New York City divests pension funds entirely from private prisons
New York City has become the first government in the U.S. to divest its pension funds from private prisons.
Prison justice
This archive tracks meaningful progress in prison justice — from sentencing reforms and decarceration efforts to programs that support incarcerated people and returning citizens. Across 86 articles, these stories document what’s working, who’s driving change, and how communities are pushing the system toward greater fairness and humanity.
U.S. prisons ordered to appoint LGBT employee reps
The order requires that more than 120 prisons hold at least one event a year to educate and inform staff about LGBT diversity and designate an LGBT program manager to monitor equal opportunity programs.
Rikers Island prison to close, New York mayor says
De Blasio set a timeline of 10 years to reduce the overall jail population in the city, which he said would allow for a “complete departure of all inmates from Rikers Island.”
U.S. Justice Department announces plan to end federal private prisons
Private prisons faced a rare federal reversal in the summer of 2016, when Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates ordered the Justice Department to phase out its contracts with private operators. The directive followed an Inspector General report finding higher rates of assaults and contraband in private facilities. It stood for six months before being rescinded — but the formal record remained.
Lesotho decriminalizes same-sex relations in milestone for LGBTQ rights in Africa
Lesotho decriminalized male same-sex activity in 2012, lifting a colonial-era common law offense that had long shadowed gay and bisexual men in the small southern African kingdom. A year later, Maseru held its first pride march, with police escorting hundreds through the streets. The reform echoed Basotho traditions of same-sex partnership that predated colonial rule.
Norway’s prison reform movement launches, aiming to replace punishment with rehabilitation
Norwegian prison reform began in 1968, when a group of activists, lawyers, and formerly incarcerated people founded KROM to challenge a system where recidivism hovered around 60 to 70 percent. Early wins came slowly — forced labor ended in 1970, juvenile centers closed in 1975 — but the reframing they started reshaped how a country could think about justice.