States continue to expand alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders, including reducing sentencing times and streamlining probation and parole. More...

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told lawmakers this week that it was time to close the gap in prison sentences for crack and powder cocaine crimes, a disparity in sentencing that has a large impact on the African-American community. More...

The situation of prisoners at Guantanamo is shaping the national debate around incarceration, but it is far from America's only prison problem. Calling the U.S. prison system a "national disgrace," U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia has introduced legislation aimed at overhauling the nation's prison system and reducing its huge population. More...

Facing massive budget crises, states are beginning to move away from the "lock-'em-up" approach to crime. Is the South ready to make the shift? More...

A report released this month by the Sentencing Project highlights 17 states -- five of which are in the South -- that have enacted sentencing and corrections reforms in 2008. More...

Facing massive budget shortfalls, states are seeking out a variety of methods to rein in bloated spending on corrections and prisons. More...

With states facing huge fiscal crises this year, lawmakers and prison officials are reevaluating their state's hard-line sentencing policies and looking at ways to help released inmates avoid returning to prison. More...

New figures released from the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that U.S prison population continues its record rise with the South leading the way. But will the costly prison policies only worsen the economic burden in the cash-strapped region? More...