The Difference between Jail and Prison | VERA

Jails and prisons serve different purposes in the U.S. criminal justice system. Learn who they hold, how they operate, and what they have in common.

Key takeaways:

Jails are generally local facilities used for short-term detention and are commonly operated by county or municipal authorities.
Jails hold many people awaiting trial or other court proceedings, as well as some people serving shorter sentences.
Prisons are generally state or federal facilities for people convicted of crimes and serving longer sentences.
A sentence of about one year is a common shorthand for distinguishing jail from prison incarceration, but it is not a universal rule.

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The Effect of Incarceration on Mortality | The Review of Economics and Statistics | MIT Press

Abstract. This paper analyzes the effect of incarceration on mortality using administrative data from Ohio between 1992 and 2017. We first document that
— Read on direct.mit.edu/rest/article/106/4/956/112435/The-Effect-of-Incarceration-on-Mortality

Predictive Risk Scores in the Public Sector: Experimental Evidence from Child-Protection Investigations | NBER

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals.
— Read on www.nber.org/papers/w35540

Escape from New York

“Escape From New York” by Jarrod Shanahan analyzes the 1970s New York City carceral crisis, centering on prisoner-led resistance against the Department of Correction. The text highlights how alleged liberal reforms fueled the expansion of mass incarceration while documenting heroic, rebellious actions from within facilities like Rikers Island.

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America’s Incarceration Crossroads: Reversing Progress Amid Record-Low Crime Rates – The Sentencing Project

Thirty-nine states increased prison populations in 2023, despite violent and property crime rates hitting historic lows
— Read on www.sentencingproject.org/policy-brief/americas-incarceration-crossroads-reversing-progress-amid-record-low-crime-rates/

Did prison just replace mental hospitals?

Deconstructing a statistical myth
— Read on www.slowboring.com/p/did-prison-just-replace-mental-hospitals

For Most Women Who Give Birth in Prison, “The Separation” Soon Follows | The Marshall Project

Introducing “Tutwiler,” a Marshall Project/Frontline documentary about incarcerated women who support each other through pregnancy, labor and saying goodbye to their newborns.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/06/the-separation

New laws shrank CA prison population. What happened after release – CalMatters

California adopted major sentencing changes under Govs. Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown. A new report shows very few people went back to prison after release.
— Read on calmatters.org/justice/2025/09/california-prisons-recidivism-study/

See the report HERE

‘We helped each other. We taught each other the law.’ | The Lens

In 1983, to help fight the wrongful charge, Calvin Duncan began to teach himself the law, while being held within the Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans. In his new book The Jailhouse Lawyer, co-written by Sophie Cull, he writes about that time in his life:
— Read on thelensnola.org/2025/07/08/we-helped-each-other-we-taught-each-other-the-law/

Why the St. Louis Jail Reflects City’s Deepest Struggles | The Marshall Project

A facility built for progress reflects ‘decades of neglect’ and the city’s deepest struggles, from mental illness to systemic dysfunction.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2025/04/21/st-louis-justice-center-jail-reform