@PrisonPolicy

Challenging mass incarceration and over-criminalization through research, advocacy, and organizing. Get email updates: https://xitter.cf/t.co/AyYiUayx2n

 Easthampton, MA
prisonpolicy.org
Joined October 2009
  • Tweets18.7K
  • Following3.8K
  • Followers74.1K
4.1KMedia
🚨NEW: Nearly 200,000 women and girls are incarcerated in the U.S. on any given day — a number that stands out globally. Where are they held? For what charges? And what conditions do they face? Our latest report, Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, answers that & more 🧵
Pie chart showing the number of women locked up on a given day in the United States (199,000) by facility type and the underlying offense using the newest data available in 2026

ALT Pie chart showing the number of women locked up on a given day in the United States (199,000) by facility type and the underlying offense using the newest data available in 2026

3
73
3
120
4,190
💰Since 2017, police funding has increased rapidly, now costing the U.S. more than $200 billion a year. Keep that in mind the next time somebody tries to use calls to "defund the police" as a scapegoat.
Graph showing that, when adjusted for inflation, policing cost $190 billion in 2017. In 2025, it cost $203 billion.

ALT Graph showing that, when adjusted for inflation, policing cost $190 billion in 2017. In 2025, it cost $203 billion.

12
11
476
"They never tell you that menopause behind bars is a special kind of hell... designed by people who have forgotten you are human." October is Menopause Awareness Month. Incarcerated people can't be left behind in the fight for expanded menopause care. scalawagmagazine.org/2025/10…

Burning Inside: What Prison Heat Does to a Menopausal Body – Scalawag

Incarcerated writer Kwaneta Harris reflects on the tole that prison conditions take on the menopausal body.

scalawagmagazine.org
1
11
15
664
more replies
Our recent briefing found that only 5 states' prison policies have info explicitly about menopause, and none spell out what care, education, or resources prisons provide people experiencing perimenopause or menopause:
Screenshot of chart showing that only Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina mention "menopause" in their prison policies. Of those, only AL, AK, MS, OK, and OR have materials specifically addressing menopause.

ALT Screenshot of chart showing that only Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina mention "menopause" in their prison policies. Of those, only AL, AK, MS, OK, and OR have materials specifically addressing menopause.

1
177
Learn more 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2026/0…

Inevitable yet ignored: Prison policies disregard the realities of menopause behind bars

Our survey of state and federal prison policies shows just how little institutional attention is paid to menopause-related healthcare and education behind bars, despite the ...

prisonpolicy.org
135
Over 5,000 young women and girls are confined in the U.S. Many are locked up for violations like running away or truancy — things that are not crimes for adults and have nothing to do with public safety.
Detail image of the youth confinement slice of the womenʻs whole pie showing the offenses for which 5,200 girls are held in juvenile facilities

ALT Detail image of the youth confinement slice of the womenʻs whole pie showing the offenses for which 5,200 girls are held in juvenile facilities

3
30
36
888
Mirroring the adult system, girls of color and those who identify as LBTQ+ are disproportionately confined by the juvenile justice system. Black girls in particular shoulder an added burden of adultification, which leads to greater contact with the system & harsher consequences.
1
3
4
288
More from our recent report 👇 prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie…

Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026

198,800 women are behind bars in the U.S. See the report that shows where they are locked up and why.

prisonpolicy.org
1
3
4
223
Prison Policy Initiative retweeted
Fines and Fees Justice Center@FinesandFeesJCOct 19
October is Youth Justice Action Month. This month, we celebrate the youth advocates fighting to transform the juvenile justice system from something harmful into something supportive. In particular, we will explore a specific type of fee that affects people across the country.
1
1
4
292
Women in state prison are more likely to have a disability, struggle with mental health, and been unhoused as a child. By almost any measure, women in prison are worse off than men — leading up to and during incarceration. Prison is no answer for marginalized, traumatized women.
Pie chart showing the number of women locked up on a given day in the United States (199,000) by facility type and the underlying offense using the newest data available in 2026

ALT Pie chart showing the number of women locked up on a given day in the United States (199,000) by facility type and the underlying offense using the newest data available in 2026

4
51
92
1,918
More from our latest report 👇 prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie…

Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026

198,800 women are behind bars in the U.S. See the report that shows where they are locked up and why.

prisonpolicy.org
1
282
While Americans struggle to buy groceries, ICE is burning through nearly $14,430,000 per day on the detention of 65,000 people.
Bar graph showing the daily cost of immigration detention ($222), alternatives to ICE detention ($2), federal prisons ($129), U.S. Marshals detention ($128), pretrial detention ($13), and release ($0).

ALT Bar graph showing the daily cost of immigration detention ($222), alternatives to ICE detention ($2), federal prisons ($129), U.S. Marshals detention ($128), pretrial detention ($13), and release ($0).

3
68
4
82
4,255
"Most states spend less than $3 per person per day on prison food — and some as little as $1.02 — according to the analysis by Impact Justice. Even Maine, widely seen as a model for providing good quality food in its prisons, only spends $4.05 per person" themarshallproject.org/2025/…

Prison Food Is a Growing Billion-Dollar Industry. Many Meals Are Inedible.

As private food providers' contracts grow, the meager and moldy portions behind bars have forced some people to eat toothpaste and toilet paper.

themarshallproject.org
3
29
2
60
1,602
Women’s incarceration has risen by almost 60% globally since 2000. For several decades in the U.S., it grew at 2x the pace of men’s incarceration. The mass incarceration of women is a crisis.
Line graph showing change in women's incarceration rates in state prisons, federal prisons, and local jails from 1970 to 2023

ALT Line graph showing change in women's incarceration rates in state prisons, federal prisons, and local jails from 1970 to 2023

1
19
2
39
2,330
More from our latest report 👇 prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie…

Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026

198,800 women are behind bars in the U.S. See the report that shows where they are locked up and why.

prisonpolicy.org
292
Prison Policy Initiative retweeted
JoinJeremy@join_jeremyOct 16
Jeremy wrote for @karenhunter's TheHub about how the nasty food and contaminated water in prison isn't just due to neglect. It forces incarcerated people to make profiteers richer by spending money on overpriced commissary products.
TheHub.News@karenhunterOct 14
Contaminated water. Denied #medicalcare. For private prison corporations, human suffering is simply a business model. Incarcerated journalist @join_jeremy exposes who profits from #ICE detention, exclusively for TheHub.news. tinyurl.com/4atn9ke6
3
2
249
Even as public support for the death penalty is at a five-decade low, the U.S. continues to embrace the grotesque public experiment. The carceral system should never get to decide who lives and who dies. axios.com/2026/09/02/death-p…

America is seeing an uptick in executions

Twenty-four people have been executed this year, with ten more scheduled.

axios.com
1
23
33
1,182
Prison Policy Initiative retweeted
Freedom of the Press Foundation
@FreedomofPressOct 16
Outside journalists reporting on prisons face challenges, too — check out our two-part guide for reporters attempting to navigate the system. 🔗 Part 1: freedom.press/issues/coverin… 🔗 Part 2: freedom.press/issues/coverin…

Covering the mass incarceration system, Part 1

Know the rights, risks, and realities for journalists trying to get the story from American prisons and jails.

freedom.press
Freedom of the Press Foundation
@FreedomofPressOct 16
“Reporting from prison is a lot like reporting from a war zone,” writes FPF columnist @joinjeremy about his reporting process and the many obstacles he encounters. “You try to document what is happening around you while staying in survival mode yourself.” inquest.org/reporting-from-s…

This is How I Report from Solitary Confinement - Jeremy Busby - Inquest

Two years after I was placed in solitary for my reporting, a wave of drug overdoses swept through Texas prisons. I followed the story from my cell.

inquest.org
2
1
1,984
🚨 NEW: Under 287(g) agreements, ICE deputizes local police, who then carry out the federal agency's dirty work within their own community. Advocates have pressured state & local governments to ban this type of collaboration — but ICE keeps finding loopholes. 🧵
1
7
18
1,379
more replies
➡️ Finally, advocates should look beyond legislative reforms and push for action in the executive branch as well. Governors and attorneys general can play an effective role in curbing ICE overreach.
1
1
3
147
ICE is using local resources to fuel the federal crimmigration agenda. Advocates must strive for broad legislation to block ICE overreach — otherwise, they could find themselves playing whack-a-mole as the agency shifts tactics. Learn more 👇 prisonpolicy.org/blog/2026/1…

Breaking ICE: Most bans on ICE collaboration don’t go far enough. Here’s how to make them stronger

State and local governments play a critical role in the detention and deportation machinery. Here's how advocates can make bans on 287(g) agreements more effective ...

prisonpolicy.org
1
3
162
Load more