On Monday this week, the US Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery v Louisiana that people currently serving life sentences for offences they committed as juveniles must either be considered for parole or re-sentenced. In 2012, the Court had held that a mandatory life sentence without parole (LWOP) was unconstitutional for those under the age of […]
3rd February 2016
In many countries, prison food is insufficient in quantity and quality. Budgets are low (less than 0.5 USD per prisoner per day according to data recently gathered by PRI) and there have been cases where prisoners have died from starvation. In higher-income countries, food is more available but still may not be ‘of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and […]
25th January 2016
In this guest blog, Louise Finer, Coordinator of the UK’s National Preventative Mechanism, explains the findings from the NPM’s review of ‘isolation’ and ‘solitary confinement’ in detention. The NPM’s monitoring uncovered widespread practices that met the UN Mandela Rules internationally agreed definition of solitary confinement. On 1 December 2015, the UK’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) […]
8th January 2016
In this blog, originally published on the website, Justice and Prisons, Rob Allen argues that there are number of reasons why governments and donors should have prison reform in their sights this year, not least because prisons, particularly in conflict and post conflict situations, can be a source and driver of insecurity as the emergence of Daesh […]
6th January 2016
Historically prison buildings have largely been designed for the majority male prisoner population. However, the growing understanding that women who offend are different from men − from their typical backgrounds and the nature of their offences, to their experience of abuse and their care-taking responsibilities is also leading architects and planners to consider how prison facilities might also be designed […]
9th December 2015
What happens to children in Uganda when their parents or caregivers are imprisoned? Who are they? How many are they? Where do they live? Are they still be able to attend school? Who cares for them in the absence of their parents? Does the criminal justice system take their existence into account when sentencing their […]
1st December 2015
Restoring the justice and prison systems back to working order is an essential and often urgent task for post-conflict states. In this expert blog for PRI, Terry Hackett, Warden of Pacific Institution in British Columbia (BC), Canada, draws on his recent research into civil society action in justice and correctional reform in Rwanda after the […]
25th November 2015
On the 50th anniversary of the de facto abolition of the death penalty in the UK, PRI’s Oliver Robertson says that while the path to abolition has varied from country to country, the UK’s swift conversion of a moratorium to abolition in five years may have lessons for some states today. This week marks 50 years […]
12th November 2015
The spread of infectious diseases is a serious problem in prison systems worldwide, with prisoners often many times more likely to be living with Tuberculosis, HIV or hepatitis than a person in the broader community. Alongside the generally poor and unsanitary conditions prevalent in prisons, one major route to infection is unsafe injecting drug use. […]
23rd October 2015
On 7 October, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime held a high level launch of the Mandela Rules (to be adopted later this year) in the course of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. PRI’s Executive Director participated on the panel and provided an overview of three areas – complaints, inspection and […]
21st October 2015