prisons

Inmates stand inside a corridor during time they are allowed to be outside of their cells at Najayo jail in San Cristobal, west of Santo Domingo in 2007. Ramon Espinosa/AP hide caption

President Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House last week. Ben Curtis/AP hide caption

Glynn Simmons reacts as he leaves court after a judge ruled to approve his "actual innocence" claim during a hearing at the Oklahoma County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP hide caption

The entrance to the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee in Florida. Office of the Inspector General/Department of Justice hide caption

Soldiers patrol from on top of an armored vehicle as supporters of presidential candidate Daniel Noboa, of the National Democratic Action Alliance political party, attend a rally downtown in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Rodrigo Abd/AP hide caption

Fulton County Jail is seen on April 2, 2013, in Atlanta. The Justice Department announced that it has opened a civil investigation into the conditions at the facility. David Goldman/AP hide caption

Relatives of inmates wait in distress outside the entrance to the women's prison in Tamara, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Elmer Martinez/AP hide caption

Larry Jordan, 74, served 38 years in an Alabama prison and is in poor health now. One reason the U.S. trails other developed countries in life expectancy, experts say, is that it has more people behind bars and keeps them there far longer. Charity Rachelle/KFF Health News hide caption

People walk outside the U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Processing Center operated by GEO Group Inc. in Adelanto, Calif. The company is facing a lawsuit for the alleged use of hazardous chemicals in the facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard Vogel/AP hide caption

Police walk on the roof of the Litoral Penitentiary on Saturday after riots broke out inside the jail in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Jose Sanchez/AP hide caption

State prisons are grappling with how to deal with an increase in overdoses due to alcohol and drug abuse. David Madison/Getty Images hide caption

Sonia Doe, pictured here, reached a settlement with the New Jersey Department of Corrections that will make it standard for the state to assign prison stays to a person based on their gender identity, not the sex assigned at birth. The ACLU New Jersey hide caption

The IRS distributed the second round of stimulus money to eligible inmates using debit cards, which state prisons are unable to process. Correctional officials have communicated the problem to the federal agency, but it's unclear what steps the IRS will take to fix it. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption