A Prison Project guide to obvious Eighth Amendment violations and qualified immunity: the facts behind Hope v. Pelzer, its legal rule, limits, and evidence families can preserve.

The Supreme Court recognizes a right of access to the courts, but Bounds, Lewis and Harbury show why evidence of a hindered legal claim matters.

Jones v. Bock rejected heightened pleading, universal defendant-naming, and total-exhaustion rules while preserving the PLRA's mandatory grievance requirement.

Prison Policy Initiative urges states to preserve in-person family visits instead of using paid video calls as a substitute.

The Supreme Court's Thornburgh v. Abbott decision examined federal prison rules governing incoming publications. Courts may defer to legitimate correctional security concerns, but a restriction must still be ev

In Helling v. McKinney, the Supreme Court addressed whether an incarcerated person could challenge involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke before developing a particular illness. The Court allowed a

In September 2026 the Federal Register published notice of an FCC information collection concerning incarcerated people's communications services. The notice cites the Martha Wright-Reed Act and a November 2025 commission order ad

Tennessee incarcerated writer Alex Friedmann proposes expanding regulated tattoo training, citing programs in Delaware, Minnesota and Missouri. His Prison Journalism Project essay argues that sanctioned training could reduce some

Incarcerated writer Angelo Sedillo describes his aunt paying a $5.95 service fee to transfer $50. His Prison Journalism Project essay asks whether legal creative work and entrepreneurship can help incarcerated people depend less o

In Thornburgh v. Abbott, the Supreme Court addressed Federal Bureau of Prisons rules permitting officials to reject certain incoming publications based on security and institutional order. The Court applied a deferential reasonableness stan