Organizing & Action Updates, CCWP in the News, and Updates on Prisons
Organizing & Action Updates
Releasing elderly inmates from women’s prisons is smart state policy | Opinion
California keeps hundreds of elderly women locked up despite low reoffending, high costs and deadly medical neglect; releasing elders is humane, smart and fiscally responsible
Mercy or Money: How to Grapple With a Rapidly Aging Prison Population
Research shows people often “age out” of crime, and health care costs are ballooning. But still, many states oppose releasing elderly prisoners.
Newsom closed 5 California prisons. Why lawmakers might want to shut one more
* California is incarcerating 70,000 fewer people than it held in 2010, enabling the Newsom administration to close five state prisons. * A new analysis says the state can close one more and still meet its capacity requirements.
CCWP in the News
Pressure Mounts for Legislators to Address Rampant Staff Abuse in California Women’s Prisons
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2026
Sacramento, CA – Yesterday afternoon, California legislators heard dozens of testimonies demanding accountability and action to end staff abuse inside California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) women’s prisons.
California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons
California’s incarcerated population has aged rapidly over the past 30 years. A new report recommends creating new pathways for senior citizens to seek release.
California agrees to $1.9 million settlement in prison use-of-force case
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 13 women who say correctional officers injured them during a mass use-of-force incident at the Central California Women’s Facility in 2024.
Updates on Prisons
Pennsylvania’s Abolitionist Organizers Win Victory Against Mandatory Life Without Parole
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling is part of a nationwide trend to challenge life without parole sentences.
Bare It All
Trigger Warning: Emotional and Sexual Violence. “This isn’t my first strip search during my incarceration. This, however, is the first time it’s being filmed.”
Mass Incarceration Trends
Report highlights the growth in state and federal prison populations since the early 1970s, and its far-reaching impact on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole.
