mandatory minimums
Obama just granted clemency to 111 federal inmates, 35 of whom had life sentences
Tuesday's announcement brings the president's total number of clemencies to 673 — more than those granted by the last 10 presidents combined.
Brock Turner Inspires Mandatory Lock-Up for Unconscious Rape Cases
In the aftermath the Brock Turner sentence, California lawmakers have passed a bill mandating that anyone found guilty of raping an unconscious person must serve three years in jail.
If Justin Trudeau Is About To Legalize Weed, Why Are We Still Imprisoning People Over It?
Canadians who commit nonviolent weed crimes are facing up to two years in jail over laws that are about to change.
Canada Strikes Down Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Law for Drug Traffickers
The law amounts to "cruel and usual punishment."
A Prosecutor’s Regret: How I Sentenced Someone to Life in Prison for Selling Drugs
We caught him selling a small amount of crack: only 57 grams.
Sentence Commuted, Former Prisoner Can Now Watch His Beloved Panthers
Douglas Lindsay was one of 46 people—including Denver Broncos star Demaryius Thomas's mother—whose prison sentences were commuted by President Obama last year. He'll watch his Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl as a free man.
How Rikers Island Regressed (Extra Scene from ‘VICE News Meets Bernie Kerik’)
In this extra scene, Bernie Kerik tells VICE News how the reforms and improvements he made at Rikers Island penitentiary disintegrated after he left office, and what may have contributed to the state the prison is in today.
Bernie Kerik: The VICE News Interview
VICE News Editor-in-Chief Jason Mojica sits down with former New York police commissioner and convicted felon Bernie Kerik to discuss criminal justice reform.
US Senators Have Finally Reached a Deal to Overhaul the Criminal Justice System
The bill would start to roll back the harsh federal sentencing laws that have helped fill America's prisons.
Talking to Two Federal Drug Offenders About Getting Out Early
These two don't spend much time reflecting on their role in some historic sea change in American criminal justice policy. They just want to be free.
We Talked to One of the 46 Inmates Barack Obama Ordered Released from Prison
One of "Obama's Lucky 46" told VICE about how he heard he was getting out and what he plans to do now.
What Federal Inmates Are Saying About President Obama's Plan to Visit a Prison Today
"Obama once said that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin... Well, there's a whole lotta peoples in here who look like Trayvon, his uncle, his daddy, and all his relatives."