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India's 'Open Prisons' Are a Marvel of Trust-Based Incarceration

Kavitha Yarlagadda

May 12, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Rajasthan

The Sanganer open prison serves as an important alternative to traditional incarceration in India by remaining open for 12 hours a day and allowing inmates to go out. It is one of 88 open prisons in India that works on a model of reform and helps inmates to keep their connection with work, family, and society. In doing so, it enables the development of trust as well as skills that can help them not just during incarceration but also after release.

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Laughing Bear Bakery has a recipe for a fresh start out of prison

Tara Adhikari

May 11, 2022 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

At her non-profit business Laughing Bear Bakery, retired chaplain Kalen McAllister hires only those with a criminal record and offers them a chance at employment, gaining work experience, and rebuilding their lives.

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How cellphones transformed life in a women's prison in Argentina

Lucía Cholakian Herrera Magalí Druscovich

May 03, 2022 |

Rest of World |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Argentina, Buenos Aires

As Argentine went into strict quarantine in March 2020 and prison rules got stricter, the Court of Appeals in the Province of Buenos Aires allowed the use of cellphones to inmates to ease some of their isolation. It is one of four provinces that legally implemented this measure to last the span of COVID restrictions, but the ruling is still in place and has allowed inmates to keep in touch with loved ones, study, learn new skills, use digital payments, and even participate in virtual protests,

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From prison to freedom: How a firm is helping detainees get justice

Mustapha Usman

April 30, 2022 |

International Centre for Investigative Reporting |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

The Headfort Foundation runs pro bono cases for incarcerated people in need of legal representation. The Foundation recently launched a Lawyers Without Borders initiative that grants easily accessible, free legal services to those in need by setting up mobile offices. This initiative alone has helped more than 175 people thus far.

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In French Presidential Election, Thousands More Vote from Prison

Cole Stangler

April 21, 2022 |

Bolts |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: France

Outside pressure and legal reforms made it easier for people who are incarcerated to vote. The small nonprofit, Robin des Lois, fought to install regular voting booths in prisons, just like any other precinct. After a long public and legal battle, French legislators approved measures allowing in-person voting in prisons, which significantly increased voter turnout.

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The Feeling Of Freedom After Prolonged "Awaiting Trial" In A Nigerian Prison

Ekpali Saint

January 10, 2022 |

Prime Progress |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Lagos

Considering the overwhelming number of low-income inmates awaiting trial in Nigeria due to lack of legal representation, Heafort Foundation takes up such cases and provides legal services free of cost. Since 2019, the foundation has helped about 200 inmates get out of jail while also supporting them with the means to complete their education or learn new skills so they can restart their lives again.

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The Prisoner-Run Radio Station That's Reaching Men on Death Row

Keri Blakinger

December 20, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Livingston, Texas

At Texas’ Polunsky Unit, 106.5FM The Tank is a prison radio station run by and for the prison's incarcerated men, including nearly 200 on death row for whom the radio's shows form "a community center for men who can never leave their cells." The death-row prisoners, like many others in the prison, live in solitary confinement with no access to classes, jobs, or TVs. But they are allowed radios, and the prison warden allowed the creation of The Tank using donated equipment. Shows range from advice and religion to music of all sorts. All the shows are recorded as a security precaution.

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Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don't Know It.

Nicole Lewis Andrew Rodriguez Calderón

June 23, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Nevada

Thirteen states restored the right to vote to millions of formerly incarcerated people in the years leading up to the 2020 elections. An analysis of four of them—Nevada, Kentucky, Iowa, and New Jersey—shows the new rights were rarely exercised, ranging from 4% to 23% of newly eligible voters actually registering. None of the four states required prison, parole, or elections officials to notify eligible voters. Those and other information gaps and barriers teach instructive lessons as the 2022 elections approach.

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Clearing a Path from Prison to the Bar Exam

Allen Arthur

June 21, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The Formerly Incarcerated Law Students Advocacy Association at City University of New York's law school mentors people whose criminal records serve as a barrier to pursuing a law career. FILSAA is part of a movement to nurture law-practice dreams and make them a reality by knocking down those barriers, including restrictive use of states' "character and fitness" requirements to become licensed to practice. Before that step, mentors can help people prepare for the LSAT and succeed in law school. Advocates say that lawyers with lived experience can serve clients better by earning their trust more readily.

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People in Solitary Confinement and Volunteers Team Up to Garden, Imagine a World Without Prisons

Roshan Abraham

May 27, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Solitary Gardens project started in New Orleans and has been copied in multiple other places as a combination art exhibit and therapeutic link between incarcerated people and the outside world. People on both sides of the prison walls collaborate in pairs to design a garden that grows flowers and herbs chosen by the incarcerated person. The gardens match the tiny dimensions of a solitary-confinement cell. The healing herbs are used to help others, and the exercise overall gives incarcerated people a sense of connection to the earth, part of the project's prison-abolition message.

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