prison | WITF

October 1, 2021 | 5:22 AM

Pa. reformed ‘prison gerrymandering,’ but it likely won’t matter in congressional maps

How should Pennsylvania count incarcerated people in state prisons for redistricting purposes?

By Katie Meyer/WHYY

September 21, 2021 | 1:11 PM

Pa. commission votes to scale back ‘prison gerrymandering’ reform made last month

The commission voted to narrow the number of state prisoners it will count as residents of their home district, rather than the one where they’re locked up.

By Katie Meyer/WHYY

May 20, 2021 | 5:13 PM

ACLU-PA sues Montgomery County for blocking attorney-client meetings in county jail

The federal lawsuit accuses officials at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility of barring ACLU lawyers from meeting with their clients in the prison in Eagleville.

By Kenny Cooper/WHYY

May 20, 2021 | 5:29 AM

In-person visits to be reinstated at several Pennsylvania state prisons

The first five state correctional institutions to take steps toward a state of pre-pandemic normalcy were chosen based on vaccination rates, as well as case counts in the prisons.

By Kenny Cooper/WHYY

March 2, 2021 | 5:36 AM

‘I thought I was going to die in there,’ Lehigh County inmate recalls time in jail during COVID-19 surge

Families of inmates and staff have been sounding the alarm for weeks about what they say are dangerous conditions in the jail, which remains locked down and cut off from the public. There are no visitors allowed.

By Tyler Pratt/WLVR

January 19, 2021 | 5:01 AM

Pa. prisons don’t always tell families when inmates are sick. Officials are defending that policy.

The department says it can only release medical details to emergency contacts, but critics contend it’s not doing enough to notify inmates of the need to update those authorizations.

By Joseph Darius Jaafari/Spotlight PA

January 18, 2021 | 5:10 AM

State prison in Forest County sees outbreak of COVID-19 cases

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed the outbreak of cases at the State Correctional Insitution Forest, which is located in Marienville.

By Anne Danahy

December 18, 2020 | 5:00 AM

An inmate died of the coronavirus, but Pa. corrections never told his family

State corrections officials say they are following the law in protecting medical information, but family members and advocates contend they could do more when inmates get sick or die.

By Joseph Darius Jaafari/Spotlight PA

November 21, 2020 | 1:18 PM

COVID-19’s fall surge hitting Pennsylvania prisons too

To date, 23 prisoners have died from COVID-19 in nine of Pennsylvania’s correctional facilities.

By Aaron Moselle/WHYY

November 11, 2020 | 4:57 PM

Serious COVID-19 outbreak threatens hundreds at Pa. prison for medically vulnerable

In the Capitol, both Democrats and Republicans are calling for the release of ill and geriatric prisoners, but advocates fear it might already be too late.

By Joseph Darius Jaafari/Spotlight PA

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