Prisons and Corrections in the News

Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley - Prisons and Corrections in the News

News reports on collaboration with ICE:
• Residents urge action against alleged ICE activity at Lehigh County Courthouse (WFMZ: July 10, 2025)
• Allentown adopts policy of non-collaboration with ICE as part of welcoming city movement
• Allentown Adopts Policy of Non-Collaboration with ICE as Part of "Welcoming City" Movement
• ICE presence in Bethlehem sparks renewed calls for Easton "welcoming city" ordinance

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• No Coming Home (Spotlight: March 3, 2025)
  An incarcerated woman's hopes of obtaining freedom vanished after Pa.'s powerful pardon board took an unprecedented second vote.
• A Call for Greater Compassion: How Pennsylvania's Compassionate Release Statue Reinforces Cruelty  (Abolitionist Law Center: Dec. 2024; 44 pages)
  Documents many cases under current law and spells out needed reforms.
• Shapiro proposes to close two Pennsylvania state prisons (City & State: Feb.11, 2025)
  Shapiro administration estimates the closures of SCI Rockview in Centre County and Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County could save the state $100 million annually.
• After Shapiro calls for 2 state prisons to close, prisoner advocates follow up with specific recommendations: close SCI Fayette and SCI Huntingdon.   (KYW: Feb. 8, 2025)
  SCI Fayette is located on a toxic waste dump. SCI Huntingdon has asbestos; it has black mold; the roof is falling down, and it has contaminated water.
• Shapiro proposes closing two Pennsylvania state prisons   (ABC News: Feb. 5, 2025)
• Back to prison? Battle over revised sentencing sheet continues for convicted P'burg robber
  (LVLive: February 5, 2025) Tahir Sutton's Feb. 5th court appearance.
• A Lehigh Valley man's sentence for a teenage robbery is in dispute. He awaits his fate.
  (Morning Call: February 5, 2025) restricted to subscribers Tahir Sutton's Feb. 5th court appearance.
• Philly homicides are at a near-record low in 2024, Krasner says
  (WHYY: December 30, 2024)   The district attorney said that crime has been on a downward trajectory for the past three years
• Lehigh County approves 2025 budget, public raises concerns over prison funding
  (LehighCountyNews: Oct. 24, 2024) - unfortunately this story seems to be very sloppy reporting - compare with this video recording of the meeting.
• Lawsuits claim dozens of children were sexually abused inside Pennsylvania juvenile facilities
  (WHYY/AP: October 23, 2024) A law firm said on Oct. 23 that it filed claims on behalf of more than 60 people. More than 200 people have launched such cases since May.
• Philadelphia jail withheld insulin from a diabetic inmate who died, lawsuit says
  (WHYY/AP: October 24, 2024) The family of a former Philly jail inmate is suing the institution, saying officials there caused the death of a diabetic inmate by failing to provide insulin, other care.
• Shadow Budgets: How mass incarceration steals from the poor to give to the prison
  (Prison Policy Initiative: May 6, 2024) Includes an example from Dauphin County, PA.

• Protest targets Philly prisons commissioner after Amanda Cahill, Michael McKinnis deaths: "You have blood on your hands" (Kensington Voice: Sept. 18, 2024)
  The event (on-line and in-person) organized by Eastern State Penitentiary and held at Parkway Central Library was intended to address issues of excessive punishment and the impact of mass incarceration. As the program began, a group of people in the audience initiated a protest. They confronted one of the panelists, Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Michael Resnick, to answer for the death of Amanda Cahill, who died in a Philly jail cell following a Kensington police sweep earlier the month.
• Consent order could reshape mental health care in Allegheny County Jail
  (Public Source: March 19, 2024)
• This Pennsylvania county is promising more mental health support, less use of force at its jail
  (Morning Call: March 20, 2024) Allegheny County lawsuit settlement requires more mental health staff at the jail and use of force training
• Dauphin County made millions on jail phone calls and spent it on staff perks, contractors (PennLive: Jan. 10, 2023)
• Your View: We spend too much on jailing kids, instead of helping them
  (MorningCall - restricted to subscribers only: July 27, 2024)
• After 5-year battle, new Pa. probation reforms pushed by Meek Mill go into effect
  (WHYY: June 21, 2024)   Pennsylvania has one of the most restrictive probation systems in the country. A new law seeks to change that.
• Conditions deteriorate in Philadelphia jail (Pa Prison Society: June 27, 2024)
  Three years since PPS started documenting the crisis in Philadelphia jails, conditions are getting worse.
  • Monitoring Report and Response: PICC - May 2024
    This memorandum summarizes the Prison Society's walkthrough of male units of Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC) on May 16, 2024.
• ACLU of Pennsylvania sues the Commonwealth over inadequate public defense system (ACLU: June 13, 2024)
• ACLU sues Pennsylvania, demands more resources for public defenders statewide
  (WVIA: June 17, 2024)
• Bucks County organization marks 50 years of serving victims of crime (WHYY: June 18, 2024) In the past 50 years, NOVA has served over 100,000 victims of serious crimes or their family members in Bucks County.
• Half-staffed: More money for Philly guards as city prisons at 55% staffing level
  (WHYY: June 17, 2024)   Better pay and a temporary halt to the residency requirement could help draw new corrections officers from the suburbs.

• A Pa. state prisoner has Gov. Josh Shapiro's support in compassionate release case (SpotlightPA: May 13, 2024)
• Philadelphia carceral geographies project Website series about historical moments of prisons, policing, and related organizing in Philly and their reverberations today
• Historic Challenge to Life Without Parole for Felony Murder Advances in PA Supreme Court
  (Center for Constitutional Rights: April 29, 2024) This case on behalf of Derek Lee challenges the constitutionality of Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentence for 2nd degree murder. Seventeen amici curiae (friend of the court briefs) were submitted in support of LeeÕs case, including one from Governor Josh Shapiro's office.
• Pa. state advisory committee releases plan for historic public defense money
  (WSEA: April 30, 2024) For the first time, Pennsylvania will provide state funding for county public defenders. Northampton County is eligible for up to $98,393, and Lehigh County for $101,419, which is less than 3% of the public defender's budget, but at least itÕs a start.
  Also see this MorningCall report [restricted to subscribers] (April 29, 2024)
• Lehigh Valley Criminal filings remain below pre-COVID level
  (MorningCall - restricted access: April 15, 2024)

• Private Prisons in the United States (Sentencing Project: June 15, 2023) Pennsylvania incarcerated 447 people in private prisons in 2022, representing 1% of PA prison population.
• Federal judge refuses to toss Lancaster County district judge bail lawsuit
  (LNP: Jan. 30, 2024)   A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by Lancaster County Prison inmates who claim four district judges set cash bail at levels they canÕt afford, leading to unconstitutional pretrial incarceration, while other wealthier people charged with similar crimes were given bail they could afford, and therefore released while awaiting trial.
• DA Larry Krasner files suit to quash state's special SEPTA prosecutor as unconstitutional
  Krasner's suit seeks to block as unconstitutional a Republican-sponsored state law that removes his authority over crimes around SEPTA property and gives that power to a special prosecutor appointed by the state attorney general.
  • WHYY Report (Jan. 11, 2024)
  • PhillyInquirer Report (January 11, 2024)
• What's driving the increase in prison escapes (PPS: Dec. 21, 2023)
  There have been more escapes from county jails in Pennsylvania this year than in the previous six years combined.
• PA Prison Society survey finds nearly half of county jails are short-staffed
  (PPS: December 15, 2023)   The Prison Society's latest semi-annual survey of Pennsylvania county jails found that nearly half of the jails are short-staffed, in a year when the state has seen more than quadruple the average number of escapes from county facilities. In addition, it found that the practice of charging a copay for medical visits is widespread, despite the harmful effects of copays on the health of incarcerated people and the surrounding community.
• Invisible By Design: Developmental and Cognitive Disabilities in Allegheny County's Criminal Legal System (Aboliitionist Law Center, Dec. 20, 2023)
  While a great deal of research and advocacy focuses on the prevalence of serious mental illness and substance use disorders in jails and prisons, much less attention is paid to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism, or cognitive impairments. These disabilities are often referred to as "invisible," as they tend to go unacknowledged or undocumented by disabling systems, including our jails and prisons.
• ALC Report: Probation drives incarceration in Allegheny County
  (PittsburghCityPaper: 9/20/2023)
• Probation in Allegheny County (ALC: July 10, 2023)
  The average individual on probation in Allegheny County is ordered to pay $6,545 in court costs, $1,644 in fines, and $14,592 in restitution. The vast majority of these costs, fines, and restitution are still unpaid, and nonpayment itself is often the basis for imposing new probation sentences.
• The Effects of Pretrial Detention Length on Sentencing Guideline Departures in Two Pennsylvania Counties (Lehigh and Northampton) (LVJI - CCJLS, 24:3, pp.11-33, Dec. 2023)
• Well-intentioned mental health courts can struggle to live up to their goals
  (NPR: Dec. 21, 2023)
• Most Americans with mental health needs don't get treatment, report finds
  (NPR: Dec. 13, 2023)
• Three years ago, a police officer killed Christian Hall. Now, the PA legislature will study the role of 911 in mental health emergencies.   (Spotlight PA: Dec. 28, 2023)
• "You Send Yourselves to Jail" Coercive Diversion in the Allegheny County Mental Health Court (ALC report - December 2023)
  This report exposes another abusive, violent, carceral structure, part and parcel of Allegheny County's larger systems of criminalization. The Allegheny County Mental Health Court (MHC), established in 2001, purports to divert participants with documented diagnoses of mental illness out of jail and into community-based treatment facilities. But participation requires stipulations including a guilty plea that fails to spare them from many of the worst consequences of involvement in the criminal legal system, including arrest, a guaranteed criminal record and possible incarceration

• Northampton County's focus on serious mental illness in jail
  by Susan Wandalowski, director of human services and James C. Kostyra, director, department of corrections. (LehighValleyLive: Oct. 10, 2023)
• The Continuing Tragedy of Philadelphia's Jails (PA Prison Society 10/12/23)
  • A man reported using a sock to bandage a gunshot wound he came into jail with while he waited weeks for medical care.
  • A man with a heart condition said that his cellmate had to kick the cell door during an emergency to get the attention of staff, who are often nowhere to be seen.
  • A man in solitary confinement reported not being let out of his cell at all for weeks at a time.
  ... and it continues on and on ...
• Northampton, Lehigh counties announce programs for people in criminal justice system because of drug use, other issues (Morning Call: Aug. 3, 2023)
  • Northampton County: new Veterans Court, in addition to Mental Health Court and Drug Court which were started in 2015.
  • Lehigh County: new Rapid Assessment Divert to Treatment (RADT) program for substance abuse cases, modeled after Team MISA (Mental Illness Substance Abuse).
• Federal financial aid is returning to PA prisons. But getting a college degree inside won't be easy. (PublicSource: May 30, 2023)   Pell Grants are now available again for incarcerated people.
• ACLU files amended suit over Lancaster County district judge bail policies
  (LancasterOnline: June 2, 2023)
• Lehigh County legislation:
  • Bill 2023-26: Lehigh County contract with PCCD for Recidivism Research and Analysis
  • Bill 2023-29: Grants to Lehigh County non-profit community agencies and programs from the 4th round of COVID-19 relief funds.
• Leisure books, visitation now allowed for some inmates in solitary confinement at Lehigh County Jail. Here's why - report from Lehigh County Courts & Corrections meeting. (MorningCall: June 8, 2023)
• Lehigh County Criminal Justice Advisory Board - 2022 Statistical Report (June 8, 2023) posted with the Court of Common Pleas Annual Reports and now includes the complete year-end report from Lehigh Valley Pretrial Services.
  For comparison, see the 2021 CJAB report.
• Inmates with severe mental illness get specialized care at new facility (LehighValleyNews: May 30, 2023) Shiloh Restoration Center is an eight bed secure facility in Northampton County for people with severe mental illness who are facing criminal charges; it is now open and will provide mental and behavioral health support. The new facility is next door to Greater Shiloh's Nehemiah house, which is a transitional home for men coming out of prison and rehab.

• CBD gummy case against 11-year-old Northampton County boy a waste of taxpayer money (Morning Call: Ed Angelo op-ed; May 13, 2023)
• Mail scanning a potential barrier to voting in jail As Pennsylvanians prepare to vote in the primary election May 16, there are concerns about a potential new barrier to exercising the right to vote in jail. (May 12, 2023: PA Prison Society)
• House budget hearing focuses on challenges facing prison staffers, inmates
  (Post-Gazette: April 9, 2023)
• PA Department of Corrections Budget Hearing - video recording
  (House GOP website: 3/30/2023)

• Philadelphia jails are still in crisis (PA Prison Society: April 28, 2023)
  A 37-year-old man hospitalized after being stabbed in the back four times. A 23-year-old stabbed in a dining area and hospitalized in critical condition. A 33-year-old incarcerated man killed by a stab wound to the chest. These are all acts of violence in the Philadelphia jails that have made headlines in the last two months alone.
• Students, prison inmates learn from each other through Muhlenberg College program
  (WFMZ: April 27, 2023)
• The Muhlenberg College Inside/Out Prison Exchange Program - Photos
  (Morning Call: April 27, 2023)
• Interactive simulation gives Philadelphians a glimpse at the harsh realities many former prisoners face when reentering society (WHYY: April 18, 2023)   A simulation at the Constitution Center Monday highlighted the challenges formerly incarcerated people often face when attempting to reenter society.
• Re-entering society after incarceration: NCC program spotlights struggles
  Report on the Reentry Simulation event at Northampton Community College
  (LehighValleyNews: March 18, 2023)
• A Criminal Solution (SpotlightPA & PINJ: March 9, 2023)
  Determining whether someone is mentally fit to stand trial in Pennsylvania often traps them in the very place making them worse — jail. This is the story of one woman's fight to get out.
• Gun violence in 2022: 500+ homicides, prevention efforts, and public safety
  (WHYY: Dec. 31, 2022)   Includes description of 2022 and 2023 Philadelphia violence prevention programs.
• 'An unjust system': Philly advocates hold 24-hour bailout ahead of the holidays
  (WHYY: Dec. 20, 2022)
• Philly DA Krasner applauds high bail after family feud ends in gunfire
  (WHYY: August 22, 2022)
• Witnesses argue in favor of recovery house near Cetronia Elementary
  (LVNews: Jan. 6, 2022)
• Allentown to spend $1.5 million on 'credible messengers.' Here's how they can help tackle youth gun violence (MorningCall: Dec. 9, 2022)
• Divided Lehigh County Commissioners vote for pretrial services contract despite transparency concerns (MorningCall: Dec. 8, 2022)
• Berks County: More research part of commissioners' plan for new jail (WFMZ: Nov. 17, 2022)   Here is the news coverage of when Berks commissioners announced their intentions. If you click on the top picture you can view the WFMZ report and hear the commissioners express their intentions. (This was NOT the position they were taking previously.)
• Measure to set state standards for public defenders, fill gaps in county funding passes first hurdle in Senate (TribLive, Oct. 2, 2022)
• Jail officials across Pa. sound alarm as mental health crisis puts people at risk, survey finds (SpotlightPA & PINJ: Oct. 20, 2022)
• Philly public defenders, staff to get pay raise (WHYY: July 6, 2022)
  Philadelphia's public defenders (and support staff) are getting a pay raise to make their salaries comparable with prosecutors in the city.
• Families of aging prisoners call on Lehigh County DA to publicly support geriatric parole review (WFMZ: Aug. 10, 2022) Rally and press conference outside District Attorney Jim Martin's office.
• Monroe prison's treatment programs fully staffed
  (tnonline: Aug. 12, 2022)
• At Lehigh County Courthouse rally, advocates for elderly and ill prisoners urge action on compassionate release (Morning Call: Aug. 10, 2022)
• Muhlenberg college pairs students and inmates to help find ways to keep people out of prison. (Morning Call: July 29, 2022) The Inside/Out Exchange Program is coordinated by psychology professor Kate Richmond.
• Program that takes inmates from recidivism to resiliency gets funding boost
  (WFMZ: July 29, 2022)
• Lehigh County controller calls for probation reform
  (WLVR: July 5, 2022)
• Citing pandemic-fueled mental health crisis, Rep. Schlossberg pitches $100 million in new spending that includes social workers for police departments (Morning Call: Jun 13, 2022)
• Philadelphia prosecutor Larry Krasner files suit to stop lawmakers from removing him.
  (AP: Dec. 2, 2022)
• Pa. Senate sets rules for Philly DA Larry Krasner's impeachment trial
  (PhillyInquirer: 11/29/2022)
• Philly's Reform Prosecutor Reacts to his Impeachment
  (theIntercept: Nov. 29, 2022)
• Pa. Republicans respond to gun violence by trying to impeach Philly DA Larry Krasner (WHYY: June 13, 2022)
• Cases are being delayed across the country due to a shortage of defense attorneys
  (NPR: May 14, 2022)
• Officers gather for National Police Week
  (NPR: May 14, 2022)
• 'Thinking outside of the box': Delco leaders plan to dispatch mental health experts alongside police (WHYY: May 9, 2022)
• Ex-offenders who complete reentry program eligible for Philly Housing Authority housing
  (Penn Capital-Star: May 4, 2022)
• New Data Suggests a Connection Between Pandemic Gun Sales and Increased Violence
  (The Trace: Dec 8, 2021) "Time-to-crime" figures published by the ATF show that guns sold in 2020 were more likely to wind up at crime scenes within a year than in any previous period.
• DA Jim Martin's 'ill-conceived' plan to monitor ballot boxes spurs Lehigh Valley reps to propose new law(Lehigh Valley Live: April 28, 2022)
• Bucks County, prison guards sued for pepper spraying, restraining woman with mental illness (WITF: April 27, 2022)
• Redemption is Real: Majority of Lifers Granted Commutation at April Hearing
  (Amistad Law Project: April 28, 2022)
• What Is the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP)?
  (Daily Parliament Times, March 18, 2022)
• They're not criminals. In Northampton County recovery court, they're people who need help. (LehighValleyLive: March 13, 2022)
• Inmates at Luzerne County Prison charged with rioting
  (Times-Leader: March 11, 2022)
• Just weeks away: Hiring staff remains a critical need as Delco prepares to take over county prison   (WHYY: March 21, 2022)
• As the Delco jail returns to county control, its new warden is focused on mental health and staff training   (PhillyInquirer: March 14, 2022)
• 'Hit the road, Jack': Protesters call for accountability from Delco DA Stollsteimer
  (WHYY: March 3, 2022)   CADBI supported first-term Delaware County DA Stollsteimer during his election campaign, but now is challenging him on broken campaign promises.
• Pa. to pilot bringing doula services to pregnant prisoners at SCI Muncy
  (WHYY: Feb. 15, 2022)
• Protesting unsafe conditions in city jails, car caravan circles Northeast Philly facility
  (WHYY: Feb. 12, 2022)
• Justice Department finds Pa. courts discriminated against people with opioid use disorder
  (SpotlightPA: Feb. 15, 2022)

• Justice Department finds Pa. courts discriminated against people with opioid use disorder (SpotlightPA: Feb. 15, 2022)
  
• Flaws plague a tool meant to help low-risk federal prisoners win early release
  (NPR: Jan. 26, 2022)
• Life without parole has turned Pa.'s prisons into hospices for the hopeless
  (Pa Capital-Star, Aug. 19, 2021)
• Philly criminal justice advocates seek to end PA's "Death by Incarceration"
  (Metro Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 2021) About the work around Pennsylvania's Senate Bill 835.
• Bipartisan bill aims to allow Pa. lifers a chance at parole eligibility
  (City Paper, Nov. 12, 2021) What it means to be a Lifer in Pennsylvania.
• Activists call for end to 'death by incarceration'
  (Workers World, October 4, 2021)
• I'd rather my tax dollars pay for schools than prisons and welfare
  (Morning Call, Paul Muschick, Dec. 28, 2021) Paul Muschick echoes the June 25th op-ed by Ed Angelo, "How school funding creates educational apartheid in Lehigh County."
• Victim advocates in Pa. looking for ways to revive Marcy's Law after court decision
  (WHYY: December 25, 2021) Marcy's Law, proposed as PA constitutional amendment, would establish a list of victimÕs rights, sometimes at the expense of defendant protections.
• Families like ours know that judges exercise tremendous power with limited oversight. Here's what we're doing about it (WHYY: June 30, 2021)
• Pa. prison guards union sues to block Wolf's vaccine policy
  (PennCapital-Star: Sept. 13, 2021)
• Pa.'s long-serving prisons chief, John E. Wetzel, is leaving
  (PennCapital-Star: Sept. 13, 2021)
• Operation Following Hope - providing reentry support for women leaving Northampton County Prison.
  
• Post-Traumatic Prison Disorder: A Town Hall Discussion on Prison Reform
  (podcast and summary report; recorded July 6, 2020)
• Reverse Recidivism, Heal the Human (youtube video: June 28, 2021; 1:07:30)
  A new curriculum to help Returning Citizens in their successful reentry by helping them with their emotional well being after incarceration.
• Pennsylvania to open unit for inmates with dementia at Rockview prison
  (TribLive: July 9, 2021)
• PA prisons release dashboard tracking race, populations [see dashboard.cor.pa.gov]
  The dashboard was built by the group Recidiviz, a tech nonprofit that partners with governmental agencies to use data to reduce incarceration with a focus on racial inequities. The dashboard includes information on prison and parole populations as well as a tab to specifically look at racial disparities in the system. (AP: July 30, 2021)
• Pennsylvania lawmakers make renewed effort to expand compassionate prison releases, so the elderly and terminally ill don't have to die behind bars (Morning Call: July 26, 2021)
• After nearly 30 years, ICE ends contract with York prison (York Dispatch: July 1, 2021)
  York County Prison - the detention center responsible for the largest ICE footprint in Pennsylvania - will cease its private contract with ICE after August 12. However, the immigration imprisonment industry in our state isn't actually shrinking - it's being relocated - through the forced and abrupt transfers of community members to other detention facilities nationwide.
• A suspended driver's license is a major barrier to finding a job. Lehigh County public defenders want to change that. (Morning Call: May 25, 2021)
  The June 5th event will be a one-stop shop for people who need assistance. In addition to volunteer attorneys, representatives of several social service agencies and nonprofits, including Catholic Charities, PA Career Link and Treatment Trends Inc., will have tables set up. Local grocery stores have donated bags of food to be distributed, and visitors will be able to get information about companies that hire people with criminal records. (See EMI Calendar for event details).
• Two ballot initiatives were approved in the May 18 primary in Pittsburgh:
  • Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative - will amend the Pittsburgh home rule charter to bar employees of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police from executing warrants without knocking or announcing themselves.
  • Prohibit Solitary Confinement Initiative - will prohibit solitary confinement in the Allegheny County Jail except in cases of lockdowns, medical or safety emergencies, and protective separation requests.
• Staffing crisis in PA county jails
  (Pa Prison Society: Apr. 8, 2021)
• "To stop Philly gun violence, officials should put their money where their mouth is," protesters say. "We are robbing our children of a childhood," said an organizer of rally at City Hall. (WHYY: Mar. 26, 2021)
• Allentown police recruit more homegrown officers who speak Spanish.
  'It's easier to build rapport with someone who can understand you' (Morning Call: Mar 26, 2021)
• Why is 70-year-old facing 7 years in prison for alleged candy bar theft
  (York Dispatch: Mar. 28, 2021)
• A bill that criminalizes spitting on Pa. police includes extra penalties for people who are sick
  (Spotlight: Mar. 28, 2021)
  - the bill is HB103 - Harassment of Law Enforcement Officer; also see this ACLU commentary opposing HB103.
• Pa. Supreme Court justice holds public autism forum
  (York Dispatch: Mar. 20, 2021)
• Why Pennsylvania should abolish the death penalty (Op-Ed by Julia Stribula)
  (MorningCall: Jan. 11, 2021)
• ACLU, civil rights attorneys accuse Montco court of overcharging defendants
  (WHYY: Jan. 5, 2021)
• 'Client advocate' getting results in Lehigh County public defender's office as social workers play larger role in criminal justice system (Morning Call: Jan. 5, 2021)

• Pa. Senate rejects another term for Victim Advocate Jennifer Storm
  (PennLive, Nov. 16, 2020)
• Why we need to reform the criminal justice system (MorningCall, Nov. 6, 2020)
  Op-Ed by Lehigh County Commissioners Geoff Brace and Dave Harrington
• Philly man held in solitary confinement 33 years must be let off death row, court rules
  (LewistonTribune: Oct. 30, 2020)

• You can serve life in prison for murder without killing anyone. Six inmates who are sue Pennsylvania for a chance at parole. (MorningCall: July 8, 2020)
• Allegheny County will make $4.3 million profit in new contract to provide phone calls for county jail inmates (Pittsburg Current: July 2, 2020)
• Gov. Wolf Signs Bipartisan Bill to Remove Barriers to Work for People with Criminal Convictions (July 1, 2020)
• As a Philly judge agreed to overturn a murder conviction after 31 years, the DA's Office took aim at the justice system (PhillyInquirer: June 12, 2020)
• Death row inmates win slight improvement in conditions
  (PennLive: Apr. 9, 2020)
• 'This is nothing' vs 'hardest hit': Formerly incarcerated people face new lockdown under coronavirus (WHYY, Mar. 30, 2020)

• In Pa. jails, women are paying more than double for the same tampons they'd get on the outside (WHYY: Feb. 6, 2020)
• Christians pray at a discount: Muslim prisoners charged more for religious texts
  (WHYY: Jan. 7, 2020)
• We should parole sick and old inmates - to save $22 million a year
  (Paul Muschick, MorningCall, Feb. 28, 2020)

• Inmate spends year in solitary over refusal to cut dreadlocks
  Lebanon County, PA (Feb. 25, 2020)
• Why were city officials silent after judge ripped Allentown police for being 'angry, hostile bullies'? (Morning Call, Feb. 25, 2020)
• Lehigh County judge criticizes police over violent arrest (LVLive: Feb. 22, 2020)
  John Perez assaulted by Allentown police in 2018.
• ACLU-PA Files Lawsuit Over Racial Profiling and Illegal Detention by Jim Thorpe Borough Police (ACLU: Feb. 20, 2020)
• Pennsylvania should help former inmates get job licenses (Morning Call, Feb. 5, 2020)

• District judge questions how Bethlehem treats minor marijuana offenses
(Morning Call: Dec. 16. 2019)
• Activists travel to Harrisburg to end life sentences (Nov. 12, 2019)
• Activists travel to Harrisburg to end life sentences (NorthwesternPress: Nov. 13, 2019)
  Story and photos of Lehigh Valley folks going to CADBI rally and lobby day in Harrisburg on Oct. 23, 2019.
• 13 corrections employees at Schuylkill County prison suspended after inmate dies
  (Morning Call: Nov. 17, 2019)
• Lawyers volunteer to help people with criminal records land jobs in model Montgomery County program (Morning Call: July 7, 2019)
• Your View: Lehigh County has been in forefront of bail reform - Op-Ed by Jim Martin, Heather Gallagher, and Maureen McManus (Morning Call: May 5, 2019)
• Your View: Cash bail system penalizes poor and costs taxpayers - Op-Ed by Julie Thomases (Morning Call: April 14, 2019)
• Tina Hamilton's Valley Workplaces: The power of a second chance
  (Morning Call: March 6, 2019)
• To stem opioid crisis, police in Carbon County can now send some offenders to treatment instead of jail (Morning Call: March 8, 2019)
• Reducing recidivism makes our communities safer (philly.com: Feb. 22, 2019)
  commentary by Josh Shapiro, PA Attorney General.
• Lehigh Valley sees major drops in serious crime in 2018; Allentown's numbers may be lowest in decades (Morning Call: Feb. 1, 2019)
• Wolf signs criminal justice reform bills into law (Daily Local News, Oct. 27, 2018)
• Northampton County: Judge Zito - accused of improperly pressuring defendants to plead guilty
  • Defense attorney files motion criticizing county judge, asks for his recusal
    (Riley Yates, Morning Call: Oct. 22, 2018)
  • Judge, lawyer clash over courtroom allegations of strong-arming defendants
    (Riley Yates, Morning Call: Oct. 30, 2018)
  • Northampton County judge recuses himself from case, calls motion against him 'yellow journalism' (Riley Yates, Morning Call: Nov. 1, 2018)
  • Readers React: Judge Zito improves Northampton County criminal court system (Morning Call: Nov. 1, 2018)
• Changes in PA Prison Policies for Mail, Books, and Visitors
  In September 2019, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) instituted new restrictive polices on mail, books, and visitors in state prisons in response to the drug crisis.
  On October 19, responding to public protest, the DOC announced changes to some of the offensive policies listed in this on-line petition to Governor Wolf and described in news reports (below). A summary of recent DOC policy changes is posted here, and there is additional information linked to the DOC homepage: www.cor.pa.gov.
  
  • Pennsylvania prisons to stop copying inmates' legal mail (MorningCall: Feb. 22, 2019)
  • Pennsylvania restricts inmate mail. Prison drugs are down. But is it legal? A federal judge will decide (MorningCall: Feb. 19, 2019)
  • Families call new Pa. prison mail policy devastating (philly.com: Oct. 15, 2018)
  • Incarcerated Pennsylvanians now have to pay $150 to read. We should all be outraged. (Washington Post: Oct. 11, 2018) and (Morning Call: Oct. 11, 2018)
  • All out to protest Governor Wolf's dehumanizing prison policies (Decarcerate PA)

• Why are so many Pa. prison inmates committing suicide? (philly.com: Oct. 9, 2018)
• Report pans life without parole in Pennsylvania (Riley Yates, Morning Call, Sept. 21, 2018)
• Jail to Jobs: A place to call home [Lazarus House] (Morning Call: Sept. 17, 2018)
• Sept. 12, 2018 Lehigh County Board of Commissioners meeting with EMI presentation about ending cash bail and response.
  • Citizens urge Lehigh County to eliminate cash bail (WFMZ news: Sept. 13, 2018)
  • Lehigh County executive, commissioners back review of cash bail system
    (Morning Call: Sept. 17, 2018)
  • Lehigh County may do away with cash bail (Bethlehem Press, Sept. 25, 2018)
• With new proposal, trauma-informed care could become standard in Pa. schools
  (WHYY: Sept. 4, 2018)
  Breaking the "pipeline to prison": a proposal by Senators Vincent Hughes and Pat Browne for "trauma-informed system education" in PA, including a requirement that all teachers, school board members, and school employees "with direct contact with students" receive trauma-informed training. For further reading, see Lancaster County ACEs & Resilience Connection.
• Despite promises to do better, Pennsylvania continues to jail the mentally incompetent
  (Riley Yates, The Morning Call, July 28, 2018)
• Pennsylvania's bail system keeps poor people in jail
  (Riley Yates, Peter Hall, The Morning Call, July 20, 2018)
• Behind Erie's falling violent crime, signs of an initiative's success
  (GoErie: July 15, 2018)
• Despite new resentencing guidelines, juvenile lifers still getting long prison terms
  (philly.com, Morning Call: July 16, 2018)
• Video documentary: American Jail:
  - Oscar-winning Easton filmmaker visits hometown prison in new movie
  (Express-Times, June 22, 2018)
  - Easton native Roger Ross Williams talks about latest film, 'American Jail' (Morning Call, July 2, 2018)
• Pa. Task Force Report: Changes to death penalty suggested (The Morning Call, June 25, 2018)
• Clean Slate Act becomes law:
  • Governor Wolf Signs Clean Slate Bill, Calls for More Criminal Justice Reform (Governor Wolf's Office, June 28, 2018)
  • Pennsylvania becomes first state with 'clean slate' law for nonviolent criminal records (The Times, June 28, 2018)
  • Wolf signs bills giving some non-violent offenders a 'clean slate' in life
    (Morning Call, June 28, 2018)
  • HB-1419 / Act #56 (Clean Slate Legislation)
• Jail to Jobs: Women's prison has a vision for success
  (Laurie Mason Schroeder, The Morning Call, June 17, 2018)
• Can the rural prison economy survive the era of decarceration?
  by Samantha Melamed (philly.com, June 7; Morning Call, June 11, 2018)
• Court Fees Pile up, Imperiling the Poor
    (Riley Yates, The Morning Call, May 13, 2018)

Philadelphia

• Philadelphia releases findings after reviewing over 2,000 shootings in the city
  (WHYY: Jan. 22, 2022)
• 'Bold, systemic change': Philly Chief Defender Keisha Hudson says criminal justice reform requires it (WHYY: January 4, 2022)

• Reports on Criminal Justice by Samantha Melamed (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Move to Strip Reformist Prosecutor Larry Krasner of Authority (the Intercept: 7/8/2019)
• Larry Krasner's Campaign to End Mass Incarceration (New Yorker: Oct. 29, 2018)
  Philadelphia's District Attorney reinvents the role of the modern prosecutor.
• Larry Krasner's first year as Philly DA: Staff turnover, fewer cases, plenty of controversy (philly.com: Jan. 6, 2019)
• Philadelphia will stop keeping a portion of defendants' bail (Reading Eagle: Oct. 11, 2018)
• Phila. Courts Revoke Policy Allowing It to Retain 30 Percent of Cash Bail Deposit
  (law.com: Oct. 10, 2018)
• Philadelphia's New Top Prosecutor Is Rolling Out Wild, Unprecedented Criminal Justice Reforms   (portside.org Mar. 29, 2018)
• Philadelphia City Council Resolution to End Cash Bail
    (phillymag.com, Feb. 2, 2018)
• Larry Krasner (Philadelphia District Attorney): prosecutors will no longer seek cash bail for people accused of some misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies
    (philly.com, Feb. 21, 2018)
• Philadelphia economic impact study: the city could save $75 million a year by ending cash bail and sending thousands of people arrested each year for nonviolent, low-level crimes home to await their court dates.   (theappeal.org, Oct. 26, 2017)

Letters to the Editor

• Let's cut Lehigh County Jail phone charges (Robert Walden, Morning Call, Mar. 14, 2020)
• DA Rarely Makes Cash Bail Recommendations (Jim Martin, Feb. 25, 2020)
• Cash bail can push people over edge financially (Naomi Winch, Feb. 21, 2020)
• Time to End Ineffective and Expensive Mass Incarceration (Nov. 7, 2019)
  
• Your View: Money Buys Freedom; Poverty Buys a Jail Cell - Op-Ed by Ed Angelo
  (Morning Call: Nov. 17, 2019)
• Readers React: Lehigh County's decision to review cash bail policies encouraging
  (My Lien Nguyen, Sept. 27, 2018)
• Support efforts to help mentally ill (Joan Kistler: Aug. 5, 2018)
• Lehigh needs bail reform (Cecilia Eberhard: Aug. 1, 2018)

Lehigh County Jail

• Lehigh County Jail reports another inmate suicide - the third in eight months
  (LV News: March 14, 2025)
• Forest Touchberry Dies By Suicide In Lehigh Jail: Coroner
  (Daily Voice: March 14, 2025)
• Coroner: Suspect in Lehigh Valley dismemberment case kills self in jail cell
  (NBC10: January 12, 2025)
• Inmate found unresponsive in his cell at the Lehigh County Jail, pronounced deceased
  (WFMZ: Dec. 16, 2024)   Linwood Jones died 3 days after he was jailed for trespassing.
• Authorities: Allentown man found unresponsive in Lehigh County Jail cell, death ruled suicide (LVNews: August 28, 2024)
• Woman sues Lehigh County Jail over injuries suffered at the hands of her cellmate, a woman with mental illness (MorningCall: Aug. 8, 2023)
• Federal lawsuit: Murder-for-hire suspect mistakenly released by Lehigh County Jail, terrorized intended victim (MorningCall: Aug. 7, 2023)
• Despite mental illness, woman was locked up alone for 4 months in Lehigh County Jail, lawsuit says (LehighValleyLive: May 23, 2023)
• Lehigh County to use opioid settlement money to rehab inmates
  (LehighValleyNews: May 25, 2023)
• Woman with mental illness sues Lehigh County over use of solitary confinement, violation of rights while in jail (MorningCall: May 23, 2023)
• 'These are human beings who are locked in those cages': Lehigh County considers solitary confinement at jail (Morning Call: Sept. 8, 2022) Lehigh County Jail's use of solitary confinement was examined at Lehigh County Commissioners - Courts and Corrections Committee meeting.
  Watch the 2-hr. video recording of the 9/7/2022 meeting here.
• PrimeCare: Less Medical Care for Prisoners, Higher Expenses for Taxpayers, More Profits for Corporate Owner (PrisonLegalNews: May 1, 2022)
  Includes Lehigh County cases against PrimeCare.
• 'I thought I was going to die in there,' Lehigh County inmate recalls time in jail during COVID-19 surge (WLVR: Mar. 1, 2021)
• Lehigh County Jail inmate found dead in his cell, investigation underway
  (Morning Call: Feb. 27, 2021)
• COVID-19 deaths at Lehigh County Jail lead to calls for changes
  (WFMZ: Feb. 6-17, 2021)
• Man dies at Lehigh County corrections center, authorities say
  (Morning Call: Dec. 31, 2018)
• Authorities: Former Lehigh County Jail nurse charged in sex assault with inmate
  (Morning Call: Oct. 3, 2017)
• Authorities: Inmate at Lehigh County jail found dead
  (Morning Call: June 26, 2017)
• Inmate at Lehigh County Jail dies; autopsy to be performed
  (Morning Call: July 24, 2015)
• Jail medical care not cause of inmate's death, Lehigh County jury rules
  (Morning Call: March 27, 2015)
• Former Lehigh County jail doctor gets 3 1/2 years in prison for cheating taxpayers
  (Morning Call: April 20, 2015)
• Lehigh County jail prisoner grieivance (Lehigh Valley IWW: Sept. 12, 2015)
• Families blame Lehigh County Jail inmates' deaths on staff
  (Morning Call: Nov. 23, 2014)
• Cellmate: Ex-prison doc talked about shooting judge (Morning Call: July 22, 2014)
  [Note: Lehigh County jail contracts for medical services with PrimeCare]
  PrimeCare Medical Inc., contract audit - Northampton County (Nov. 25, 2015)
• Inmate hangs himself in Lehigh County Prison cell, officials say
  (LehighValleyLive: January 17, 2014)
• No charges in Lehigh County inmate's death following seizure, being placed in restraint chair
  (LehighValleyLive: August 8, 2013)
• Court Case:Charles Shumanis v. Lehigh County Warden Dale Miesel, Warden Janine Donate, Sergeant Eric Saborsky, Sergant Ronald March, Correction Office Eric Nowicki
  Judicial decision Jan. 18, 2017, regarding jail incident on Nov. 16, 2012.
• Janine Donate resigned as Warden of Lakawanna County prison in 2010, and subsequently was hired as Warden of Lehigh County Jail.