Stories by Silja J.A. Talvi

Silja J.A. Talvi is an investigative journalist and the author of Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System (Seal Press: 2007). Her work has already appeared in many book anthologies, including It's So You (Seal Press, 2007), Prison Nation (Routledge: 2005), Prison Profiteers (The New Press: 2008), and Body Outlaws (Seal Press: 2004). She is a senior editor at In These Times. subscribe to Silja J.A. Talvi's feed

Mexico's Drug War Bloodbath: Guns from the U.S. Are Destabilizing the Country

Posted on: Mar 17, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Mexican drug cartels have easy access to thousands of American gun dealers just on the other side of the border.

Out of Respect for Human Decency, Obama Should End the Drug War

Posted on: Mar 6, 2009, Source: In These Times

This is the right political moment for Obama to enact major progressive reforms in all avenues of the drug war and our justice system.

Women Behind Bars Are Deprived of Their Basic Rights

Posted on: Dec 10, 2008, Source: Santa Fe Reporter

For incarcerated women, there is little justice to be found.

Why It's Not OK for Palin to 'Drill Baby, Drill'

Posted on: Nov 30, 2008, Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Dr. Riki Ott has a special response to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's heavy push for oil drilling in the Arctic.

Overworked, Vacation-Starved America Ranks #1 in Depression, Mental Health Problems

Posted on: Nov 12, 2008, Source: In These Times

U.S. workers' lives are beginning to look a lot like they did 100 years ago when 14-hour days were the norm.

California's Prop. 5 Could Change the Course of America's Drug War

Posted on: Oct 31, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Californians have chance with the NORA initiative to reject decades of fear mongering and try alternatives to jail for drug abuse.

As the Violence Soars, Mexico Signals It's Had Enough of America's Stupid War on Drugs

Posted on: Oct 13, 2008, Source: AlterNet

The U.S.-financed War on Drugs has had savage results in Mexico, and now its president wants to decriminalize pot, cocaine and heroin possession.

Private Prison Litigator Gus Puryear's Rise to the Top

Posted on: May 5, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Part II of an investigative report on the unsolved homicide that haunts a Bush nominee for a U.S. District Court seat.

Meet Gus Puryear: Bush's Latest Villainous Nominee for a Lifetime Judgeship

Posted on: May 4, 2008, Source: AlterNet

The unsolved murder of Estelle Richardson in her prison cell haunts the nation's top private prison litigator as he vies for a judgeship.

Drug War Traps Increasing Numbers of Women

Posted on: Feb 12, 2008, Source: In These Times

The "war on drugs" has led to an explosion in the female incarceration rate.

When the One You Love Is Behind Bars

Posted on: Feb 1, 2008, Source: Colors Northwest

A justice system reporter explains how she fell in love with a jail-bound man and how their relationship was strained by his prison sentence.

Tupperware-Style Taser Parties

Posted on: Jan 30, 2008, Source: In These Times

The stun-gun-wielding housewife is coming to a suburb near you.

America, Intoxicated: Conference Tackles Disasters of the Drug War

Posted on: Dec 10, 2007, Source: AlterNet

1,200 activists and experts converged on New Orleans for the Drug Policy Alliance conference, where AlterNet won a prize for its drug war coverage.

Deadly Staph Infection 'Superbug' Has a Dangerous Foothold in U.S. Jails

Posted on: Dec 3, 2007, Source: AlterNet

With 19,000 deaths attributed to staph infections annually, there's cause for serious alarm. So why aren't we talking about our nightmarish prison system, the biggest incubator of them all?

The Trauma of Investigative Reporting: Reliving Events Can Cost Your Sanity

Posted on: Nov 12, 2007, Source: In These Times

A new book on the tragic suicide of investigative reporter Iris Chang reminds us that no one is equipped to bear this world's madness all on our own.

For Women Behind Bars, "Health Care" Can Be Deadly

Posted on: Oct 31, 2007, Source: Seal Press

Women in jail can suffer slow and painful deaths for treatable and simple illnesses simply as a result of the horrific state of prison health care.

Getting Busted for Pot Can Cost Your Right to Vote

Posted on: Jul 30, 2007, Source: In These Times

Once you've been arrested for the harsh anti-marijuana laws on the books, you can be denied everything from food stamps to voting rights to the right to adopt a child.

The Deadly Nature of "Non-Lethal" Weapons

Posted on: Feb 2, 2007, Source: In These Times

The next generation of "non-lethal" weapons pose human rights threats that their benign title hides.

Our Justice System Has Gone Mad

Posted on: Jan 25, 2007, Source: The Nation

America's culture of locking up its citizens has gone too far -- three percent of Americans are under some form of correctional supervision, and we may finally be at the beginning of a trend toward real criminal justice reform.

Death by Taser: The Killer Alternative to Guns

Posted on: Nov 17, 2006, Source: In These Times

Long touted as a safer alternative to handguns for law enforcement, tasers are potentially deadly weapons that have a growing history of abuse by police and security guards.

Make Prisons, Get Rich

Posted on: Sep 11, 2006, Source: In These Times

In New Mexico, public-private prison hybrids--paid for by the state and run by corporations--are making a few people rich and a lot of people unhappy.

In Love With Ourselves

Posted on: Aug 14, 2006, Source: In These Times

American culture is full of narcissists of all shapes and stripes -- George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Paris Hilton and any number of other public figures leap to mind.

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

Posted on: Mar 24, 2006, Source: In These Times

A new book dissects the emotional and psychological scars of slavery on the African American psyche.

Why Women Snap

Posted on: Dec 13, 2005, Source: In These Times

A new TV series ignores the reality that cold-hearted women who are out for themselves are only a tiny fraction of those doing time for murder.

Smoked Out

Posted on: Sep 11, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The 'war on drugs' has evolved into a war on weed. Billions of dollars spent, tens of thousands incarcerated, and marijuana is still as popular as ever.

One Nation, Under Watch

Posted on: Aug 7, 2005, Source: Santa Fe Reporter

Even though many critics believe the Patriot Act was a sucker-punch to the Bill of Rights, Congress plans to make many of its provisions permanent.

Beyond the God Pod

Posted on: Mar 9, 2005, Source: Santa Fe Reporter

The nation's biggest private prison corporation is forging strong ties with a fundamentalist Christian ministry, blurring the line between church and state and harkening a new turn in corrections toward Christian-based programming.

Cashing in on Cons

Posted on: Feb 9, 2005, Source: In These Times

At the American Correctional Association's 2005 Winter Conference, the bottom line is paramount.

Could You Repeat the Question, Please?

Posted on: Oct 6, 2004, Source: AlterNet

The vice presidential debate highlighted the administration's willful ignorance over the demographics of the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Go Directly to Jail

Posted on: Aug 16, 2004, Source: In These Times

Prison is the rough new rite of passage for many black men.

The New Plantation

Posted on: Jul 8, 2004, Source: Gadflyer

African-American men are now more likely to get a prison record than a college degree.

The New Blue Gold

Posted on: Jun 22, 2004, Source: AlterNet

The rush to privatize water is underway across the world. In the new documentary 'Thirst,' filmmakers Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow set out to explore the consequences.

Criminalizing Motherhood

Posted on: Dec 3, 2003, Source: The Nation

A woman who gave birth to a stillborn child is convicted of murder, setting a dangerous precedent.

The Truth About the Green River Killer

Posted on: Nov 11, 2003, Source: AlterNet

Gary Ridgway should have been caught a long time ago. His choice of victims had everything to do with why he wasn't.

The State Of Drug Reform

Posted on: Sep 17, 2003, Source: AlterNet

Seattle voters pass a marijuana initiative, adding another voice to the growing national chorus saying 'no' to the Drug War.

Women on the Edge

Posted on: Aug 27, 2003, Source: In These Times

As feminism reshapes itself, increasing numbers of girls and women find themselves exploring their own boundaries.

The Incarceration Craze

Posted on: Aug 26, 2003, Source: AlterNet

Mass incarceration is showing itself for the simplistic, short-sighted method of social control that it is.

Son of the Rosenbergs

Posted on: Jun 17, 2003, Source: AlterNet

Fifty years after the most politicized execution of the 20th century, Robert Meeropol carries the torch of dissent. And 2003, he says, is looking more like 1953 every day.

Drug Czar Battles Hordes of Crazed Potheads!

Posted on: Apr 17, 2003, Source: The Nation

The feds want young people to believe smoking marijuana leads to violent behavior, teen pregnancy and terrorism, but the message isn't working.

Finally, Justice In Tulia

Posted on: Apr 2, 2003, Source: AlterNet

The Tulia 46 may finally see justice served -- but the damage of the national drug war isn't anywhere near being undone.

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