Currently, 23 states do not have laws against shackling of incarcerated pregnant women. Illustration: Molly CrabappleCurrently, 23 states do not have laws against shackling of incarcerated pregnant women. Illustration: Molly CrabappleUS prisonsDespite a federal law that prohibits the shackling of expectant mothers, the 85% of incarcerated women who are in state prisons or county jails often remain at the mercy of guards Seven months pregnant, hands cuffed and feet bound, Sophia Casias shuffled across the floor at the Bexar county adult detention center in San Antonio, Texas, on March 2017.

The 10 best Shakespeare characters Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email The Cultural Olympiad is preparing to stage all his plays Robert McCrum Sat 24 Mar 2012 20.01 EDT First published on Sat 24 Mar 2012 20.01 EDT Viola: Twelfth NightViola, adrift in Illyria as the page Cesario, competes with Rosalind (in As You Like It) for one of Shakespeare’s best parts.

Transfer window This article is more than 5 months oldBournemouth seal £25m deal to sign Alex Scott from Bristol CityThis article is more than 5 months oldBournemouth also poised to land Norwich’s Max AaronsVilla selling Ramsey to Burnley and trying to sign ZanioloBournemouth have announced the signing of midfielder Alex Scott after agreeing a £25m package with Bristol City. The teenager had been a long-term target for Bournemouth, who he played for as a youngster.

‘Difference is beautiful’: pregnant trans men go for a swim – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Seahorse Parents is a photography and film project in which four soon-to-be parents share their personal stories of what carrying future children as transgender men has been like Mee-Lai Stone @mlestone Main image: ‘This is about celebrating our transness’ … Alex & Jerome, Seahorse Parents, 2022 Photograph: Miriam Guttmann Tue 8 Aug 2023 02.

BluesObituaryJerry McCain obituarySinger and harmonica-player who gave a fresh rinse to the bluesDespite its connotations of misery and bad luck, the blues is no less flexible a medium for humour, satire and topical commentary. Few artists in recent times have demonstrated this more vivaciously than the singer and harmonica-player Jerry McCain, who has died aged 81. The dozens of songs he wrote in a career spanning six decades embraced the wry social observation of That's What They Want, My Next Door Neighbour and Viagra Man, message songs such as Burn the Crackhouse Down and more playful pieces such as Homogenized Love.

Books interviewJohn le CarréInterviewJohn le Carré biographer Adam Sisman: ‘He wanted to make me love him’Tim AdamsSisman, whose new book on the spy turned novelist chronicles his many extramarital affairs, discusses the morality of biography and how le Carré attempted to seduce him Adam Sisman published his first, definitive, biography of John le Carré (AKA David Cornwell) in 2015. The book was produced with access to the author and his archive but there were aspects of his life that le Carré refused to discuss, particularly his numerous extramarital affairs.

Mitchell in 1968. Photograph: Jack Robinson/Getty ImagesOn the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, we celebrate the supernatural folk and bold jazz experimentation of the groundbreaking artist whose famous song captured the spirit of the festival – even though she didn’t go by Kat Lister19. Dog Eat Dog (1985)Joni Mitchell is a non-conformer – which is why this is such an uncomfortable listen. She is virtually unrecognisable here, subsumed by a homogenised 80s sound that leaves you pining for the astral lifelines of her earlier work.

ObituaryLawrence StoneDynamic academic who made social history excitingLawrence Stone, who has died aged 79, was a key figure, alongside Eric Hobsbawm and EP Thompson, in the remaking and reshaping of the concept of social history - enlarging its territory and changing its methods by showing how the theories and techniques of social scientists could be applied in historical inquiries. Controversial and impetuous in his youth, he matured into a world-class social historian and remained impetuous to the end.

Second world war This article is more than 3 years oldNazi concentration camp guard convicted over 5,232 murdersThis article is more than 3 years oldBruno Dey, 93, found guilty of accessory to murders in final months of second world war A 93-year-old former SS guard has been found guilty of accessory to the murder of 5,232 people at a Nazi concentration camp in the final days of the second world war.

JS Bach This article is more than 8 years oldPainting of Johann Sebastian Bach returns home to LeipzigThis article is more than 8 years oldBest known portrait of the German composer unveiled with grand ceremony at emotional homecoming As the white shroud was whipped away, it was as if the great composer himself had made an entrance on stage. Gasps and applause greeted the unveiling of the portrait of a man in a white wig, with a stern expression on his plump face, and a half-smile of approval on his fleshy lips as he proffered a music score to his audience.