Incarcerated Women and Girls – The Sentencing Project
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on September 25, 2024
JENNIFER, 21, sentenced to 19 years to life at the age of 17. (Bedford Hills, NY 2014). Photo by Sara Bennett
Over the past quarter century, there has been a profound change in the involvement of women within the criminal legal system. This is the result of more expansive law enforcement efforts, stiffer drug sentencing laws, and post-conviction barriers to reentry that uniquely affect women. The female incarcerated population stands almost seven times higher than in 1980. Over sixty percent (62%) of imprisoned women in state prisons have . . .
