Regardless of the length of an individual's sentence, the policies that dictate when and how they may be released from prison can significantly impact not just their chances at successful re-entry but also the ways they interact with others while behind bars. A recent look back at Arizona's 1994 Truth-In-Sentencing (TIS) law found that people sentenced under TIS racked up more violent disciplinary infractions, engaged in fewer programs while incarcerated, were much more likely to reoffend, and were 23% more likely to return to prison within three years.

A leak from multiple sources inside the DEA this week, confirmed that the agency is poised to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. The move marks a historic shift in U.S. drug policy, even as some advocates have pointed out that more could be done.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the death toll among incarcerated individuals in the U.S. skyrocketed at a rate over three times higher than the general population, according to a new study. The numbers, thought to be the most comprehensive review of state and federal-level prison data to date, paint a grim picture of the pandemic's impact behind bars. Older prisoners bared the brunt of the crisis and experienced a disproportionate rise in deaths.

Last week, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act with a 41-1 vote. The legislation, introduced last year, hopes to shine a light on the shadowy agency that has faced numerous reports of abuse, neglect, and unconstitutional conditions inside several federal facilities across the country by establishing an Ombudsman within the DOJ who would be tasked handling complaints from incarcerated individuals, corrections staff and others, as well as provide for risk-based assessments of federal prison facilities.

This week, the Maryland Department of Corrections announced a new agreement with the University System of Maryland that will create a framework to bring higher education programs to every state-run prison utilizing newly reinstated federal Pell grants allowing incarcerated people to pursue bachelor’s degrees. The first-in-the-nation deal follows the passage of legislation to reshape prison education this year: one bill that establishes a prison education delivery reform commission to develop strategies to improve learning in state-run facilities, and another bill that would implement new requirements and better track educational outcomes.