Joseph Shapiro

The abbreviated story of Martin Sostre, a revolutionary prisoner who challenged and changed the American prison system from his cell in solitary confinement.

The activist campaigned to change rules, so that people with disabilities could get nursing care and other support at home past the age of 21, and get married without losing Medicaid benefits.

Jurisdictions around the country are receiving guidelines that urge courts find alternatives to jail for defendants who can't pay fines linked to minor, nonviolent offenses such as traffic tickets.

They are asking the Department of Justice for action after NPR and The Marshall Project "uncovered harrowing allegations of abuse and torture" inside the prison.

The United States Penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pa., is one of the toughest, most violent prisons in America, where inmate-on-inmate assaults are common — and sometimes deadly.

At one of the toughest prisons in America, doubling up inmates in cells designed for solitary confinement can lead to violence, and for some who refuse a cellmate, handcuffs and chains.

Ahmad Khan Rahami, suspected in the weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey, is a naturalized U.S. citizen, was sued in small claims court in 2012 and was evicted from an apartment in 2013.

NPR has the latest on what we know about Ahmad Kahn Rahami, the suspect arrested in connection with the bombings over the weekend in New York and New Jersey.

Ahmad Khan Rahami's family owned a restaurant in Elizabeth and had sued the city claiming anti-Muslim harassment. Rahami is wanted in connection with explosives found in New Jersey and Manhattan.

The investigation into this weekend's explosions in New York City and New Jersey continues. Law enforcement are looking for a man who they say is connected to both incidents.

News of police shootings is all over our social media feeds and on TV. There seem to be a lot of them. But are there really more now, or were we just not paying attention?

Davontae Sanford spent nearly nine years in prison for crimes he never committed. But his release was almost stopped because of an unpaid bill he owed for his public defender.

The Colorado city and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado have announced a settlement that will end the practice. The city will even give payouts to people who were wrongly sent to jail.

The ACLU of Colorado last year discovered nearly 800 cases where people had gone to jail in Colorado Springs when they couldn't pay their tickets for minor violations. Most were homeless.

Imagine living in a cell smaller than a parking space or a king-size mattress. Now add a roommate. The result for some inmates forced to live together in solitary can be murder.

For the poor, a court fine — for a minor infraction like a traffic ticket — can be much more difficult to pay than for the rich. The White House brought together a group to talk about solutions.

Civil rights lawyers are challenging the use of court fines and fees against people who can't afford to pay. This week's ACLU suit against Biloxi, Miss., is the sixth such case since September.

After years of drug addiction, Jayne Fuentes feels she's close to getting her life back on track, as long as she doesn't get arrested again — but not for using drugs. She fears it will be because she still owes court fines and fees, including hundreds of dollars for her ...

A judge in Ferguson, Mo., has announced he will withdraw thousands of arrest warrants for unpaid traffic violations and other minor offenses. But it may be just a start on reform in St. Louis County and around the country.

To Haben Girma's grandmother, back in East Africa, it "seemed like magic." Her granddaughter, born deaf and blind, is a graduate of Harvard Law School and works as a civil rights attorney.

It's easy to understand why the grandmother feels that way. Years before, she had tried to find a ...