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A condemned inmate is led out of his cell on death row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California in 2016.

California

Eric Risberg/Associated Press
Life Inside
Life Inside, Remixed: The Emotional Toll of Visiting a Son in Jail
Ymilul Bates’ first visit to her son exposed her to cold, distant corrections officers and left her with a question: Did they know her son was loved?
An illustration of a pink-colored woman sitting on a chair with her back to the viewer, holding a phone, while her young, bushy-haired son sits across from her, one hand holding a phone to his ear and his other on his face in a distraught pose.
A dark-skinned woman, wearing a reflective safety vest, white T-shirt, blue jeans, yellow cap and gloves, takes items out of a tent located on a sidewalk. A camping chair, a backpack, a plastic bag and a water jug are in front of the tent. Two cars are parked next to the tent.
Closing Argument September 28
Unhoused People Have Property Rights Too
A recent Supreme Court decision spurred a crackdown on people experiencing homelessness. Here’s how some are still fighting back.
By
Susan Horton, a White woman wearing a black tank top, arranges her children’s toys on top of a table.
Feature September 9
She Ate a Poppy Seed Salad Just Before Giving Birth. Then They Took Her Baby Away.
Hospitals use drug tests that return false positives from poppy seed bagels, decongestants and Zantac. Yet newborns are being taken from parents based on the results.
By
A group of people, wearing blue prison uniforms with the words "CDCR prisoner" on their backs, walk through a prison yard.
Closing Argument August 31
How Efforts to Cut Long Prison Sentences Have Stalled
Crime victim advocates and conservative groups are resisting moves to revisit “truth-in-sentencing” laws.
By
A photo shows the sun beaming above silhouettes of two people holding a board while another person constructs a wall of a makeshift prison cell.
Closing Argument August 10
‘Deliberate Indifference’: Court Rulings Challenge Extreme Heat Conditions in Prisons
“If it’s 103 outside, it may be 107 to -8 inside of your cell,” said a man who worked in the fields while imprisoned in Texas.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a seated man with light-toned skin and short-cropped dark hair, signs a bill that is composed of a high stack of papers. Eight masked people with varying skin tones and genders stand behind him.
Election 2024 August 1
Facing Rollbacks, Criminal Justice Reformers Argue Policies Make People Safer
Advocates are refining their rebuttal to “tough on crime” messaging: Don’t focus on punishment, but on reforms that improve public safety.
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Gov. Michael Dukakis, a White man in a checkered shirt, holds a leaflet that has the words "Vote for George Bush" and "Security" printed on them, among other text that is not visible.
Election 2024 July 31
What It Means to ‘Willie Horton’ a Political Candidate
Donald Trump supporters run their version of the original dog-whistle attack ad against Kamala Harris. Here’s the history.
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Miguel, a man with medium-toned skin, short hair and a mustache, hugs his wife, Silvia, a woman with medium-toned skin and long brown hair, on the beach.
Life Inside July 5
Love Beyond Bars: Miguel and Silvia
While Miguel Solorio did 25 years for a crime he didn’t commit, his wife, Silvia, was right by his side. Here’s their California love story in pictures.
Photographs by Camille Farrah Lenain
As-told-to by
An incarcerated man, wearing a gray sweater and blue pants, places a basket of harvested turnips onto a cart. Prison farm workers, wearing blue uniforms, are standing in a field in the background.
Closing Argument June 22
The New Battle Over an Old Institution: Forced Prison Labor
Inside the latest legal and legislative efforts to close state constitutional loopholes that allow slavery as punishment for a crime.
By
A White person, wearing sunglasses, a green bandana mask and black shirt, holds a poster with the black-and-white image of Elijah McClain, a Black man wearing glasses and a plaid button-up shirt. The poster also reads, "Black Lives Matter. #JusticeForElijahMcClain." There are more protesters marching in the background.
Closing Argument June 15
More States Restricting ‘Excited Delirium’ as Cause of Death in Police Custody
Authorities use the term to describe the condition of some people who die. But some medical organizations say it’s useless or racist pseudoscience.
By
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