Incarceration

Oregon just re-criminalized drug possession and use. Why didn't legalization work?

Three years after Oregon residents voted to decriminalize drugs, the state is walking back that policy.

World

Virtual reality offers a chilling 3D look inside Venezuela's spiraling prison

A former Venezuelan political prisoner got the idea to create a virtual reality tour from the Anne Frank museum.

'Exploitative' labor practices in Washington state prisons highlighted in new report

The report’s authors interviewed dozens of incarcerated people, highlighting what they call exploitative labor practices in state prisons. Interviewees not only earned far below Washington state’s minimum wage, but also said they felt coerced to work.

Public defender shortage slows the wheels of justice in Washington state courts

Prestige TV or Hollywood legal dramas might inform the image: loose tie, crinkled suits, bags under the eyes… public defenders are stressed out, overworked and undercompensated. But something pop culture tends to overlook is how stretching these attorneys so thin affects everyday people caught up in the justice system.

Behind bars and then a bill: WA prisoner leads effort on 'second chance' legislation

Washington lawmakers are getting ready to tackle big topics in 2024, including undoing harm caused by long or life prison sentences. One prisoner has spent months crafting legislation to make a small but significant change as part of that effort.

Washington state is closing its first prison in 10 years. Are other facilities next?

For the first time in more than a decade, Washington state is closing a prison. The Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt, Clark County will shut its gates for the last time next week. The state’s Department of Corrections says the population of the 240-bed minimum security prison is now down to about 60 people, all of whom will be relocated by Monday, Oct. 2.

Seven staffers injured in youth brawl at King County juvenile detention facility