After Dauphin County ended the practice of charging people while they’re detained in jail, first-term Commissioner Justin Douglas pushed it to also forgive more than $65 million in lodging fees.

North Carolina expanded the law for people seeking medical release from prison, but eligibility remains limited.

There are more than 150 elections for prosecutor and sheriff scheduled in 2025. Below is our Bolts database of those local elections. States that are not listed on this page have no ...

On Jan. 1, Alyshia Dyer will take office as sheriff of Washtenaw County, Michigan, an event that will mark the union of some strange bedfellows in the county’s criminal legal system: With Dyer at the ...

As California continues to grapple with the state’s long and dark history of forcibly sterilizing women incarcerated in state-run prisons, advocates are now rushing to meet a New Year’s Day deadline ...

Jentink-Bristol could’ve gotten off probation at 15 had she paid off her fines and fees. But her probation officer told her that she had to remain under supervision until she cleared her debt, which ...

Bolts closely covers local and state elections and their ramifications for civil rights, voting rights, and criminal justice. Here find our coverage of the 2023 elections in Pennsylvania, scheduled ...

Bolts closely covers local and state elections and their ramifications for civil rights, voting rights, and criminal justice. Here find our coverage of the 2023 elections in Louisiana, scheduled for ...

The nation’s prisons are aging, with few mechanisms to enable elderly people to obtain release even when they are terminally ill. In this state-based series, Bolts is reporting on the severe ...

Felipe is an investigative and explanatory reporter focusing on immigration in the U.S. He is a former reporter for the investigative site Documented, and has written for The Intercept, The Daily ...