Prison Life

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Organization offers help to those with loved ones in prison
Houston Chronicle, 19 October 2006
At 44 years old, Danny Torrence understands one critical thing: If nothing changes, nothing changes. A small group of men and women, members of Texas Inmate Families Association, gathered in a chilly room at the Montgomery County Central ...

Youths see jail life first-hand
BBC News Online, 18 October 2006
A project in Devon to try to teach youngsters about the reality of life behind bars is proving a success. The group of five boys aged between 12 and 16 were taken to Dartmoor Prison to meet inmates and witness prison life for themselves.

Federal prisons discriminate against aboriginals, says ombudsman
Canadian Press, Oct 16 2006
The Canadian prison system is practising "systemic discrimination" against aboriginal offenders, says the federal ombudsman for inmates - a finding that his political masters in the Conservative government refuse to accept...

Keep an eye on prison life
Newsquest Media Group 11 October 2006
FOUR new members have joined the Independent Monitoring Board at Thorn Cross Young Offenders Institute - and more are needed.

Pistolero Gang Leader Convicted
States News Service 4 October 2006
Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos gang leader Alberto Rodriguez, a/k/a "Copi," was convicted by a federal jury of drug trafficking and federal firearms charges...

Exonerated Prisoner Shares His Message
The Hartford Courant
After 18 years in prison, James Tillman said, a stop at Burger King can seem like a night out at a five-star restaurant...

Inmate charged in jail beating death
St. Paul Pioneer Press, Aug. 21, 2006

Correctional Services Canada Acknowledges Poor Prison Conditions

Canada's correctional facilities are suffering from "wear and tear," according to a recent article by the Citizen, with 80% of the nation's correctional officers (about 4,700) set to retire in the next 5 years. Spokespeople from CSC acknowledge that prison infrastructure is failing, saying that most of the service's 54 institutions are over 40 years old. While the prison system receives about $1.6 billion a year, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says his government may have to funnel another $225 million over the next 5 years to add, repair, and rebuild new prison cells for the expected growth in inmates due to the Conservative government's plan to stiffen prison sentences. Because more prisoners have historically been sentenced to shorter prison terms, the prisons experience a "revolving door syndrome" that taxes the stability of the facilities. CSC says there is an added burden of prison populations changing, such as an increase in younger and gang-related offenders that require different housing specifications (Aug 22, 2006 The Ottawa Citizen).

Aryan Brotherhood Ruling Could Have Wide Impact on Future Death Penalty Cases

After Aryan Brotherhood members Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham were convicted of murder, conspiracy and racketeering charges (some of which went back 30 years) in 2006, a federal court judge has now decided that the two members have a right to defend themselves and present evidence during their death sentencing hearing, a decision based on the result of Crawford vs. Washington in 2004. When attempting to document evidence for one of the alleged crimes for presentation during the members' upcoming death sentencing hearing, assistant US attorney Stephen Wolfe found that 3 key witnesses had either died or vanished (15 August 2006, Associated Press). The two members, who had ordered a race riot in a federal prison in Lewisburg, PA, were convicted under the Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering law, making them both eligible for the death penalty. The main issue in this trial is whether the accused in death penalty cases has the right to confront his or her accuser at the sentencing hearing. Sentencing begins August 28.

Legal network to demand Canadian Government commitment to prison needle exchanges

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is set to hold a news conference at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto to press the government to keep needle exchange programs in place in Canadian prisons (14 August 2006 Canada NewsWire).

Alleged prison gang member sentenced to 12 years in prison

27 year-old Pedro Garza Diaz, an alleged member of the Texas Syndicate prison gang, was sentenced to a 12 year prison term, concurrent with an additional sentence, after pleading guilty on August 7 to several counts of aggravated assault, deadly conduct, aggravated robbery and burglary of a habitation. Some of his cases involve codefendants, including the robbery offence (9 August 2006 Valley Morning Star).

Pelican Bay Inmate Caught Running Prison Painting Business

Murderer Donny Johnson was recently sanctioned by prison officials for creating and selling post-card sized paintings made with brushes fashioned from his own hair and ink lifted from M&Ms candies. He lives in the administrative segregation unit at Pelican Bay, confined to an 8x12 foot cell 23 hours a day, after slashing the throat of a prison guard in 1989. His painting routine consisted of purchasing 10 packages of M&Ms per month at the commissary, then soaking the candies in water. His brush is made with foil, plastic wrap, and human hair. His work was good enough to attract the attention of abstract artist Kenneth Noland, who saw a sample of his paintings in a New York Times article in July (4 August 2006 Associated Press Newswires).

Brazilian inmate: 'For the love of God, help us'
PRISON LIVING CONDITIONS SPARK PUBLIC OUTRAGE The Lexington Herald Leader, 5 August 2006

Brazilian Gang Runs Streets From Prison
Associated Press Newswires, 12:27, 6 August 2006

Hope for Bali inmates as exchange deal nears
10 August 2006 The Paducah Sun

Correctional Progress in the Canadian Praires: Pathways Units for Aboriginal Offenders
Let's Talk, VOL. 31, NO. , Correctional Services Canada

Prison Life Growing Tougher, Activists Say
The Moscow Times, 27 July 2006

Prison killing suspects could face death penalty: Both are serving life terms for murders committed as teens
Baltimore Sun, 28 July 2006

We're a four-star prison, and it's all thanks to my staff
South Wales Echo, 26 July 2006

Boundary-Spanners: the New Heroes of Prisoner Reentry?

A common buzzword attracting a bit of a mixed response in corrections these days is the concept of prisoner reentry, characterizing a kind of love-hate relationship where citizens willingly support rehabilitation, but are unwilling to dirty their hands in the process...

New Prison Gang Attacks on Sao Paulo

The violence continued yesterday, as new offensives by members of the gang First Command of the Capital laid siege to the city's transit system. In the 130th attack since since the destruction began Tuesday, five buses were torched just before dawn...

Stony Mountain Institution Drug Bust Nets $34,000

The largest seizure of illegal narcotics in the prison's 129-year history came earlier this week when guards confiscated 161 capsules of heroin, 89 grams of marijuana and 35 morphine tablets from Winnipeg's Stony Mountain Institution. Drug-smuggling attempts failed after inmates tried to throw a package of drugs over the 12 metre-high fence surrounding the facility, but threw it short and snagged it on the razor wire. A nearby guard noticed shortly after. According to the Broadcast News, the drugs in prison were worth over 10 times their value on the street.

Public Protest at "Easy Life" Inside Wymott Prison

Pictures taken of convicted paedophile Toby Studabaker, depicting the former US Marine playing computer games in his cell and allegedly "enjoying himself," have outraged public spokespersons in Leyland. The 34 year-old, who began serving a four-and-a-half year prison sentence in 2004 for forcing a 12-year-old girl to perform sexual acts, reportedly has his own Playstation.

Sao Paulo Prison Guards Strike After Gang Slayings

In the fifth such killing in Brazil's Sao Paulo prison system occurring in less than 10 days, off-duty prison guard Paulo Gilberto de Araujo was gunned down by...(more)

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InsidePrison gets some press!

Insideprison.com was recently quoted in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: "...The Mexican Mafia membership inside prisons continues to rise, according to insideprison.com, a Web site dedicated to spreading the word about the Mexican Mafia's threat to society..." See the full opinion article here.

Study on Inmate Assaults Clears Up Some Myths About Institutional Conditions

A recent survey conducted by researchers at the University of Houston found that the vast majority of inmate assaults in Texas prisons could be explained by the personal characteristics...

Poorer Outlook on Race Relations in Some British Prisons Rather than Others

A recent study at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology found that among a sample of prisoners in England and Wales, certain prisons stood out as...

What do Wardens Think of Prison Sex?

A recent study in the Prison Journal found that wardens and correctional administrators did not believe that there was a significant prevalence of either consensual or coerced sexual

Do Women Have it Better than Men in Prison?

A recent study conducted by Ohio and New Mexico researchers found that women in prison have better social supports, and participate in...

"Make-Believe" Family Relationships exist among Female Texas Prisoners

A recent study in the Prison Journal found that 28% of a correctional sample of female inmates in two Texas prisons for women developed "Familial-like"

50% Canadians believe prison life "too cushy," 33% believe it's "just right"

When asked on their attitudes about prison life in Canadian prisons, respondents across the country were mostly approving...

Scottish Prison Service introduces week-long home leave

The approximately 140 inmates at the Noranside Prison in Angus, which includes murderers and rapists, will now enjoy a brief taste of freedom...

Life in prison made falsely-accused Milgaard question own innocence

Canadian falsely-accused inmate David Milgaard spent more than two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit...

Gwinnett County Detention Center Inmate Died from Meningitis Infection

May 2 2006 - 20 year-old Gwinnett County Detention Center inmate Zachary Harris, who had been admitted 3 days before, was stricken dead with a meningitis bacterium, forcing 175...

Millhaven hunger-strikers end riot

May 1 2006 - The hunger strike and riot that began on April 13 with prisoners in Millhaven's J Unit finally ended last week. Last Monday, inmates...

Proposal Rejected: Live online footage to monitor Bangkok prison life

The Department of Corrections for the Ministry of Justice, Thailand, had proposed in January of 2005 that it would begin to broadcast live...

Prison escapee hid in billiard table

Inmate Lazaro Bringas Nuñez, a convicted kidnapper and murderer, escaped from a prison in Ciudad Cuauhtemoc on April 23rd, hiding in a... >> more

Prison suicide questions institutional conditions

27 year-old inmate Michael Keohane used a torn sheet to hang himself in his cell at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center on Sunday... >> more

Brazilian prison riot kills seven

In a protest against inmate transfers to another prison, prisoners at the Jundai Jail in Sao Paolo state broke into a riot on Wednesday, taking police and prison guards hostage... >> more

CSC Officers get "Stab-Proof" Vests

As per agreement between Correctional Services Canada and the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, a correctional employee association founded in 1999... >> more

Inmate Escapes from North Bend Prison, Oregon

Marion County Detention Center employees accused of sex with detained teens

Kenya prison conditions slammed

Liberals Challenge Government Over Sydney Prison Conditions

Locked Down: Gangs in the Supermax