A view of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration has to continue providing gender-affirming care to inmates in federal prisons as litigation on efforts to change the policy continues.
Gary Tyler speaks about his work at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan. Behind Tyler are his quilts Big Toe , (2024) and Enduring , (2025). They feature two individuals who are incarcerated. He hopes his work draws attention to their plight and humanity. Sea Stachura for NPR hide caption
October 21, 2026 • A quilt artist who spent decades on death row now has his first solo exhibit at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Police arrest a man as the city of Philadelphia begins a clearing of a drug encampment in the Kensington section of Philadelphia on May 8, 2024. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption
October 21, 2026 • Arrests for more minor offenses, including vagrancy, rose in the U.S., even as violent crime rates dropped to historic lows, according to an analysis from criminal justice reform advocacy group FWD.us
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani looks on during an announcement of a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. Ryan Murphy/AP Photo hide caption
October 12, 2026 • The New York City mayor promised great accountability when police use force. The changes are largely in response to the shooting of a teenager in 2024.
This photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows Christa Pike on Jan. 12, 2023. Tennessee Department of Correction/AP hide caption
October 10, 2026 • Pike's attorneys say she is grateful for the care of first responders and her medical team.
A police officer monitors video surveillance in the real-time crime center at the Irvine Police Department in California in 2024. It's unclear whether Irvine uses Axon Fusus surveillance software or another software in its crime center. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images hide caption
October 8, 2026 • Real-time crime-center software is a sometimes overlooked but powerful tool allowing police to aggregate immense amounts of data, significantly expanding their surveillance reach.
Retired federal Judge David Duncan at his home in Phoenix. His review of Arizona's botched executions found systemic problems in that state's protocols. Courtney Pedroza for NPR hide caption
October 7, 2026 • Christa Pike's botched execution in Tennessee was not the first to go wrong on Frank Strada's watch. Before he took charge of Tennessee's prisons, Strada oversaw three botched executions in Arizona.
SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 13: An automated license plate reader is seen mounted on a pole on June 13, 2024, in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption
October 2, 2026 • San Francisco leaders say AI-powered cameras helped drive a dramatic decline in car crime. We examine the evidence — and whether the city can keep its high-tech dragnet without sacrificing civil liberties.
For any problem in an incarcerated person's life — from not getting enough toilet paper to extreme physical abuse — the grievance system is the primary way to speak out. But in the vast majority of cases, those efforts go nowhere, according to an analysis of federal data by The Marshall Project and NPR. Michelle Mildenberg Lara for The Marshall Project hide caption
June 17, 2026 • People who go to prison keep one important right — to file a grievance over their treatment: from abuse to denied medical care. But in the vast majority of cases, those efforts go nowhere, according to an analysis of federal data by The Marshall Project and NPR.
