Charlotte West

1 week ago | wbez.org | Charlotte West

Juan Hernandez was a teenager when he was sentenced to prison. He was 32 when he finally completed his high school education. The nearly two decades in between tell a story of bureaucratic barriers, arbitrary rules, and one man’s refusal to give up earning his education. It’s not unusual for people locked up in the Illinois Department of Corrections to wait years to get into programming, such as GED or college classes.

Feb 8, 2025 | wbez.org | Kade Heather |Fran Spielman |Frank Main |Charlotte West

Sonya Massey’s family is in line to receive $10 million in a settlement with downstate Sangamon County after a sheriff’s deputy fatally shot her last summer, according to a proposed county board resolution. The agreement is set for a vote by the county board at its monthly meeting Tuesday. Massey’s family agreed not to file a civil lawsuit as part of the settlement. Massey, 36, had called law enforcement to her Springfield home July 6 to report a possible intruder.

Jan 16, 2025 | teenvogue.com | Charlotte West

This story is published in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. Subscribe to College Inside, an Open Campus newsletter about the intersection of higher education and criminal justice. Noa Offman had it all planned out: She would major in biology at Georgetown University, go to medical school, and become a doctor. But a chance encounter in a theology class she took her first semester of college changed everything.

Jan 16, 2025 | yahoo.com | Charlotte West

Georgetown Prisons and Justice InitiativeThis story is published in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. Subscribe to College Inside, an Open Campus newsletter about the intersection of higher education and criminal justice. Noa Offman had it all planned out: She would major in biology at Georgetown University, go to medical school, and become a doctor. But a chance encounter in a theology class she took her first semester of college changed everything.

Jan 6, 2025 | opencampusmedia.org | Charlotte West

A biweekly newsletter about the intersection of higher education and criminal justice. Written by Open Campus national reporter Charlotte West. A biweekly newsletter about the future of postsecondary education in prisons. By Charlotte West. Short on time? Here are the highlights:An Indigenous literature class at an Oregon prison helps incarcerated women explore identity and find healing through Tommy Orange’s novel about urban Native Americans.