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The Walrus

prison

Illustration of a prison building, with several women on the roof walking into a light. In the prison windows, behind bars, a couple of people remain.
Justice / September/October 2020

Did Prisons Ever Work?

August 18, 2020January 5, 2021 - by Lauren McKeon

A growing movement believes it’s time to stop putting women in jail

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A black and white photo of a row of four empty phones mounted on a chain-link fence.
COVID-19 / Justice

Social Distancing Is Impossible in Prisons. Why Are They Still Full?

April 27, 2020May 12, 2020 - by Simon Lewsen

Bail courts have gone virtual and trials are suspended. But prisons, which pose a severe public health risk, are still open

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Photo by Aimee
Society

The Case for Prison Reform

May 16, 2017November 11, 2019 - by Robert Clark

The harsh American model has failed. Here’s how we can do better

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Illustration by Niall McClelland
January/February 2017 / Justice

To Live and Die in Solitary Confinement

December 21, 2016April 2, 2020 - by Breese Davies

In Canada’s prisons, the horrors of segregation are most often visited on the mentally ill

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Illustration by Josh Holinaty
December 2016 / Justice

Crops and Robbers

November 25, 2016November 19, 2019 - by Molly Hayes

How prison farms can help fill employment gaps and rehabilitate inmates

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Still from the documentary Guantanamo's Child
Film

The Private Life of Omar Khadr

February 22, 2016October 29, 2020 - by Rhiannon Russell

Can someone who spent a decade in Guantanamo emerge unscathed?

Read More
Prison walls and guard tower
January/February 2016 / Memoir / The Walrus True Crime

Exit Wounds

December 17, 2015February 5, 2020 - by Edward Hertrich

A murderer tries to stay alive in Canada’s most notorious prison

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Michael Nehass
Justice

In the Hole

December 15, 2015July 13, 2021 - by Rhiannon Russell

Is solitary confinement a justified punishment or human rights violation for Yukon’s most notorious inmate?

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Clothing for inmates at prison
Justice / October 2015

Jailhouse Bloc

September 14, 2015April 8, 2020 - by Katherine Laidlaw

What it’s like to vote behind bars

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Illustration by Byron Eggenschwiler
Feature / May 2015

Minding the Monster

May 10, 2015April 10, 2020 - by Ed Tubb

A pedophile gets out of prison. What happens next?

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​​The Walrus is located within the bounds of Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is also the traditional territory of the Anishnabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.
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