. Due to be sentenced on February 9th after pleading guilty to gun possession, the proceedings have been delayed until Ma ... More >>

Update: How Much Does Prison Coffee Have To Cost Before Inmate Files Federal Suit? Less Than You'd Think.

The crux of a Constitutional lawsuit...​Last week we reported on a lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court by an octet of inmates charging they were being price-gouged at Pelican Bay prison in the far north of California. We noted that the e-filing of the case, sadly, didn't include the actua ... More >>

Further Proof That Incarceration Is No Fun: Inmates File Federal Suit Over Alleged Price Gouging In Prison Cantina

But no one loves pricey coffee​As hard-liners say, "you do the crime, you do the time." But if you feel you're getting ripped off by paying too much for prison coffee -- to quote Doug Llewelyn, "You take 'em to court." Eight inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City in the far north of ... More >>

Does Gavin Newsom really have a foster brother who's been in and out of prison?

Schwarzenegger Proposal Could Burden Underfunded S.F. Jails

Be sure to wear a flower in your hairThis week has seen California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger scrounging for a few billion dollars beneath the sofa cushions after his stop-gap measures for narrowing the state's budget shortfall went down to defeat in Tuesday's special election. Among the consequence ... More >>

Gangs of Marin

Buddha Behind Bars

Wear Orange

1 in 100 Behind Bars: California is Doing its Part!

"Criminal: Art and Criminal Justice in America" at SFSU - Today's Calendar Pick

Incarceration Nation

Dance Theater Jail piece '51802' Makes Audience Its Bitch

Barred for Life

Desperate prison lifers turn to Charles Carbone when trying to navigate the unfair process of parole denials

Breaking Down Walls

A liberal intellectual and a right-winger on Death Row discover they have much in common

Unchained Melody

Music and poetry, not plot, create A Place to Stand's emotional impact

Speaking of Phones...

Cell Phoney

Making phone calls from jail, Harley Mike allegedly helped three prisoners escape and conned parole agents, sheriff's deputies, and judges.

Suspended Sentence

After Innocence probes life after a wrongful conviction

Not About Nightingales

This Tennessee Williams production packs a punch, but it's too loud

The Unlikely Lambs

Carandiru reveals the human side of Brazilian prisoners, then leads us to their slaughter

Innocence Arrested

Albert Johnson was exonerated for a crime he didn't commit, but not before spending over a decade in prison. Why guiltless people get jailed -- and how to stop it.

Habitat for Inhumanity

The "asylums" depicted in The Magdalene Sisters undermine both the Catholic Church and the popular image of Ireland

Hidden Treasure

Half a century ago, ex-heroin dealer Alfredo Santos created an epic work of art inside San Quentin. Now, he's coming back to be honored for it.

San Quentin Blues

The prison guards' union angrily ripped the rug from under the governor in February

Rockin' Through the Night

The Alcatraz Night Tour is fascinating and beautiful. Then it's cold and eerie. And then it's -- let's get outta here!

Transcendental Incarceration

The first San Bruno Jail inmates to take part in an experimental meditation program say it has helped to free their minds, if nothing else

Hard Labor

County Jail No. 3 is a hellhole. Can an ancient, intense form of meditation improve life for the inmates?

A Walk in the Dark

The rest of the country is re-appraising the death penalty; California sues to keep a minister from comforting those facing execution

Record Caper

Long-missing Alcatraz files make their way back to the Bay Area

South to the Future

New Way to Ease New Economy's Inflation Threat: Release Nonviolent Inmates

South to the Future

Mumia Abu-Jamal Changes Name, Urges Supporters to Expand Campaign

Dead Man Not Praying

The state wants to deny religious counsel immediately before executions. But why?

Zoom Lens

Night Crawler

The Black Hole of San Francisco

This jail is a filthy, unhealthy, decrepit, barbaric nightmare. This jail will probably collapse and kill hundreds if there is a significant earthquake. The city of San Francisco keeps using this unconstitutional hellhole because people who call themselve