Fingerprints and Crime
The first criminal conviction based on fingerprint evidence took place in Argentina on 1892, thanks to a police official inspired by eugenics.
When Prison Time Meant Rhymes
The “gay, frolicsome and amusing" rhymes of 1970s American prison slang.
Treadmills Were Meant to Be Atonement Machines
America’s favorite piece of workout equipment was developed as a device for forced labor in British prisons. It was banned as cruel and inhumane by 1900.
The Psychology Behind False Confessions
In criminal interrogation, interrogators often ask questions and interpret the responses in such a way as to confirm guilt.
Why Do We Have Prisons in the United States?
The Enlightenment brought the idea that punishments should be certain and mild, rather than harsh with lots of pardons and exceptions.
Why Didn’t the Rodney King Video Lead to a Conviction?
The grainy pictures speak for themselves. Or so thought many Americans who watched the video of the March 3rd, 1991, beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
Why Does the U.S. Sentence Children to Life in Prison?
The U.S. is the only country in the world that sentences people to die in prison for offenses committed while under the age of 18.
What the Prisoners’ Rights Movement Owes to the Black Muslims of the 1960s
Black Muslims have been an influential force in the prisoners' rights movement and criminal justice reform as early as the World War II era.
Radical Questions: Am I My Memories?
"White Bear," an episode of the television show Black Mirror, documents the cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on the protagonist, an amnesiac.
How and Why Public Opinion on the Death Penalty Changed
A look at the American public's ambivalent opinion of the death penalty.