We are proud to dedicate Issue 16 of News Inside to topics impacting incarcerated women across the United States.
Although women constitute only around 10% of the total incarcerated population, their number behind bars — approximately 190,600 — represents a significantly higher proportion of the incarcerated population compared to previous decades. Many of my female friends who did time continuously remind me that although their former population is growing, the number of visits they get from loved ones pales in comparison to the men.
This issue of increased imprisonment of women could be further compounded by fetal personhood laws, which recognize an unborn fetus as a person with rights separate from the human being carrying it. In “These States Are Using Fetal Personhood to Put Women Behind Bars,” we investigate how hundreds of women who used drugs during their pregnancies have faced criminal charges for child endangerment in Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina — even when they delivered healthy babies.
“I ‘Stood My Ground’ — but It Was the Police Raiding My House,” is a powerful first-person account from a woman who endured jail time and a legal battle after lawfully defending her home during a botched police raid. Her harrowing story underscores the injustices women can face in the system.
In “Elizabeth Holmes Has Two Young Children. Should That Keep Her Out of Prison?” we delve into the devastating consequences of separating mothers from their children and explore state efforts to reduce this impact.
Of course, along with more powerful articles, our women’s issue is rounded out by regular pieces like the “Peeps” comic strip, “Reader to Reader” advice column, crossword puzzle, “In the Spotlight” feature and “Thinking Inside the Box” quiz.
News Inside now reaches over 1,360 correctional facilities across the nation through print copies and tablets, even making its way to U.S. citizens detained in Tijuana, Mexico, and Panama City, Panama. We are grateful for your continued support, as we could not produce this unique journalistic package without our dedicated readers.
Table of Contents
- Page 4: Federal Prisons Are Over Capacity — Yet Efforts to Ease Overcrowding Are Ending
- Page 5: These States Are Using Fetal Personhood to Put Women Behind Bars
- Page 10: I ‘Stood My Ground’ — but It Was the Police Raiding My House
- Page 12: “Stranger Fruit”: Black Mothers and the Fear of Police Brutality
- Page 14: Being a Corrections Officer Is Hard Enough. Doing the Job While Pregnant Is a Nightmare.
- Page 16: Good Intentions Don’t Blunt the Impact of Dehumanizing Words
- Page 17: Elizabeth Holmes Has Two Young Children. Should That Keep Her Out of Prison?
- Page 19: New Data Shows How Dire the Prison Staffing Shortage Really Is
- Page 23: Cuyahoga County Jail Shows People the Door, Offers Little Else to Aid Reentry
- Page 26: How Cuyahoga County Picks Attorneys to Represent Children
- Page 28: Reader to Reader
- Page 32: The Peeps
- Page 34: Crossword
- Page 35: In The Spotlight
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