A sharply divided Iowa Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a former prisoner’s claim for damages due to wrongful imprisonment. In strongly worded dissenting opinions, two of the Iowa justices called the majority’s decision in the case on Friday “frightening” and “profoundly wrong,” warning that it could remove any disincentive for state […]
Iowa Prisons
Posted inCommunity/News
This is Not My Beautiful House: A new column from behind bars
Although I’ve never considered myself a criminal, for as long as I can remember I’ve always worried about going to prison. The unrelenting fear of incarceration has long been my personal existential cross to bear. Some people obsess over what happens after we die. I panicked over whether or not I could go to the […]
Posted inStatewide
Report: Black Iowans are incarcerated at nine times the rate of white residents
Iowa has one of the country’s worst rates of racial disparities in prison and jail populations, according to a new study from a think tank focused on criminal justice issues. The analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), a nonpartisan Massachusetts-based nonprofit, found Iowa in a four-way tie as one of the states with the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa state parks preserve lush corners of a landscape 98% altered by agriculture
Since the onset of Americanization during the early 1800s, Iowa’s environment has changed more than any state in the union. Over 98 percent of Iowa’s lands were altered in service of agriculture. Forever spreading fields of corn and soybeans line highway shoulders, stretching out east to west, north to south. The state ranks second to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Formerly incarcerated women in Iowa share the challenges they faced during re-entry
Lisa Smith felt like “nothing was done” to prepare her for re-entry following the six years she served at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women. She also wasn’t prepared for the loneliness she would feel. “I was surrounded by women all the time, and when I got out, not only did I not have this […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘How we treat the formerly incarcerated doesn’t rank very high in the minds of most folks’: With COVID-19, the fight against recidivism in Iowa is even more urgent
Eddie Walker was released from prison last June after being incarcerated for 18 years for a robbery charge. Now living in Iowa City, Walker recalled the arduous process of finding an apartment after his release; in one instance, he was told by a rental company that he was an ideal potential renter, but they wouldn’t […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Notes from the Inside: Being Fathers Now
Notes from the Inside features writing by inmates serving time in Iowa prisons. Little Village editors have made only minor adjustments for style and length. By Tom S. If asked the question, “What is one of, if not THE most important responsibility we have in life?,” most everyone would mention “parenting,” or, for the men […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Notes from the Inside: Namaste
Notes from the Inside features writing by inmates serving time in Iowa prisons. Little Village editors have made only minor adjustments for style. By José R. Namaste: a Hindu greeting which loosely translates into, “The good that is in the deepest part of me, greets the good that is in the deepest part of you.” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Notes from the Inside: Perceptions of Freedom
Notes from the Inside features writing by inmates serving time in Iowa prisons. Little Village editors have made only minor adjustments for style. Parades, picnics, family gatherings and fireworks! All are America’s traditions that celebrate our independence on the Fourth of July. This is our national holiday recognizing our freedom. Yet exactly what does freedom […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Notes from the inside: An interview with Oakdale Warden Jim McKinney
Notes from the Inside features writing by inmates serving time in Iowa prisons. Little Village editors have made only minor adjustments for style. This is an excerpt of a longer interview. By Tom S. & Jon S. On Wednesday, Dec. 23, Oakdale Warden Jim McKinney was good enough to take some time out of his […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa prison population expected to grow by more than a third over the next decade
Iowa’s prison population will grow by more than a third over the next decade if current policies remain in place, according to a new study…
