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.

The myth that coming into contact with fentanyl through the air or by touching it has been debunked continuously by public health experts over the years, but it nevertheless continues to spread among law enforcement, and now policymakers. This year, proposed legislation in Florida, West Virginia, and Tennessee aims to criminalize exposing first responders to fentanyl, perpetuating a dangerous myth of passive overdose risk. Despite expert pushback, policymakers are advancing these bills that could exacerbate the opioid crisis.

In a significant bipartisan victory, the Arizona Legislature unanimously passed the Workforce Expansion Act (House Bill 2308) today. The bill, which is now headed to the governor for final approval, will reduce barriers to employment in Arizona by limiting the ability for licensing agencies to deny an otherwise qualified applicant an occupational license solely due to a past criminal offense that is unrelated to the occupation for which the license is sought.

The tactics law enforcement use to restrain and deescalate suspects aren’t supposed to lead to death. Yet, they have. Deaths following the use of Tasers or physical restraint don't always make national headlines, which means just how often and in what ways police tactics are leading to death can be difficult to track, until now.

A federal judge has ordered the Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin to be overseen by a "special master," marking the first time a Bureau of Prisons facility has faced such oversight in U.S. history. The decision follows scathing criticism from the judge, who accused the BOP of disregarding inmates' constitutional rights, and comes after lawsuits by incarcerated women alleging sexual assault and retaliation, as well as an FBI raid and the removal of top administrators.

A report in NPR this week looks at the challenges of caring for an increasingly elderly prison population in the United States. As those sentenced to long terms of incarceration continue to age, their healthcare demands rise, and facilities across the country are finding themselves ill-equipped to deal with the needs of this population. Experts argue that soon we will be at a tipping point where states will either need to adapt their facilities rapidly to meet the needs of their ballooning elderly population, or look at alternatives like early release.

As Arizona employers continue to struggle to fill open jobs, one group of eager workers may find it easier to accept those positions in the coming months. Senate Bill 1364, sponsored by Senator Shawnna Bolick (R-District 2), passed the House with a unanimous 57-0 vote earlier today, and previously passed the Senate with a unanimous 26-0 vote. The bill now heads to Governor Hobbs for her signature.

According to a new study released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Ohio’s practice of suspending driver’s licenses over unpaid traffic tickets is robbing the state of a significant portion of its workforce. According to the study, 14.4% of the Ohio labor force could be at risk of leaving it in any given year due to such suspensions.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s package of tough-on-crime legislation made its final moves through the state’s special legislative session on crime this week, and as the Louisiana Illuminator astutely points out, they did so without the full understanding of how much the measures will cost taxpayers. The proposed bills, including measures to lengthen prison sentences, restrict parole, require 17-year-olds be tried as adults, and more had analyses that cited the cost as “indeterminable,” while some measures were being passed before fiscal analyses could be completed.

This week, the Louisiana legislature is meeting for a special session on crime, and is on the verge of rolling back significant reforms to its criminal justice system that first passed in 2017. Lawmakers and Governor Landry have blamed them on a rise in crime despite data to the contrary.

A new report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general exposed a distressing reality around inmate deaths within federal prisons, noting that 344 inmates in federal prison having died from suicide, homicide or accidents over an eight-year period. More than half of those deaths—187—were suicides. The investigation reveals systemic failures in mental health care and suicide prevention protocols, finding that most non-medical deaths in federal facilities could have been prevented.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt spoke out against the controversial practice of civil asset forfeiture during his 2024 State of the State address, acknowledging its inherent unfairness and calling for comprehensive reforms. Stitt's stance adds momentum to the growing movement against this widely criticized practice, which allows law enforcement to seize property from individuals, often without criminal charges or due process.

“We applaud Governor Stitt for acknowledging that creating safe communities requires a dual approach of advancing public safety policies and facilitating individuals’ progression out of incarceration cycles,” said Lauren Krisai, Deputy Director at JAN. “We appreciate the Governor's ongoing commitment to modernizing all aspects of the justice system, and mentioning the need for a modernized approach to fines and fees as well as more transparency and accountability around civil asset forfeiture.

Housing over 157,000 inmates at an annual cost exceeding $8 billion, the US federal prison system is facing increased scrutiny as its level of understaffing becomes potentially dangerous and a disturbing pattern of abuse at women's prisons has unfolded in the public eye. CBS’ 60 Minutes sat down with Colette Peters to talk about her culpability in the abuses, her efforts to right the plagued agency, and where federal incarceration goes from here.

Five years after the federal First Step Act reshaped America's criminal justice landscape, U.S. Senator Durbin and First Step Act beneficiary Matthew Charles joined forces to defend its success and advocate for continued policy progress on its five year anniversary. The Act's impact on reducing recidivism, federal prison overcrowding, and unfair sentencing practices was on clear display during last week's Senate hearing on the law.

President Biden’s 2020 campaign website included an extensive section on criminal justice reform. Four years later, the site has been scrubbed and journalist Max Burns faced a wall of silence from democrat lawmakers and national criminal justice organizations while researching a column on what happened to Democrats’ justice reform priorities since the last election.