Johanna Fernández, Young Lords historian and prison abolitionist, makes her transition
Karen Juanita Carrillo, Amsterdam Newst — Dr. Johanna Fernández, the Dominican American historian, prison abolitionist, and movement scholar, died on July 30, 2026, after a years-long struggle with non-small cell lung cancer. She was 55…
Puerto Rico, Protest, Prison: Johanna Fernández and Jose Saldaña Talk About The Young Lords
Johanna Fernández, Jose Saldańa, susie day, CounterPumch — Commemorating Johanna Fernández • her interview with RAPP’s Jose Saldaña, conducted in 2020
Legal Team of Political Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal Appeals to the UN for Support
Renée Feltz, Truthout — World-renowned political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is 72 years old, suffering multiple health problems, and may die in prison, say legal advocates in a new request they filed today that asks the United Nations to support his release. Abu-Jamal’s legal team decided to appeal to the UN after having exhausted nearly every…
Journalist, Elder Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Perpetual Detention Unjust, Human Rights Groups Appeal to United Nations
Abolitionist Law Center — (PHILADELPHIA) For more than 44 years, U.S. citizen Mumia Abu-Jamal has been arbitrarily detained in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Today, Abolitionist Law Center and a national coalition of other human rights organizations – American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Constitutional Rights, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and Release Aging People in…
If governing happens behind closed doors, is it still democracy?
Roni Minter, Times Union — “Like many New Yorkers, I believed that if you organized, educated, testified, built support and convinced enough lawmakers, your bill would rise or fall through a transparent public process. Then I learned about the Senate’s internal ‘working group.'” …
Albany OKs Medicaid Lifeline For New Yorkers Walking Out Of Jail
Holden Draper, Hoodline — As the legislative session wound down in Albany, lawmakers quietly signed off on a bill that could change the first days of freedom for thousands of New Yorkers leaving jails and prisons. The measure aims to plug a deadly gap in health care coverage the moment someone walks out the gate,…
Lawmakers pass Medicaid bill for released detainees, but no movement on parole for elderly
Ethan Geringer-Sameth, Crain’s NY Business — State lawmakers passed a bill to help incarcerated individuals receive Medicaid coverage upon release, but did nothing for aging prisoners wasting away behind bars and racking up the state’s medical tab…
The Legislature must reform N.Y. prisons
Nick Encalada-Malinowski, NY Daily News — With multiple delays and policy maneuvering, Gov. Hochul bullied the Legislature into the budget of her liking….
Parole reform inches closer as proponents push lawmakers
Tandy Lau, Amsterdam News — Legislation supporting parole reform in New York State is gaining momentum, signaling good news for advocates who are seeking to reduce deaths through releasing incarcerated people before their maximum sentence if they can demonstrate their rehabilitation. As the Amsterdam News reported recently, 2026 marks the deadliest start in Department of…
Hochul grants 19 pardons
Johan Sheridan, WWLP-22News — NY Governor Kathy Hochul pardoned 19 formerly incarcerated individuals, but faced criticism from criminal justice advocates for not commuting the sentences of anyone currently incarcerated, especially women in honor of Mother’s Day. As of May 2026, the state’s prison system houses 34,066 inmates, and prison reformers are raising alarms about increasing…
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Release Aging People in Prison Campaign
