California voters passed Proposition 36 in 2024 in response to concerns about homelessness, public substance use, and retail theft. Proponents promised: “Proposition 36 is NOT about going back to an era of mass incarceration. This is about creating a new era of mass treatment.” However, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera)'s analysis shows that in ...
Twenty-four people have died in county jails so far this year.
How are people dying?It typically takes months for Los Angeles County to publicly issue causes of death for people who have died in LA County jails. And even once autopsy reports are finalized, they don’t tell the whole story. When the coroner rules that a death is the result of “natural causes,” jail conditions can still be to blame. Researchers h ...
As Pride Month highlights the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights, transgender people in prison continue to face denials of medically necessary care despite court orders protecting access.
Dee Farmer sees great risk if the federal government succeeds in its efforts to end critical health care for incarcerated people with gender-affirming care needs. “People will die,” Farmer told the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), she herself a formerly incarcerated transgender woman who has been fighting for the rights of people in prison for dec ...