Reports

“Kettling” Protesters in the Bronx

Systemic Police Brutality and Its Costs in the United States

The 99-page report, “‘Kettling’ Protesters in the Bronx: Systemic Police Brutality and Its Costs in the United States,” provides a detailed account of the police response to the June 4 peaceful protest in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown community that has long experienced high levels of police brutality and systemic racism. It describes the city’s ineffectual accountability systems that protect abusive police officers, shows the shortcomings of incremental reforms, and makes the case for structural change.

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  • Pay the Rent or Face Arrest

    Abusive Impacts of Arkansas's Draconian Evictions Law

    This 44-page report tells the stories of Arkansas tenants who were dragged into criminal court for transgressions that would not be a crime in any other US state. Other tenants who did not violate the law have faced charges because prosecutors acted on specious claims by landlords.

  • The Answer is No

    Too Little Compassionate Release in US Federal Prisons

    A joint report by Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums

  • A Red Herring

    Marijuana Arrestees Do Not Become Violent Felons

    In this report, Human Rights Watch offers new data indicating that people who enter the criminal justice system with an arrest for public possession of marijuana rarely commit violent crimes in the future.

  • Growing Up Locked Down

    Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States

    The 141-page report is based on research in both US jails and prisons in five states ­– Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania – and correspondence with young people in 14 others.

  • “When I Die…They’ll Send Me Home”

    Youth Sentenced to Life in Prison without Parole in California, An Update

    This 28-page report draws on six years of research, interviews, and correspondence with correctional officials and youth offenders serving life without parole.

  • Old Behind Bars

    The Aging Prison Population in the United States

    <p>This report includes new data Human Rights Watch developed from a variety of federal and state sources that document dramatic increases in the number of older US prisoners.</p>

  • Against All Odds

    Prison Conditions for Youth Offenders Serving Life without Parole Sentences in the United States

    This 47-page report draws on six years of research, and interviews and correspondence with correctional officials and hundreds of youth offenders serving life without parole.

  • The Price of Freedom

    Bail and Pretrial Detention of Low Income Nonfelony Defendants in New York City

    Drawing on previously unpublished data and scores of interviews with judges, defendants, prosecutors, and defense counsel, this report reveals the extent of the problem.

  • “Tough, Fair, and Practical”

    A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in the United States

    This 24-page report proposes a framework for improving US immigration law that would give immigrant crime victims a chance to seek justice, protect workers, respect the private and family life of longtime residents, and provide fair treatment for immigrants who come before the courts.

  • Costly and Unfair

    Flaws in US Immigration Detention Policy

    In 2009, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) held between 380,000 and 442,000 people in some 300 US detention facilities, at an annual cost of $1.7 billion. These people are not imprisoned as punishment for criminal offenses, but rather are detained for civil immigration violations.

  • Sentenced to Stigma

    Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina

    This 45-page report says that prisoners in the HIV units are forced to wear armbands or other indicators of their HIV status, are forced to eat and even worship separately, and are denied equal participation in prison jobs, programs, and re-entry opportunities that facilitate their transition back into society.

  • No Equal Justice

    The Prison Litigation Reform Act in the United States

    This 46-page report addresses a law passed by Congress in 1996 that singles out lawsuits brought by prisoners for a host of burdens and restrictions that apply to no one else.

  • Barred from Treatment

    Punishment of Drug Users in New York State Prisons

    In this 53-page report, Human Rights Watch found that New York prison officials sentenced inmates to a collective total of 2,516 years in disciplinary segregation from 2005 to 2007 for drug-related charges.

  • Decades of Disparity

    Drug Arrests and Race in the United States

    This 20-page report says that adult African Americans were arrested on drug charges at rates that were 2.8 to 5.5 times as high as those of white adults in every year from 1980 through 2007, the last year for which complete data were available.

  • Mixed Results

    US Policy and International Standards on the Rights and Interests of Victims of Crime

    <font face="Arial" size="2">In this report, Human Rights Watch analyzed how well the United States is meeting international best practices.