- What will happen to the Drug Clemency Program when Holder leaves?
“Under criteria announced in April 2014, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, the Justice Department will consider for early release inmates who have served at least 10 years in prison, are low-level offenders, would have received a substantially lower prison term if sentenced under laws today, don’t have a significant criminal history, and have no history of violence before or since their incarceration.”...[
more]
Westside Gazette, Thursday, October 23, 2014
- We can’t afford to ignore drug addiction in prison
Many states have shortened prison time for drug crimes, and the federal system is inching toward doing the same, with new guidelines that will be effective Nov. 1 and retroactive releases starting a year later....[
more]
Washington Post, Thursday, August 14, 2014
- Justice Department's new rules would offer clemency to inmates with no violent history
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced new rules on Wednesday that potentially would make thousands of federal inmates eligible for presidential grants of clemency, including a requirement that candidates must have served at least 10 years of their sentences and have no history of violence....[
more]
USA Today, Wednesday, April 23, 2014
- 3 in 4 Former Prisoners in 30 States Arrested Within 5 Years of Release
An estimated two-thirds (68 percent) of 405,000 prisoners released in 30 states in 2005 were arrested for a new crime within three years of release from prison, and three-quarters (77 percent) were arrested within five years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today....[
more]
Reuters, Tuesday, April 22, 2014
- Halfway Back to Society
In 2013, about 30,000 federal prison inmates were released to more than 200 halfway houses around the country. These facilities — where an inmate can serve up to the last year of his or her sentence — are meant to ease the transition back into society by way of employment and housing assistance, drug treatment, and other programs that make it less likely an inmate will end up reoffending and returning to prison....[
more]
New York Times, Saturday, March 29, 2014
- In New Step to Fight Recidivism, Attorney General Holder Announces Justice Department to Require Federal Halfway Houses to Boost Treatment Services for Inmates Prior to Release
WASHINGTON—In a new step to further the Justice Department’s efforts towards enhancing reentry among formerly incarcerated individuals, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will impose new requirements on federal halfway houses that help inmates transition back into society. Under the proposed new requirements, these halfway houses will have to provide a specialized form of treatment to prisoners, including those with mental health and substance abuse issues. For the first time, halfway houses will also have to provide greater assistance to inmates who are pursuing job opportunities, such as permittin...[
more]
US Department of Justice, Monday, March 24, 2014
- Recognising International Women's Day in prison
This Saturday, as part of International Women’s Day, Corrections is celebrating the work it does with women in prison, to assist them in turning their backs on crime....[
more]
Fuseworks Media, Wednesday, March 5, 2014
- What if faith-based prison programs just attract better prisoners?
This continues yesterday’s post about the effectiveness of faith-based prisons, based on my recent Alabama Law Review article, Do Faith-Based Prisons Work? (Douglas Berman’s Sentencing Law and Policy Blog called this a “must read”; see also this discussion on Dru Stevenson’s Privatization Blog. This article is a companion article to Prison Vouchers and The Constitutional Possibilities of Prison Vouchers, though the ideas here are entirely independent of the vouchers idea.)...[
more]
Washington Post, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
- Los Angeles Intervention Program Provides Model for Other Nations
Section: General News - Los Angeles police say Los Angeles is the "gang capital" of the United States, with hundreds of active criminal gangs. The city is also home to a gang and re-entry program called Homeboy Industries which has helped ......[
more]
Voice of America, Friday, July 19, 2013
- Thinking Outside the Cell: Alternatives to Incarceration for Youth with Mental Illness
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, July 1, 2013
- Final Report Outcome and Process Evaluation of Juvenile Drug Courts
This study adds to the existing juvenile drug court literature by providing a national multi-site outcome and process evaluation of nine juvenile drug courts from across the U.S. This study assesses the relative effect of each court, as well as their combined effectiveness in reaching the overall goal of reducing recidivism and improving youths' social functioning. It also identifies, where possible, the characteristics of youth and programs associated with successful outcomes...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, June 18, 2013
- Measuring Success: A Guide to Becoming an Evidence-Based Practice
This is a great introduction to the process by which an organization can evaluate whether a program is evidence-based is explained. ...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, June 17, 2013
- Designing More Effective Correctional Programs Using Evidence-Based Practices
Are you looking for a research-based primer on evidence-based practices. Then this article is the place to start. ...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, June 13, 2013
- Challenging the
Psychopathy has long been framed as a special challenge in criminal justice contexts, in part due to the supposedly untreatable nature of psychopathic offenders. Indeed, previous failed attempts to ...[
more]
Psychology, Crime & Law, Tuesday, June 4, 2013
- The Chromis programme: from conception to evaluation
Offenders with high levels of psychopathic traits present particular challenges to the criminal justice system. These offenders are at high risk of re-offending and have a range of complex issues impacting on their response to treatment. This paper outlines the development, structure and implementation of the Chromis programme: a programme designed specifically to reduce the risk of violence in offenders with high levels of psychopathic traits. It outlines the context in which the programme currently runs and the challenges faced in evaluating its impact. Initial findings and plans for evaluation are discussed....[
more]
Psychology, Crime & Law, Tuesday, June 4, 2013
- Solitary Confinement: Is Long-Term Isolation of Prisoners Inhuman?
ANNOTATION: This report takes an in-depth look at whether long-term solitary confinement constitutes torture, and whether separating the worst of the worst from other prisoners is beneficial. Sections of this publication include: the issues; backgroundrepentance in isolation, supreme displeasure, institutionalizing solitary, and constitutional issues; chronology; current situationfight over supermax, and new litigation; at issuetwo opposing views of solitarys use; and outlooksolitary losing favor.
...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, May 14, 2013
- A Structured Evidence Review to Identify Treatment Needs of Justice-Involved Veterans and Associated Psychological Interventions
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently released A Structured Evidence Review to Identify Treatment Needs of Justice-Involved Veterans and Associated Psychological Interventions, a report on the behavioral health needs of veterans involved in the criminal justice system. The topic areas addressed in the report include treatment needs of justice-involved veterans, assessment tools to identify treatment needs and recidivism risk, and evidence-based practices. The report particularly focuses on history of trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, the needs of female veterans, the needs of veterans ages 55 and older, and the incidence...[
more]
Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, Thursday, May 9, 2013
- The Mark of an Ex-Prisoner: Perceived Discrimination and Self-Stigma of Young Men after Prison in Hong Kong
The stigma of being an ex-prisoner can lead to self-stigmatizing beliefs and hinder reintegration. For young ex-prisoners, this is particularly challenging as they need not only to transition from prison to society but from adolescence to adulthood. This study explores the experiences of discrimination and self-stigma of 16 young men recently released from Hong Kong prisons. Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews, it reveals that participants perceived themselves as facing discrimination, mainly from prospective employers. Self-stigma was more salient with regard to lower self-worth and shame and embarrassment. Most adopted a ...[
more]
Deviant Behavior, Sunday, April 14, 2013
- Why do sexual offenders refuse treatment?
Theories of offender motivation for treatment have proposed that external factors may be as important as internal factors in creating a state of readiness for treatment. This paper reports an exploratory study of the barriers to treatment for incarcerated sexual offenders. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of interview and questionnaire data from treatment refusers and accepters suggested that refusers were less aware of the effectiveness of treatment, reported seeing negative side effects of treatment in others and felt they had a higher social status in prison which could be damaged by attending treatment. While this study does not demo...[
more]
Journal of Sexual Aggression, Wednesday, August 1, 2012
- 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......[
more]
Insideprison.com, Saturday, September 9, 2006
- Convicted priest says El Salvador backed gang work
MADRID (AP) — Those who love Antonio Rodriguez know him affectionately as "Father Tony," the Roman Catholic priest who spent 15 years working in El Salvador's roughest neighborhoods to get vulnerable young men out of a gang lifestyle that often ends in death....[
more]
Associated Press, Tuesday, September 30, 2014
- Obama/ Democrats Importing MS-13 Gang Members
Known for their identifying tattoos and violent mottos like “Mata, roba, viola, controla” (“Kill, steal, rape, control”), members of MS-13 are known for executing their victims with machetes and blunt objects like baseball bats. (AP File Photo)...[
more]
Right Punditry, Thursday, August 14, 2014
- In violent Honduras, soccer offers the young an escape from gangs, drugs and early death
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — From where he sits on a dusty soccer pitch between the fetid Choluteca River and four-lane Armed Forces Boulevard, 11-year-old Maynor Ayala can see only two ways out of the gang-controlled slums of the capital: on a professional soccer team, or in a cheap coffin....[
more]
Associated Press, Sunday, May 25, 2014
- Number of cell phones smuggled into prison soars as gang members intimidate witnesses and run drug deals from behind bars
Cellphones smuggled into prisons by corrupt guards, concealed in food containers or hurled over security fences are an increasing worry for law enforcement as prisoners use them to intimidate witnesses, direct drug deals and plan escapes....[
more]
Daily Mail, Monday, April 21, 2014
- NFLPA probing WR DeSean Jackson's release Union looking at possibility of leaked comments
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told ESPN radio's "Mike & Mike Show on Friday that the union is investigating the Philadelphia Eagles' release of wide receiver DeSean Jackson. ...[
more]
Sports Xchange, Saturday, April 5, 2014
- Busting 'El Chapo' accomplishes zilch: Column
On Saturday, the world's most wanted drug lord, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, was captured in a high-profile arrest in the Mexican city of Mazatlán, ending a 13-year search since he last escaped from prison, in a laundry basket. Of course, credit must be given to the Mexican and U.S. forces involved in this capture. Strengthening rule of law and bringing the leader of the most powerful drug cartel to justice is undoubtedly significant....[
more]
USA Today, Friday, February 28, 2014
- Drug kingpin should face justice in US, not Mexico
AT THE height of their power in the 1980s, Colombian drug lords had a saying: Better to be in a grave in Colombia than in a prison cell in the United States. This is an adage that Mexican officials should keep in mind now that Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera — also known as El Chapo — was captured late last week....[
more]
Boston Globe, Wednesday, February 26, 2014
- Making crime pay – the development role of gangsters
NEW YORK, 25 October 2013 (IRIN) - A precarious gang truce brokered in 2011 in El Salvador has many crime experts wondering whether “talking to criminals” in other places could reduce criminal violence and help gangsters - and the communities who depend on them - find other ways to earn a living. ...[
more]
IRIN Middle East Service, Friday, October 25, 2013
- Brazil's top prison gang runs $60 million crime trade
Brazil's powerful PCC prison gang runs a nationwide criminal business worth $60 million a year with operations extending into neighboring Bolivia and Paraguay, according to an official report disclosed Friday....[
more]
Agence France Presse, Friday, October 11, 2013
- Making a Deal With Murderers
The gangs grew more sophisticated over the years. Government inaction allowed gang members to secure control of several prisons and turn them into operational headquarters from which they ordered — and continue to order — homicides and extortion. And today they once again have cells — branch offices — in the United States. What the United States spat out ricocheted back with even greater force....[
more]
New York Times, Sunday, October 6, 2013
- Arsonist killed in Dubai prison after being stabbed 37 times by rival gang
DUBAI // A prison gang boss known as “Rida the burned” was killed after being stabbed 37 times in his face, neck and chest in a revenge attack by a rival gang, a court heard yesterday....[
more]
National, Monday, September 30, 2013
- Federal agents arrest hundreds in MS-13 gang sweep
Among those charged are 158 members and associates of MS-13, with 105 others allegedly belonging to other gangs. Authorities arrested 84 non-gang members wanted on criminal charges and 14 people on immigration violations as part of the same sweep, according to the federal agency....[
more]
CNN Wire, Friday, August 16, 2013
- Three Members and One Associate of Violent North Carolina Latin Kings Gang Sentenced to Prison
Three members and one associate of the North Carolina Almighty Latin King/Queen Nation (ALKQN) have been sentenced this week in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina.
The announcement was made today by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ripley Rand of the Middle District of North Carolina; Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Division; Chief of the Greensboro, N.C., Police Department Ken Miller; and B.J. Barnes, Sheriff of Guilford County, N.C....[
more]
US Department of Justice, Thursday, August 15, 2013
- Ex-cartel chief released in Mexico: prison source
A former top Mexican drug cartel boss, Rafael Caro Quintero, was released Friday after serving 28 years for the murder of a US agent, a prison source said....[
more]
Agence France Presse, Friday, August 9, 2013
- Ruthless Mexican drug cartel recruiting Americans ; Los Zetas looks to prisons, gangs
A Mexican drug cartel known for kidnapping random civilians and beheading its rivals has expanded its operations into the U.S. The gang known as Los Zetas is recruiting U.S. prison and street gangs, and non-Mexicans, for its drug ......[
more]
Washington Times , Tuesday, July 9, 2013
- The Top 5 Facts About Women in Our Criminal Justice System
The top five facts about women incarcerated in the United States are discussed. These are: the number of women in correctional facilities has increased 800% over the last 30 years; a majority of these women have experienced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; many incarcerated girls have also experienced such abuse; pregnant mothers are often shackled during labor and delivery; and following release, ex-offenders face a lot of barriers to successful reentry......[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, July 2, 2013
- Thinking Outside the Cell: Alternatives to Incarceration for Youth with Mental Illness
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, July 1, 2013
- The Impact of Prison Conditions on Staff Well-Being
The impacts of the work environment on staff well-being and staffs...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, July 1, 2013
- BJS: Indian Country Jail Inmate Population Rises About 6% for Second Consecutive Year
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced that at midyear 2012, a total of 2,364 inmates were confined in Indian country jails, a 5.6 percent increase from the 2,239 inmates confined at midyear 2011......[
more]
Bureau of Justice Statistics (US), Monday, July 1, 2013
- Robben Island: A view into Mandela's prison life
US President Barack Obama has visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. DW...[
more]
Deutsche Welle, Sunday, June 30, 2013
- Visitors get a taste of the prison lifestyle
Eastern State Penitentiary, opened in 1829, has experienced much decay over the years......[
more]
The Temple News, Friday, June 28, 2013
- Prison Will Either Make Ya or Break Ya: Punishment, Deterrence, and the Criminal Lifestyle
Although a prison sentence is often considered to be among the worst punishments that the state can provide, previous research indicates that offenders do not necessarily share this view. Some inmates, for example, adjust to prison life with relative ease, do not view their time in prison as severe punishment, and may even prefer prison to alternative sanctions such as boot camp or probation. To help explain such views, we point to the utility of a criminal lifestyle perspective. We argue that offenders who are committed to the values of the criminal subculture tend to view prison in a unique way. For various reasons, such offenders are less ...[
more]
Deviant Behavior, Friday, June 21, 2013
- Accounting for Violations of the Convict Code
Research over the past several decades shows that those who act in ways inconsistent with desired identities often account for (i.e., excuse or justify) their actions to save face and maintain social identities. While the bulk of research on the use of accounts examines how people make sense of behaviors that go against conventional values, recent research suggests that those who do not adhere to subcultural norms engage in similar talk. The current study builds on the sociology of accounts by exploring whether inmates articulate a convict code; whether they provide accounts for code violations that are comparable to those given by active off...[
more]
Deviant Behavior, Friday, June 21, 2013
- Final Report Outcome and Process Evaluation of Juvenile Drug Courts
This study adds to the existing juvenile drug court literature by providing a national multi-site outcome and process evaluation of nine juvenile drug courts from across the U.S. This study assesses the relative effect of each court, as well as their combined effectiveness in reaching the overall goal of reducing recidivism and improving youths' social functioning. It also identifies, where possible, the characteristics of youth and programs associated with successful outcomes...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, June 18, 2013
- Measuring the disparity of categorical risk among various sex offender risk assessment measures
The focus on reducing sexual offending has led to the development of risk assessment measures and schemes to predict reoffending, prioritize the allocation of treatment and supervision resources, and ensure public safety. However, different risk assessment approaches may not always have high agreement on the same individual. In light of the research indicating that ordinal risk rankings are most commonly used and reported in various risk communications, this study compares four risk assessment approaches, namely the Static-99R, Static-2002R, Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, and SVR-20, in order to evaluate the disparities among the risk cat...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Tuesday, June 18, 2013
- Measuring Success: A Guide to Becoming an Evidence-Based Practice
This is a great introduction to the process by which an organization can evaluate whether a program is evidence-based is explained. ...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, June 17, 2013
- Designing More Effective Correctional Programs Using Evidence-Based Practices
Are you looking for a research-based primer on evidence-based practices. Then this article is the place to start. ...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, June 13, 2013
- Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Delivers Remarks at the Children of Incarcerated Parents Initiative
Thank you Tonya [Robinson] for that introduction and for your work on this issue and this event. And congratulations again to all of the Champions of Change being honored today. Your work is exemplary as you have dedicated your time and energy to speak up for a unique and vulnerable group: our nation...[
more]
US Department of Justice, Wednesday, June 12, 2013
- Sexual Victimization In Juvenile Facilities Reported By Youth, 2012
Highlights:
An estimated 9.5% of adjudicated youth in state juvenile facilities and state contract facilities (representing 1,720 youth nationwide) reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another youth or staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than 12 months.
About 2.5% of youth (450 nationwide) reported an incident involving another youth, and 7.7% (1,390) reported an incident involving facility staff.
An estimated 3.5% of youth reported having sex or other sexual contact with facility staff as a result of force or other forms of coercion, while 4.7% of youth reported sexual contact with staff...[
more]
Bureau of Justice Statistics (US), Thursday, June 6, 2013
- Challenging the
Psychopathy has long been framed as a special challenge in criminal justice contexts, in part due to the supposedly untreatable nature of psychopathic offenders. Indeed, previous failed attempts to ...[
more]
Psychology, Crime & Law, Tuesday, June 4, 2013
- The Chromis programme: from conception to evaluation
Offenders with high levels of psychopathic traits present particular challenges to the criminal justice system. These offenders are at high risk of re-offending and have a range of complex issues impacting on their response to treatment. This paper outlines the development, structure and implementation of the Chromis programme: a programme designed specifically to reduce the risk of violence in offenders with high levels of psychopathic traits. It outlines the context in which the programme currently runs and the challenges faced in evaluating its impact. Initial findings and plans for evaluation are discussed....[
more]
Psychology, Crime & Law, Tuesday, June 4, 2013
- Sexual Abuse in Custody: A Case Law Survey
Under certain circumstances correctional officers and their supervisors can be subject to civil liability for sexual abuse of inmates and detainees under their care. Liability for sexual abuse can attach whether the abuse was perpetrated by a correctional officer, facility employee or volunteer, or by a fellow inmate or detainee. This document provides an overview of sexual abuse cases in both state and federal courts, focusing on what types of conduct most often result in individual and supervisory liability. It does not address other issues that may arise in sexual abuse litigation, such as exhaustion requirements under the Prison Litigatio...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, May 30, 2013
- The predictive validity of the HCR-20 following clinical implementation: does it work in practice?
This prospective study describes the predictive validity of the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 Scale (HCR-20) when applied to clinical practice among 109 male mentally disordered offenders in a high secure forensic hospital. Data on violent incidents including reconvictions were collected from multiple sources. The results imply that the implemented HCR-20s did not predict future violence regardless of setting (community vs inpatient) nor time (short vs long term) except for serious incidents. This may indicate that the implemented HCR-20s informed risk management through systematic tailoring of care and treatment plans. Evidence supp...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, May 24, 2013
- Justice Department Finds Unconstitutional Conditions of Confinement at Escambia County, Fla. Jail
Today, the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division issued a letter detailing the findings of its investigation into conditions of confinement at Escambia County Jail, a jail located in northwest Florida, housing roughly 1,300 prisoners. The department found that, although the jail under the leadership of Sheriff David Morgan has recently implemented a series of meaningful reforms, conditions at the jail still routinely violate the constitutional rights of prisoners.
Specifically, the department concluded that known systemic deficiencies at the facility, stemming mainly from staffing shortages, continue to subject prisoners to excessive r...[
more]
US Department of Justice, Wednesday, May 22, 2013
- Financial Incentives for Using Electronic Health Records in Corrections
The 2009 Recovery Act included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The HITECH Act incentivizes hospitals and other health care providers to use electronic health records for Medicaid and Medicare patients. In the Medicaid program, an eligible health care provider (i.e., Medical Doctor, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse, Midwife, Dentist, or Physician Assistant), whose patient volume consists of at least 30 percent Medicaid patients AND who uses a certified electronic health record is eligible for Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive payments. EHR payments can a...[
more]
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, Wednesday, May 22, 2013
- Using Administrative Data to Prioritize Jail Reentry Services: Findings from the Comprehensive Transition Planning Project
ANNOTATION: 'This research brief describes part of the Comprehensive Transition Planning Project'a collaborative project between the Substance Use and Mental Health Program at the Vera Institute of Justice and the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) ' [which is] to develop a reliable, low-cost, and easy-to-implement tool jail officials could use to identify people in jail who would benefit most from access to the system's limited discharge planning resources' (p. 1). The tool is called the Service Priority Indicator (SPI) and utilizes administrative data to target reentry services. Sections following an executive summary include: int...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, May 20, 2013
- Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 201112
ANNOTATION: This report present statistics regarding the sexual victimization of prison and jail inmates by other inmates or staff. Sections of this publication cover: highlights; National Inmate Survey; incidents of sexual victimizations; facility-level rates; demographic and other characteristics; special inmate populationsinmates ages 16 to 17; special inmate populationsinmates with mental health problems; and special inmate populationsinmates with a non-heterosexual sexual orientation. Some of the key findings include: 4% of prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported being sexually victimized; 1.8% of juveniles ages 16 to 17 reporte...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Friday, May 17, 2013
- Risk Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Guidebook for Implementation
ANNOTATION: The primary purpose of this Guide is to provide a structure for jurisdictions, juvenile probation or centralized statewide agencies striving to implement risk assessment or to improve their current risk assessment practices. Risk assessment in this Guide refers to the practice of using a structured tool that combines information about youth to classify them as being low, moderate or high risk for reoffending or continued delinquent activity, as well as identifying factors that might reduce that risk on an individual basis. The purpose of such risk assessment tools is to help in making decisions about youths placement and supervisi...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Friday, May 17, 2013
- A Primer on Body-Worn Cameras for Law Enforcement
ANNOTATION: The field deployment of body-worn camera systems (BWCs) by law enforcement practitioners (e.g., patrol, corrections, SWAT and other tactical responders) offers significant advantages in keeping officers safe, enabling situational awareness and providing evidence for trial To mitigate the lack of procedural or technical standards, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Sensor, Surveillance, and Biometric Technologies (SSBT) Center of Excellence (CoE) has prepared a primer to aid in the use of BWCs in law enforcement. This report provides an introduction to BWCs and highlights issues and factors that law enforcement organizations ...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Friday, May 17, 2013
- Manual for the Guidance of Inmates: 2012 Edition
This is a very good example of an inmate handbook that your agency can find ideas from for creating or revamping your own. Sections cover: getting startedquarantine, classification, and restitution; settling incounts, inmate appearance, opportunities, living areas, communication with staff, problem solving steps, personal and state property, procedures and rules (guidelines), disciplinary days (good contact time), and Investigations Bureau; services and privileges; available programsprogressive empowerment, educational, vocational training, recreation, sexual offender treatment, and the Family Connections Center; and parolescheduling, waiver,...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, May 16, 2013
- Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Improvements to the Public Safety Officers Benefits Program
Attorney General Eric Holder and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced several improvements to the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) Program following the completion of a comprehensive review of the program ordered by the Attorney General in May 2012.
In the coming months, the PSOB office will move to an entirely paperless electronic case management system that will allow claimants to file and monitor the progress of their claims online, in order to improve efficiency, increase timeliness and reduce duplication in its claims administration process. The PSOB claims process will al...[
more]
US Department of Justice, Wednesday, May 15, 2013
- Take This Job and Shove It: An Exploratory Study of Turnover Intent among Jail Staff
ANNOTATION: This article provides valuable information on why jail staff quit their jobs. It looks at the many factors that can influence high employee turnover in jails. Sections following an abstract include: introduction; literature review; methodology; findings; and discussion and conclusion. 'Based on a multivariate analysis, the most powerful predictors of jail staff turnover intent were job attitudes (i.e., job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). The findings suggested that administrators should concentrate on improving the work environment to boost employee job involvement, job satisfaction, and organization...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Wednesday, May 15, 2013
- Solitary Confinement: Is Long-Term Isolation of Prisoners Inhuman?
ANNOTATION: This report takes an in-depth look at whether long-term solitary confinement constitutes torture, and whether separating the worst of the worst from other prisoners is beneficial. Sections of this publication include: the issues; backgroundrepentance in isolation, supreme displeasure, institutionalizing solitary, and constitutional issues; chronology; current situationfight over supermax, and new litigation; at issuetwo opposing views of solitarys use; and outlooksolitary losing favor.
...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, May 14, 2013
- A Structured Evidence Review to Identify Treatment Needs of Justice-Involved Veterans and Associated Psychological Interventions
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently released A Structured Evidence Review to Identify Treatment Needs of Justice-Involved Veterans and Associated Psychological Interventions, a report on the behavioral health needs of veterans involved in the criminal justice system. The topic areas addressed in the report include treatment needs of justice-involved veterans, assessment tools to identify treatment needs and recidivism risk, and evidence-based practices. The report particularly focuses on history of trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, the needs of female veterans, the needs of veterans ages 55 and older, and the incidence...[
more]
Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, Thursday, May 9, 2013
- Psychopathic characteristics are related to high basal urinary oxytocin levels in male forensic patients
Cerebral levels of oxytocin, elevated by intranasal administration, can increase trust, empathy and altruism, and decrease fear. We hypothesised that low levels of these characteristics (found in some personality-disordered forensic patients), would be associated with reduced oxytocin levels. Aims: To assess whether patients, with psychopathic characteristics associated with selfishness, callousness and the remorseless use of others, plus a chronically unstable, antisocial and socially deviant lifestyle, would show depressed levels of oxytocin. Method: Basal urinary oxytocin levels (an indicator of cerebral oxytocin) were assessed in 47 foren...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, May 3, 2013
- Using the MMPI-A in identifying trauma symptoms among juvenile offenders
A significant number of youths involved in the juvenile justice system have experienced childhood maltreatment and/or grief and loss. The mental health consequences of such events may have contributed to the development of the mental health and behavioral problems that resulted in juvenile court involvement. As such, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A), the most commonly used assessment measure among forensic psychologists working with this population, should be evaluated for its utility in identifying youths whose mental health and behavioral problems may be related to such traumatic events. This study aimed t...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, May 3, 2013
- The Mark of an Ex-Prisoner: Perceived Discrimination and Self-Stigma of Young Men after Prison in Hong Kong
The stigma of being an ex-prisoner can lead to self-stigmatizing beliefs and hinder reintegration. For young ex-prisoners, this is particularly challenging as they need not only to transition from prison to society but from adolescence to adulthood. This study explores the experiences of discrimination and self-stigma of 16 young men recently released from Hong Kong prisons. Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews, it reveals that participants perceived themselves as facing discrimination, mainly from prospective employers. Self-stigma was more salient with regard to lower self-worth and shame and embarrassment. Most adopted a ...[
more]
Deviant Behavior, Sunday, April 14, 2013
- Criminal history in schizophrenia: associations with substance use and disorganized symptoms
Many with schizophrenia tend to experience problems with the legal system. Yet little is still known about the correlates of the history of incarceration, as well as frequency of misdemeanor and felony convictions within community samples. To explore this question, we gathered legal and substance abuse histories, and assessments of symptoms and neurocognitive function from 96 adults in a nonacute phase of schizophrenia. ANOVA revealed history of incarceration to be linked with more severe drug and alcohol abuse histories, and greater positive symptoms. Greater numbers of misdemeanor convictions were linked to more severe drug and alcohol abus...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, March 8, 2013
- Violence and Security Threat Group Participation in Ohio Prisons
The formulation of correctional policies that address prison violence are complicated by the challenge of successfully managing gang-related misconduct. Unfortunately, research findings on the relationship between gang affiliation and prison misbehavior are limited and still somewhat inconclusive....[
more]
Corrections Today, Monday, October 1, 2012
- Why do sexual offenders refuse treatment?
Theories of offender motivation for treatment have proposed that external factors may be as important as internal factors in creating a state of readiness for treatment. This paper reports an exploratory study of the barriers to treatment for incarcerated sexual offenders. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of interview and questionnaire data from treatment refusers and accepters suggested that refusers were less aware of the effectiveness of treatment, reported seeing negative side effects of treatment in others and felt they had a higher social status in prison which could be damaged by attending treatment. While this study does not demo...[
more]
Journal of Sexual Aggression, Wednesday, August 1, 2012
- Developmental and offence-related characteristics of different types of adolescent sex offender: A community sample
Offence-related and developmental characteristics were compared in subgroups of a sample (n=184) of male sex offenders aged between 10 and 21 [mean=16.07; standard deviation (SD)=2.09] referred to a specialist community facility. Important differences were observed on key developmental and offence-related variables between adolescents who targeted peers/adults and those who targeted children. These differences support the validity of the distinction between these two groups. Much smaller subgroups with mixed (i.e. peer and child) victims, internet child pornography and indecent exposure offences are also described. The sample was followed-up ...[
more]
Journal of Sexual Aggression, Monday, January 9, 2012
- Locked Down: Gangs in the Supermax
Twenty years ago, a new kind of prison was taking America by storm. The supermax prison was designed to incapacitate dangerous criminals by locking them down in stark isolation, sometimes for years on end....[
more]
American RadioWorks, Sunday, July 1, 2007
- The International Prisoner Transfer Program
Although the International Prisoner Transfer Program has been in existence since 1976, it remains a program about which most federal prosecutors have scant knowledge or understanding...[
more]
Immigration Daily, Monday, May 14, 2007
- Gauging the Gangs
A respected writer spent five years studying the Mexican Mafia. What he discovered will shock even the most seasoned cop....[
more]
Southern Poverty Law Center, Wednesday, January 17, 2007
- Study: Leaving prison can kill
Prison life can be dangerous, but getting out can be deadly, too. Newly released inmates were almost 13 times more likely ...[
more]
The Associated Press, Thursday, January 11, 2007
- Risk of death high for new ex-cons
Prison life may be dangerous, but getting out can be deadly, too. ...[
more]
CNN, Wednesday, January 10, 2007
- America's Prisons: Breeding Grounds for Muslim Converts
While there is much talk about the infiltration of terrorists into our country through our nation...[
more]
The Family Security Foundation, Monday, January 8, 2007
- Nobody wants to talk about prison rape. Not even the victims
Tony, an armed robber serving 20 years to life, knew what could happen to snitches, but ...[
more]
Legal Times, Monday, December 18, 2006
- 19 arrested on drugs, weapons charges in roundup of reputed Bloods members
Courier-News, Thursday, December 14, 2006
- Sides dispute facts of prison beating
To hear prosecutors tell it, the five city corrections officers on trial...[
more]
Philadelphia Daily News, Wednesday, December 6, 2006
- 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....[
more]
Insideprison.com, Wednesday, November 1, 2006
- 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......[
more]
Insideprison.com, Wednesday, November 1, 2006
- "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"......[
more]
Insideprison.com, Wednesday, November 1, 2006
- Trial begins for 11 Hells Angels bikers over deadly brawl
Examiner, Monday, September 18, 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......[
more]
Insideprison.com, Saturday, September 9, 2006
- Prison escapee hid in billiard table
Inmate Lazaro Bringas Nuntildeez, a convicted kidnapper and murderer, escaped from a prison in Ciudad Cuauhtemoc on April 23rd, hiding in a... ...[
more]
Insideprison.com, Sunday, April 2, 2006
- Private Manning’s Missing Medical Care
As a matter of constitutional rights and basic decency, prisoners — including military prisoners — are entitled to proper care for their serious medical conditions. Yet, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other officials continue to deny medically necessary care to Chelsea Manning, the military prisoner formerly known as Pfc. Bradley Manning, who was convicted in August 2013 of leaking a vast cache of classified government documents....[
more]
New York Times, Sunday, November 9, 2014
- Telemedicine Can Reduce Prison Healthcare Costs: Reaching Out to the Underserved
COLD SPRING, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 21, 2014) - Across the U.S., many rural jails and prisons either have no mental health services for affected patients or they rely on the limited community mental health agencies for treatment of imprisoned patients with mental illnesses or addiction. CloudVisit Telemedicine offers telepsychiatry solutions to introduce telemedicine in prison that are specially designed to help practitioners safely and securely address those patients' needs, while saving money....[
more]
Mental Health Weekly Digest, Saturday, November 1, 2014
- Jailed, some mentally ill inmates land in lockdown
Day or night, the lights inside cell 135C of central New Mexico's Valencia County Detention Center were always on.
Locked inside, alone, for months, Jan Green — a 52-year-old computer technician with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder — rocked on a bench for hours, confiding in an imaginary companion.
"I would talk and hold conversations just in my little crazy world, I guess you would say, just to keep me company," Green says....[
more]
Associated Press, Monday, September 22, 2014
- Thousands of prisoners treated for mental illness
Nearly 10% of the 216,000 inmates are receiving medications designed to treat an array of illnesses, from depression and bipolar disorder to acute schizophrenia. The BOP's disclosure comes as government officials have raised questions about the costs of confining such large populations, while advocates for the mentally ill argue that prisons and jails have become the new repository for people with mental illness....[
more]
USA Today, Thursday, July 24, 2014
- Mental illness cases swamp criminal justice system -- ON AMERICA'S STREETS, POLICE ENCOUNTERS WITH PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES INCREASINGLY DIRECT RESOURCES AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY ROLES.
NEWPORT, R.I. — Inside a cluttered downtown apartment that she shares with a cat, the 57-year-old woman is in the midst of a near-meltdown.
"There's three of them,'' she tells two police officers, referring to "these predators who won't leave me alone. Those sons of bitches won't let me go. ''...[
more]
USA Today, Monday, July 21, 2014
- Mental Illness Soars In Prisons, Jails While Inmates Suffer
Armando Cruz tied a noose around his neck and hanged himself from the ceiling of his prison cell. He left a note that ended in two chilling words....[
more]
China Daily, Tuesday, July 15, 2014
- Special report: Violence rekindles debate over treatment for severely mentally ill
Each new act of mass violence rekindles the debate over how to prevent another.
And when the perpetrators suffer from severe mental illness, the question is how to help before they act — even if they resist treatment....[
more]
Pocono Record, Sunday, June 15, 2014
- To curb hepatitis C, test and treat inmates
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Problematic as it is for society, the high incarceration rate in the United States presents an important public health opportunity, according to a new "Perspective" article in the New England Journal of Medicine. It could make staving off the worst of the oncoming hepatitis C epidemic considerably easier.
Nearly 4 million Americans may be infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Many of them don't know they carry HCV, which can take decades to make them ill with cirrhosis, cancer, or liver failure....[
more]
Gastroenterology Week, Monday, May 26, 2014
- The New Asylums: Jails Swell With Mentally Ill
CHICAGO—The sound of clanging steel doors and agitated voices in the Cook County Jail bullpen was deafening. Amid the din, Robert Miller, who would turn 19 the next day, wept quietly. Anger and sullenness were common here. Uncontrolled crying was a sign of a bigger problem....[
more]
Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, September 25, 2013
- Mental Health; Prisoners doing yoga may see psychological benefits
The Oxford University researchers found that prisoners after a 10-week yoga course reported improved mood, reduced stress and were better at a task related to behaviour control than those who continued in their normal prison routine....[
more]
Computer Weekly News, Thursday, August 15, 2013
- Window on Correctional Practice: Inmate Well-Being Assessments
Have you ever spent the night in jail? Well, I have. Several times. Fortunately, it was while helping folks to practice operating their new jail before the official opening: checking out the building, systems, operating procedures, and staff behavior. As a normal adult, you have some interesting reactions when you are locked in a small room. One of the primary ones: “Is anybody checking on me and making sure I am all right?” You can assume offenders have the same initial reaction. Think about what kinds of inmate behaviors might result if they feel nobody is checking on them – both attention getting behavior and, of course, perhaps some ina...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Wednesday, August 14, 2013
- Lack of Expertise, Inadequate Funding Plaguing Mental Health Delivery to Nation’s Juvenile Justice System
A 2010 Columbia University study involving approximately 10,000 young people in the nation’s juvenile justice system found almost 52 percent of the population studied met criteria for at least one mental health disorder, with about 64 percent of young people who were committed to secured facilities likely having at least one disorder. ...[
more]
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, Monday, July 22, 2013
- Aging prisoner costs put pressure on prison systems nationwide
For decades, the Louisiana State Penitentiary has taken great pride in its vast farming operations, as well as its reputation as one of the toughest lockups in America....[
more]
USA Today, Thursday, July 11, 2013
- Financial Incentives for Using Electronic Health Records in Corrections
The 2009 Recovery Act included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The HITECH Act incentivizes hospitals and other health care providers to use electronic health records for Medicaid and Medicare patients. In the Medicaid program, an eligible health care provider (i.e., Medical Doctor, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse, Midwife, Dentist, or Physician Assistant), whose patient volume consists of at least 30 percent Medicaid patients AND who uses a certified electronic health record is eligible for Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive payments. EHR payments can a...[
more]
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, Wednesday, May 22, 2013
- Psychopathic characteristics are related to high basal urinary oxytocin levels in male forensic patients
Cerebral levels of oxytocin, elevated by intranasal administration, can increase trust, empathy and altruism, and decrease fear. We hypothesised that low levels of these characteristics (found in some personality-disordered forensic patients), would be associated with reduced oxytocin levels. Aims: To assess whether patients, with psychopathic characteristics associated with selfishness, callousness and the remorseless use of others, plus a chronically unstable, antisocial and socially deviant lifestyle, would show depressed levels of oxytocin. Method: Basal urinary oxytocin levels (an indicator of cerebral oxytocin) were assessed in 47 foren...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, May 3, 2013
- Criminal history in schizophrenia: associations with substance use and disorganized symptoms
Many with schizophrenia tend to experience problems with the legal system. Yet little is still known about the correlates of the history of incarceration, as well as frequency of misdemeanor and felony convictions within community samples. To explore this question, we gathered legal and substance abuse histories, and assessments of symptoms and neurocognitive function from 96 adults in a nonacute phase of schizophrenia. ANOVA revealed history of incarceration to be linked with more severe drug and alcohol abuse histories, and greater positive symptoms. Greater numbers of misdemeanor convictions were linked to more severe drug and alcohol abus...[
more]
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, March 8, 2013
- Study: Leaving prison can kill
Prison life can be dangerous, but getting out can be deadly, too. Newly released inmates were almost 13 times more likely ...[
more]
The Associated Press, Thursday, January 11, 2007
- Risk of death high for new ex-cons
Prison life may be dangerous, but getting out can be deadly, too. ...[
more]
CNN, Wednesday, January 10, 2007
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You May Have Missed It, but There Was an Election Debate on Criminal Justice Reform
It is no secret that the United States prison population surpasses that of any other nation, that the country has very harsh sentencing laws for minor offenses, and that, as many argue, the inherent racial bias in the system is powerful and detrimental to society....[
more]
New York Times, Thursday, November 6, 2014
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OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CAUGHT LYING ABOUT RELEASE OF CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS
In this case, it’s about illegal immigrants, a subject upon which it is extremely difficult to find a single instance of the Administration telling the truth. Citizenship is being stolen from you, my fellow Americans, and the thieves’ contempt for you is so complete that they don’t feel obliged to give straight answers to any questions… not even when the truth is printed on documents that are bound to come to light eventually, not even when their actions put our lives at risk....[
more]
Human Events, Thursday, October 23, 2014
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Local jails refusing to hold illegal immigrant offenders, forcing feds to track them down
Local police agencies across the country are frustrating efforts at the federal level to detain and deport criminal illegal immigrants, leaving immigration officials scrambling to track them down.
In the last nine months, 275 counties have refused to honor requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they be notified before releasing an illegal immigrant from custody....[
more]
Fox News, Monday, October 20, 2014
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Rand Paul, Racism, and Prison
Norm Ornstein is one of those Washington "centrist" lifers whom the commentariat loves to deploy against the hard-line partisans allegedly fouling our national discourse. A liberal at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, Ornstein helped craft the speech-squelching Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which the Supreme Court, mercifully, has largely overturned. In April 2012, along with fellow centrist think-tanker Thomas Mann, Ornstein wearily declared in a Washington Post op-ed, "Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem." ...[
more]
Reason.com, Wednesday, October 1, 2014
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Federal regulators float an aggressive new plan to cut the cost of prison calls
It was back in 2003 that a Washington, D.C., grandmother named Martha Wright filed a petition to the Federal Communications Commission asking federal regulators to address the high inmate telephone rates that were keeping her from keeping in touch with her grandson, then locked up in an Arizona prison....[
more]
Washington Post, Thursday, September 25, 2014
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Federal prison population drops for first time in 3 decades, Justice Dept. says
The federal prison population has dropped by nearly 5,000 inmates this year, the first decline in decades, according to the Justice Department.
In a speech Tuesday at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. highlighted the decline as a breakthrough for criminal-justice reform advocates who have tried to reverse the trend of rising incarceration. He said that in fiscal 2016, the federal prison population is projected to drop by 10,000 inmates, or the equivalent of six federal prisons....[
more]
Washington Post, Wednesday, September 24, 2014
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Prison Firm CCA Seeks to Reduce Number of Repeat Offenders -- Company Pushes to Reduce Costs Associated with Recidivism
The nation's largest private prison company is shifting its focus toward helping release more inmates and keep them out—a reaction, company officials say, to changing policies around the country on the severity of criminal punishment....[
more]
Wall Street Journal, Friday, September 12, 2014
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'Empty' Prisons Dotting the USA
After reading the recent story about a "correctional officer" intimidating a network news reporter for accidentally filming an empty prison at Wilton, NY, I googled "empty prison."
As it turns out, there are several around the USA....[
more]
American Thinker, Tuesday, August 5, 2014
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Packing our prisons isn't making us safer: Robert Mann
We have the nation's worst murder rate - 10.8 per 100,000, 45 percent higher than runner-up Mississippi - and the nation's highest gun-death rate. Overall, we have the seventh highest crime rate. Just tossing more and more people into prisons (with longer sentences for more crimes) has not made us safer....[
more]
Times-Picayune, Saturday, August 2, 2014
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Justice Department data: More than 3,300 federal inmates have sought clemency since April
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 3,300 federal inmates have applied to have their prison sentences cut short in the months since the Justice Department rolled out a new clemency initiative, according to data provided to The Associated Press....[
more]
Associated Press, Thursday, July 31, 2014
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Mass Incarceration: 21 Amazing Facts About America’s Obsession With Prison
Nobody in the world loves locking people behind bars as much as Americans do. We have more people in prison than any other nation on the planet. We also have a higher percentage of our population locked up than anyone else does by a very large margin. But has all of this imprisonment actually made us safer? Well, the last time I checked, crime was still wildly out of control in America and for the most recent year that we have numbers for violent crime was up 15 percent. The number of people that we have locked up has quadrupled since 1980, but this is not solving any of our problems. Clearly, what we are doing is not working....[
more]
Zero Hedge, Monday, July 28, 2014
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European court says CIA ran secret jail in a Polish forest
WARSAW, July 24 (Reuters) - The CIA ran a secret jail on Polish soil, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday, piling pressure on Poland, one of Washington's closest allies, to break its long silence about the global programme for detaining al Qaeda suspects....[
more]
Reuters, Thursday, July 24, 2014
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Sentencing reform slowed by politics
It’s always been pretty easy to get politicians to pass new laws to create new crimes or to send people to prison for longer periods of time for existing crimes. But, as the New York Times explained in an editorial over the weekend, getting them to rescind laws or ease up on draconian penalties is a much tougher task....[
more]
Washington Post, Monday, June 23, 2014
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Kerry says freed Taliban inmates would target U.S. at 'enormous risk' -CNN
WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - If the five Taliban inmates released from Guantanamo Bay prison in exchange for a captive American soldier rejoined the fight against the United States, they would do so at great risk, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday....[
more]
Reuters, Sunday, June 8, 2014
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US prosecutors revisiting nearly 5,000 convictions
FILE - In this May 6, 2014 file photo, Robert Hill, center, stands with his lawyers Harold Ferguson, left, and Sharon Katz, right, as Justice Neil Firetog declares Hill exonerated in Brooklyn Supreme Court, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Prosecutors asked to throw out the decades-old convictions of three half-brothers who were investigated by homicide detective Louis Scarcella, whose tactics have come into question. The defendants, Hill, Alvena Jennette and Darryl Austin became the first people connected to the detective to be exonerated. Photo: Bebeto Matthews, AP...[
more]
Associated Press, Sunday, June 8, 2014
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Old-guard Republicans just can’t let go of the drug war
To be fair, much of the current momentum to roll back the excesses of the drug war has been due to the efforts of Republicans such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). Unfortunately, a recent series of stories illustrates how, for a good chunk of the GOP caucus, it will always be 1986. Len Bias will always have just recently died. The culture wars will always be raging. And the wildebeests will always be stampeding....[
more]
Washington Post, Tuesday, June 3, 2014
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U.S. jails becoming debtors’ prisons
WASHINGTON – Angela Albers’ troubles began in 2008 when police nabbed her for failure to stop at a stop sign.
“At the time I was going through a divorce and I forgot to pay the ticket,” she said.
Unknown to her, a Washington state court suspended her licence. A few months later she was pulled over and charged with driving without a licence....[
more]
Postmedia News, Monday, May 26, 2014
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The prison door keeps revolving
THE UNITED States jails more prisoners than any nation on earth — about 2.3 million, or more than 1 percent of all American adults. Our gigantic penal system is regularly characterized as a national disgrace. I’ve applied the label myself....[
more]
Boston Globe, Sunday, May 4, 2014
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The meteoric, costly and unprecedented rise of incarceration in America
Pleas to reform prison policy in the United States have come from numerous interest and advocacy groups over the years, their numbers steadily expanding as the size of the world's largest prison population has, too. They've come from the families of incarcerated offenders, from policymakers who've wearied of the war on drugs, from fiscal conservatives who've watched states devote ever more money to incarceration. Increasingly, the call for prison reform has come from unlikely
alliances of the left and right....[
more]
Washington Post, Wednesday, April 30, 2014
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In the U.S., Punishment Comes Before the Crimes
Few things are better at conveying what a nation really cares than how it spends its money. On that measure, Americans like to punish....[
more]
New York Times, Wednesday, April 30, 2014
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The Obama administration’s clearly constitutional path to clemency
WHEN PRESIDENT Obama commuted the punishments of eight federal inmates last year, he railed against the excesses of an older criminal sentencing system “now recognized as unjust.” Surely, then, more than eight prisoners deserved a second look. This week, finally, the administration made clear that many more federal prisoners will get one....[
more]
Washington Post, Sunday, April 27, 2014
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The Privatization Backlash - For decades, city and state governments have seen contracting as a cost-saving panacea. But past experience has left some of today's policymakers more skeptical.
A few years ago, Chicago residents accustomed to parking on the street got a rude shock. Parking-meter rates had suddenly gone up as much as fourfold. Some meters jammed and overflowed when they couldn't hold enough change for the new prices. In other areas, new electronic meters had been installed, but many of them didn't give receipts or failed to work entirely. And free parking on Sundays was a thing of the past....[
more]
Atlantic, Wednesday, April 23, 2014
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POLITICAL DIARY: Prison Break
The Obama administration continues to put the interests of criminals ahead of victims. What's worse, a few cynical and misguided Republicans support the White House's soft-on-crime policies in the interest of GOP black outreach....[
more]
Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, April 23, 2014
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Justice Department prepares for clemency requests from thousands of inmates
The Obama administration is beginning an aggressive new effort to foster equity in criminal sentencing by considering clemency requests from as many as thousands of federal inmates serving time for drug offenses, officials said Monday....[
more]
Washington Post, Monday, April 21, 2014
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Panel Votes to Reduce Sentences for Some Federal Drug Defendants Move Is Aimed at Reducing Number of Inmates
A sentencing panel voted Thursday to reduce prison sentences for most federal drug defendants, a move that would shave an average of 11 months off the average trafficking sentence and over time reduce the number of inmates....[
more]
Wall Street Journal, Thursday, April 10, 2014
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Sentencing reform: The United States needs to cut the cost of prison
Among the casualties of a failed war on drugs that has spanned more than three decades are bloated prisons that cost the nation nearly $90 billion a year. With only 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States holds 25 percent of its prisoners; more than 2 million people are locked up in this country....[
more]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sunday, March 30, 2014
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Private prisons on Philosophy in Action
Over the weekend, my friend Diana Hsieh discussed private prisons on her Internet radio show Philosophy in Action. For those who aren’t familiar with Diana or her show, here’s her blurb:
I’m Dr. Diana Hsieh. I’m a philosopher specializing the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. ...[
more]
Washington Post, Monday, March 24, 2014
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Panel Says Yemeni Man Should Stay in Detention
WASHINGTON — A parole-style panel at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has decided to recommend that the military continue to hold a Yemeni man in indefinite wartime detention without trial, according to a military document. The decision is the first of its kind for the Obama administration’s new Periodic Review Board system....[
more]
New York Times, Thursday, March 13, 2014
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Unlkely Allies Unite to Soften Sentencing Laws
WASHINGTON — Shortly after Senator Rand Paul filed suit last month against the Obama administration to stop its electronic dragnet of American phone records, he sat down for lunch with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in his private dining room at the Justice Department....[
more]
New York Times, Tuesday, March 4, 2014
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Would prison performance measures lead to undesirable strategic behavior?
This is the fifth post in a series about my new article, Prison Accountability and Performance Measures, which is in the current issue of the Emory Law Journal. In Monday’s post, I introduced the issue and advocated greater use of performance measures, which I’ll come back to later this week. In Tuesday’s post, I discussed why we don’t know much about the comparative cost or quality of public vs. private prisons. In Wednesday’s post, I talked about why introducing performance measures would be a good idea. In Thursday’s post, I discussed some of the normative issues involved in what measures to choose and started on some potential concerns ab...[
more]
Washington Post, Friday, February 28, 2014
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Solitary Confinement Costs $78K Per Inmate And Should Be Curbed, Critics Say
Former prisoners spoke about the effects of solitary confinement Tuesday, in a congressional hearing aimed at banning the treatment for some inmates. The federal push to reduce solitary confinement is being led by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who calls it "a human rights issue we can't ignore."...[
more]
NPR: Morning Edition, Wednesday, February 26, 2014
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Why not measure prison performance?
Today I’m going to start blogging about my new article, Prison Accountability and Performance Measures, which is in the current issue of the Emory Law Journal. Here’s the abstract:
A few decades of comparative studies of public vs. private prison performance have failed to give a strong edge to either sector in terms of quality......[
more]
Washington Post, Monday, February 24, 2014
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Kim Jong-un’s ex executed over porn
The former lover of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has been executed by machine gun amid claims that she had been appearing in pornographic videos....[
more]
Daily Mail Online, Friday, August 30, 2013
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Screening for Risk of Sexual Victimization and for Abusiveness: Guidelines for Administering Screening Instruments and Using the Information to Inform Housing Decisions (2013)
These guidelines were developed “to screen for risk of sexual victimization and for abusiveness, including questions to be asked of inmates, residents, and detainees, and the best use of the information from the screening to inform housing decisions … While specifics will vary by type of facility, including the age and gender of the individuals, these general principles will hold true in a wide range of contexts” (p. 2). Sections of this publication address: what the purpose of screening is and what are its limitations; what the key elements of a screening instrument are; requirements for different facility types such as prisons and jails, lo...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, August 29, 2013
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Pretrial Release Eligibility
State constitutions and statutes specify which defendants may be detained before trial … However, denial of release is not absolute. A court must make certain determinations before ordering detention … While state laws broadly provide for presumption of release, they also define who is and is not eligible for pretrial release, and under what conditions.” A chart showing pretrial release eligibility by state is available at this website. The chart shows the state and its governing statute, presumption of pretrial release (whether stated in the state constitution and/or in the statue), and when pretrial release may be denied (whether stated in ...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Monday, August 19, 2013
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As Prisons Prepare for PREA, Impact on Youthful Inmates May Be Major
In 2003, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) — a federal legislative proposal that sought to curb incidents of sexual assault in both adult prisons and juvenile detention facilities — was signed into law by President George W. Bush....[
more]
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, Monday, August 19, 2013
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‘Smart on Crime’ Calls for Leniency for Youth Offenders
In a bid to decongest the nation’s overpopulated prisons, the Obama administration has proposed leniency for certain drug cases, a move with uncertain consequences for juvenile inmates....[
more]
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, Friday, August 16, 2013
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U.S. attorney general's drug offender plan praised: Experts hope message to cut number of nonviolent inmates trickles down
Criminal justice experts on Monday applauded plans by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to reduce the number of nonviolent drug offenders in prison, while at the same time acknowledging that the vast majority of the 2.2 million people ......[
more]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tuesday, August 13, 2013
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DURBIN, BUSTOS MEET WITH FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS DIRECTOR TO DISCUSS ACTIVATION OF THOMSON PRISON
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17) today met with the Director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons, Charles Samuels, to discuss the activation of Thomson Correctional Center. On July 18, Durbin and Bustos announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Durbin is a member, had approved funding for the activation of Thomson at the level that was requested by President Obama in his fiscal year 2014 budget proposal....[
more]
Congressional Documents & Publications, Thursday, August 1, 2013
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Incarceration in the U.S.: Dissecting the world's largest prison population [Infographic]
Auburn University; Auburn, AL - ara By The United States has the largest prison population in the world. No nation incarcerates more of its citizens than America, with a full 1 percent of the population behind bars at any given time and more ......[
more]
U-Wire, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
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More Efforts Needed to Ensure the Internal Revenue Service Prisoner File Is Accurate and Complete
Refund fraud committed by prisoners remains a significant problem for tax administration. The number of fraudulent tax returns filed by prisoners and identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has increased from more than 18,000 tax returns in Calendar Year 2004 to more than 91,000 tax returns in Calendar Year 2010. The refunds claimed on these tax returns increased from $68 million to $757 million … To combat this growing problem, the IRS compiles a list of prisoners (Prisoner File) from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and State Departments of Corrections. Various IRS offices and functions use the Prisoner File to prevent and detect frau...[
more]
National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
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US prison population down to 1.57 million in 2012 with California leading the way
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says the U.S. prison population dropped for the third straight year in 2012. The Bureau of Justice Statistics says there were more than 1.5 million prison inmates last year. That's a drop of 1.7 percent from ......[
more]
Associated Press, Thursday, July 25, 2013
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Chairman Reichert Seeks to End Cash for Cons - Introduces Bill to Prevent Unemployment Payments to Prisoners
U.S. House of Representatives Documents Washington, D.C. - As a former sheriff and now Chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means with jurisdiction over the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, today ......[
more]
Congressional Documents & Publications, Thursday, July 25, 2013
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For First Time Since 2009, U.S. Senate Talks About Closing Guantanamo
WASHINGTON, Jul. 25, 2013 (IPS/GIN) - Momentum appears to be building in the push to close down the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, where 166 inmates, 86 of whom have been cleared for release, remain held without charges....[
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Inter Press Service, Thursday, July 25, 2013
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BJS: Indian Country Jail Inmate Population Rises About 6% for Second Consecutive Year
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced that at midyear 2012, a total of 2,364 inmates were confined in Indian country jails, a 5.6 percent increase from the 2,239 inmates confined at midyear 2011......[
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Bureau of Justice Statistics (US), Monday, July 1, 2013
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Measuring the disparity of categorical risk among various sex offender risk assessment measures
The focus on reducing sexual offending has led to the development of risk assessment measures and schemes to predict reoffending, prioritize the allocation of treatment and supervision resources, and ensure public safety. However, different risk assessment approaches may not always have high agreement on the same individual. In light of the research indicating that ordinal risk rankings are most commonly used and reported in various risk communications, this study compares four risk assessment approaches, namely the Static-99R, Static-2002R, Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, and SVR-20, in order to evaluate the disparities among the risk cat...[
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Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Tuesday, June 18, 2013
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The predictive validity of the HCR-20 following clinical implementation: does it work in practice?
This prospective study describes the predictive validity of the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 Scale (HCR-20) when applied to clinical practice among 109 male mentally disordered offenders in a high secure forensic hospital. Data on violent incidents including reconvictions were collected from multiple sources. The results imply that the implemented HCR-20s did not predict future violence regardless of setting (community vs inpatient) nor time (short vs long term) except for serious incidents. This may indicate that the implemented HCR-20s informed risk management through systematic tailoring of care and treatment plans. Evidence supp...[
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Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, May 24, 2013
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Justice Department Finds Unconstitutional Conditions of Confinement at Escambia County, Fla. Jail
Today, the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division issued a letter detailing the findings of its investigation into conditions of confinement at Escambia County Jail, a jail located in northwest Florida, housing roughly 1,300 prisoners. The department found that, although the jail under the leadership of Sheriff David Morgan has recently implemented a series of meaningful reforms, conditions at the jail still routinely violate the constitutional rights of prisoners.
Specifically, the department concluded that known systemic deficiencies at the facility, stemming mainly from staffing shortages, continue to subject prisoners to excessive r...[
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US Department of Justice, Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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Using Administrative Data to Prioritize Jail Reentry Services: Findings from the Comprehensive Transition Planning Project
ANNOTATION: 'This research brief describes part of the Comprehensive Transition Planning Project'a collaborative project between the Substance Use and Mental Health Program at the Vera Institute of Justice and the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) ' [which is] to develop a reliable, low-cost, and easy-to-implement tool jail officials could use to identify people in jail who would benefit most from access to the system's limited discharge planning resources' (p. 1). The tool is called the Service Priority Indicator (SPI) and utilizes administrative data to target reentry services. Sections following an executive summary include: int...[
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National Institute of Corrections, Monday, May 20, 2013
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Risk Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Guidebook for Implementation
ANNOTATION: The primary purpose of this Guide is to provide a structure for jurisdictions, juvenile probation or centralized statewide agencies striving to implement risk assessment or to improve their current risk assessment practices. Risk assessment in this Guide refers to the practice of using a structured tool that combines information about youth to classify them as being low, moderate or high risk for reoffending or continued delinquent activity, as well as identifying factors that might reduce that risk on an individual basis. The purpose of such risk assessment tools is to help in making decisions about youths placement and supervisi...[
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National Institute of Corrections, Friday, May 17, 2013
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Manual for the Guidance of Inmates: 2012 Edition
This is a very good example of an inmate handbook that your agency can find ideas from for creating or revamping your own. Sections cover: getting startedquarantine, classification, and restitution; settling incounts, inmate appearance, opportunities, living areas, communication with staff, problem solving steps, personal and state property, procedures and rules (guidelines), disciplinary days (good contact time), and Investigations Bureau; services and privileges; available programsprogressive empowerment, educational, vocational training, recreation, sexual offender treatment, and the Family Connections Center; and parolescheduling, waiver,...[
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National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, May 16, 2013
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Using the MMPI-A in identifying trauma symptoms among juvenile offenders
A significant number of youths involved in the juvenile justice system have experienced childhood maltreatment and/or grief and loss. The mental health consequences of such events may have contributed to the development of the mental health and behavioral problems that resulted in juvenile court involvement. As such, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A), the most commonly used assessment measure among forensic psychologists working with this population, should be evaluated for its utility in identifying youths whose mental health and behavioral problems may be related to such traumatic events. This study aimed t...[
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Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, Friday, May 3, 2013
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Violence and Security Threat Group Participation in Ohio Prisons
The formulation of correctional policies that address prison violence are complicated by the challenge of successfully managing gang-related misconduct. Unfortunately, research findings on the relationship between gang affiliation and prison misbehavior are limited and still somewhat inconclusive....[
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Corrections Today, Monday, October 1, 2012
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Developmental and offence-related characteristics of different types of adolescent sex offender: A community sample
Offence-related and developmental characteristics were compared in subgroups of a sample (n=184) of male sex offenders aged between 10 and 21 [mean=16.07; standard deviation (SD)=2.09] referred to a specialist community facility. Important differences were observed on key developmental and offence-related variables between adolescents who targeted peers/adults and those who targeted children. These differences support the validity of the distinction between these two groups. Much smaller subgroups with mixed (i.e. peer and child) victims, internet child pornography and indecent exposure offences are also described. The sample was followed-up ...[
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Journal of Sexual Aggression, Monday, January 9, 2012
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The International Prisoner Transfer Program
Although the International Prisoner Transfer Program has been in existence since 1976, it remains a program about which most federal prosecutors have scant knowledge or understanding...[
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Immigration Daily, Monday, May 14, 2007
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America's Prisons: Breeding Grounds for Muslim Converts
While there is much talk about the infiltration of terrorists into our country through our nation...[
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The Family Security Foundation, Monday, January 8, 2007
- Photos Of 1960s U.S. Prison System Attempt To Show That Inmates Are Us
"I was never afraid of the men," photographer Danny Lyon said of his time spent with Texas prisoners. "I liked them. And I had many friends inside the system that would stand up for me, dangerous men. Anyway, in my heart of hearts I felt I was doing something good for the men, and most of them knew it."...[
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Huffington Post, Friday, November 6, 2015
- More than a decade after release, they all come back -- SILVESTRE SEGOVIA HAD VOWED THAT HE WOULD NEVER RETURN TO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.
Languishing in the vast Texas prison system's solitary confinement wings for more than a decade had exacted a heavy emotional toll. And there was so much to discover about a new world that confronted him on a much-anticipated exit that chilly morning, Nov. 15, 2002. A loyal girlfriend waited 255 miles away....[
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USA Today, Tuesday, November 3, 2015
- In 10 States, Children Can Be Punished With Indefinite Solitary Confinement
Isolation can permanently change the teenage brain, neuroscientists have found. Animal studies have shown that the pruning of synapses that occurs during adolescence -- a process that allows kids to grow out of behaviors like impulsiveness -- doesn't happen normally in long-term isolation. This means that solitary may, in fact, increase recidivism. When kids are not punished with isolation, they are less likely to act out, some states have found....[
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Huffington Post, Monday, November 2, 2015
- Rethinking solitary confinement
EVERY DAY, state and federal prison authorities subject tens of thousands of inmates to solitary confinement, a psychological and physical hell resulting from near-total isolation in often tiny and windowless cells. Those who go in can come out disturbed. Those who go in with preexisting mental illnesses often get worse. The result is hypertension, panic attacks, self-mutilation and suicide, not to mention extreme difficulties reintegrating into the prison population or society at large. Damon Thibodeaux, who spent 15 years alone in a Louisiana state prison before being exonerated, explained to a congressional committee this year that solitar...[
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Washington Post, Monday, October 20, 2014
- Private Prisons House More Latinos Than Do Public Ones, Study Finds
In March, Rina Palta reported for Code Switch on a study that found private prisons were disproportionately filled with inmates of color. A broader recent study of federal data from 2005 has revealed something similar: The proportion of white inmates was significantly smaller in private prisons than in public ones, and the proportion of Latino inmates was larger....[
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NPR, Sunday, August 10, 2014
- U.S. is the only nation that sentences children to die in prison
The United States is the only country in the world that sentences children to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole....[
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Legal Monitor Online, Saturday, March 29, 2014
- Gitmo Prisoner Files Lawsuit against Guantanamo Prison, Barack Obama
TEHRAN (FNA)- A Yemeni inmate at Guantanamo Bay filed suit against US President Barack Obama, alleging that the force-feeding he and fellow inmates had endured was "inhumane"....[
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FARS News Agency, Wednesday, March 12, 2014
- Moz rejects 'sex-for-soap' claims by SA inmates
Maputo - Mozambican prison authorities on Wednesday dismissed claims that guards were sexually exploiting female South African prisoners in exchange for basics, such as soap....[
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Agence France Presse, Wednesday, March 12, 2014
- The Archipelago of Pain
We don’t flog people in our prison system, or put them in thumbscrews or stretch them on the rack. We do, however, lock prisoners away in social isolation for 23 hours a day, often for months, years or decades at a time....[
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New York Times, Friday, March 7, 2014
- Standards To Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse and Assault in Confinement Facilities - Part 1 of 3
SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is issuing regulations setting standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and assault in DHS confinement facilities....[
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Department of Homeland Security, Friday, March 7, 2014
- Sex in men's prisons: 'The US system cultivates rape. If you treat people like animals, they behave like it'
The crook of another man's elbow is on my Adam's apple, pressing down, choking me. After just a couple of seconds, I panic and gasp.
Shaun Attwood, who spent more than five years in some of America's toughest prisons, including Arizona's infamous Maricopa Jail, is showing me how men in prison are raped.
...[
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Independent Online, Saturday, March 1, 2014
- DHS Announces Finalization of Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) regulations to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and assault in DHS confinement facilities, meeting a May 2012 Presidential Directive. PREA was enacted in 2003 with strong bipartisan support.
Today’s announcement finalizes a rule first proposed last year and follows an extensive public comment period. The rule builds on current DHS detention policies and practices, including
Performance Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) and a May 2012 Directive on “Sexual Abuse and Assault Prevention and Int...[
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Department of Homeland Security, Friday, February 28, 2014
- Close the supermaxes; Keeping prisoners in solitary confinement isn't just cruel, it's ineffective
Last week, the New York State Department of Corrections announced an agreement to dramatically limit solitary confinement in its prisons. New York’s prison system will now be the largest in the country to stop using solitary as a punishment on prisoners younger than 18.
...[
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National Post, Thursday, February 27, 2014
- Women prisoners: Sex in prison is commonplace, the male inmates just hide it more than girls
As a report warns female inmates are being coerced into sex by staff in return for favours like alcohol and cigarettes, former prison officer Ava Vidal suggests sex behind bars is commonplace in both male and female prisons (both among inmates, and between inmates and staff) but the women are far more open about it....[
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Telegraph, Wednesday, February 26, 2014
- Is It O.K. to Force-Feed Prisoners?
I believe medical professionals should act ethically. However, I’m not sure it’s unethical to force-feed prisoners on hunger strike. Setting aside the issues associated with incarceration (and Guantánamo Bay in particular), is it ethical to allow a prisoner to die of starvation, even if that is his/her choice? Or is it more ethical to force-feed them? Most suicides are, at least in part, caused by depression or other mental-health issues. I also realize that prisoners choosing starvation may be making a political statement, and it might be unethical to squelch their political speech. What do you think? SHELLEY MARKS, LOS ANGELES...[
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New York Times, Sunday, November 24, 2013
- Greenpeace Arctic 30 activist Frank Hewetson reveals how he coped in a Russian prison
The theme tune from The Great Escape, whistled in a prison yard and repeated by another inmate, a favourite Terry Pratchett novel, and a Russian human rights worker nicknamed Mrs Tiggywinkle helped Greenpeace activist Frank Hewetson through his Russian prison experience....[
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Independent, Sunday, November 24, 2013
- 'Russian prisons are essentially torture chambers'
Zara Murtazalieva is a Chechen woman who spent more than eight years at a prison colony in Russia on terrorism charges that she says were fabricated. She was released last year from a colony next door to the one where the Pussy Riot activist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was protesting conditions until a few weeks ago. Murtazalieva spoke with DW from France, where she is currently living....[
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Deutsche Welle, Friday, November 22, 2013
- Judge in Sept 11 Attacks Case Orders Look at Secret Records
A judge presiding over the military commission’s prosecution of five people accused in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has ordered the government to show him confidential correspondence with the International Committee of the Red Cross about prison conditions at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, a defense lawyer said Wednesday. The judge, Col. James Pohl, also issued an order taking control of the team that reviews correspondence between defense lawyers and the defendants, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. ...[
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New York Times, Thursday, November 7, 2013
- Jail conditions improve for detained Canadians in Egypt Visit by aide to Egyptian interior minister buoys hopes
In a sign that the Egyptian authorities are moving the case of two detained Canadians up their priority list, lawyer Marwa Farouk said that "an aide to the minister of the interior personally visited them" on Wednesday....[
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Toronto Star, Friday, October 4, 2013
- Pussy Riot prison protest puts Russia's prisons under harsh scrutiny
The grim conditions of Russia's "Gulag archipelago" have been brought back to the world's attention by the hunger strike of Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, reports Roland Oliphant in Mordovia.
Ms Tolokonnikova may have ended her nine-day hunger strike on Tuesday after the chairman of Vladimir Putin’s human rights watchdog negotiated an agreement between her and the federal prison service, but her protest continues....[
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Telegraph, Thursday, October 3, 2013
- Lawyers of Boston bombing suspect: Lift his harsh prison restrictions
(CNN) -- Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev accused the government of imposing unduly harsh restrictions on their client in a motion filed Wednesday....[
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CNN, Thursday, October 3, 2013
- Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova ends nine-day hunger strike
Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has ended her nine-day hunger strike. Although deteriorating health forced Tolokonnikova to halt her protest against prison conditions, her husband has said that she will resume the strike if she is not transferred away from Mordovia's Penal Colony No 14....[
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Guardian, Thursday, October 3, 2013
- Westerners’ Smuggled Letters Offer Glimpse of Egyptian Prisons
CAIRO — The prisoners were stripped and beaten, and their heads were shaved. They slept packed “like sardines” on concrete floors of cells infested with cockroaches. One said that an open wound on his arm was left oozing, that a cellmate suffered a heart attack without getting medical attention, and that another prisoner was 11 years old....[
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International Herald Tribune, Wednesday, October 2, 2013
- Pussy Riot punk on hunger strike over prison 'death threats'
MOSCOW — Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova declared a hunger strike on Monday to protest at death threats and what she described as conditions of slave labour at her Russian prison camp....[
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Agence France Presse, Monday, September 23, 2013
- Venezuela Prison Clash Kills 16 Inmates
CARACAS—A clash in a prison in northwest Venezuela left 16 inmates dead Tuesday, authorities said, the latest incident in a violent and crowded jailhouse system that regularly grapples with deadly skirmishes....[
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Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013
- One cell, 50 inmates in Romania; Such conditions spark complaint by jailed S'porean to human rights court, leading to improvements
Conditions in overcrowded Romanian prisons are improving, after a Singaporean jailed there complained all the way to the European Human Rights Court....[
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Straits Times, Sunday, September 15, 2013
- UN calls on US to ban prolonged solitary confinements
New York, Aug 24 : As nearly 200 inmates in California detention centres approach their fifth consecutive week on hunger strike against cruel, inhuman and degrading prison conditions, a United Nations right expert Friday urged the Government of the United States to abolish the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement....[
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India Blooms News, Saturday, August 24, 2013
- Amnesty International concern over Peruvian prisons; Watchdog highlights overcrowding and poor conditions as footage of women shown
Amnesty International has expressed concern about prison conditions in Peru, where Co Tyrone woman Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, are being held on suspicion of drug trafficking.....[
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Irish Times, Wednesday, August 14, 2013
- Number Of Jail Deaths At Lowest Recorded Level During 2011
In 2011, 885 inmates died in the custody of local jails, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. This is the lowest number of jail inmate deaths in the 12-year history of the BJS Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). The 2011 jail mortality rate was 122 deaths per 100,000 inmates....[
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PR Newswire, Tuesday, August 13, 2013
- Prison reform: Seize the moment: Both parties realize that the exploding prison population is unsustainable. Sentencing reform is one step in the right direction.
The time is right for reform of the badly overcrowded US prison system. The growing cost of incarcerating so many Americans (the United States has 5 percent of the world's population but 25 percent of its prisoners) has pushed even...[
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Christian Science Monitor, Monday, August 12, 2013
- The inhumanity of solitary confinement
A hunger strike taking place in the California prison system is an urgent reminder about the horror that is solitary confinement in America. Every day behind prison walls, California and other states are subjecting prisoners to ......[
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Charleston Gazette, Sunday, August 4, 2013
- TORTURE: REPORT GIVES GRAPHIC DETAILS OF GUANTANAMO FORCE-FEEDING
WASHINGTON, Jul. 12, 2013 (IPS/GIN) - "Bleeding", "vomiting", "a quarter or even a third" of bodyweight lost, "torture". These are characteristic descriptions from testimony by hunger strikers at the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay of ......[
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Inter Press Service, Monday, July 15, 2013
- Sexual Victimization In Juvenile Facilities Reported By Youth, 2012
Highlights:
An estimated 9.5% of adjudicated youth in state juvenile facilities and state contract facilities (representing 1,720 youth nationwide) reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another youth or staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than 12 months.
About 2.5% of youth (450 nationwide) reported an incident involving another youth, and 7.7% (1,390) reported an incident involving facility staff.
An estimated 3.5% of youth reported having sex or other sexual contact with facility staff as a result of force or other forms of coercion, while 4.7% of youth reported sexual contact with staff...[
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Bureau of Justice Statistics (US), Thursday, June 6, 2013
- Sexual Abuse in Custody: A Case Law Survey
Under certain circumstances correctional officers and their supervisors can be subject to civil liability for sexual abuse of inmates and detainees under their care. Liability for sexual abuse can attach whether the abuse was perpetrated by a correctional officer, facility employee or volunteer, or by a fellow inmate or detainee. This document provides an overview of sexual abuse cases in both state and federal courts, focusing on what types of conduct most often result in individual and supervisory liability. It does not address other issues that may arise in sexual abuse litigation, such as exhaustion requirements under the Prison Litigatio...[
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National Institute of Corrections, Thursday, May 30, 2013
- Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 201112
ANNOTATION: This report present statistics regarding the sexual victimization of prison and jail inmates by other inmates or staff. Sections of this publication cover: highlights; National Inmate Survey; incidents of sexual victimizations; facility-level rates; demographic and other characteristics; special inmate populationsinmates ages 16 to 17; special inmate populationsinmates with mental health problems; and special inmate populationsinmates with a non-heterosexual sexual orientation. Some of the key findings include: 4% of prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported being sexually victimized; 1.8% of juveniles ages 16 to 17 reporte...[
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National Institute of Corrections, Friday, May 17, 2013
- Nobody wants to talk about prison rape. Not even the victims
Tony, an armed robber serving 20 years to life, knew what could happen to snitches, but ...[
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Legal Times, Monday, December 18, 2006
- America: The land of no second chance
Here, sins can remain emblazoned on our job and college applications and sever our access to basic civil rights, in perpetuity. An estimated 5.85 million Americans, for example, were unable to exercise the franchise in Tuesday's midterm elections because of a felony conviction, with disproportionate impacts on people of color. (One in every 13 black adults across the country could not vote in this election because of a criminal record, according to the Sentencing Project.) And many millions more won't make it past a resume screener because so many employers say that lawbreakers of any stripe "need not apply."...[
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Chicago Tribune, Thursday, November 6, 2014
- Exonerated inmate seeks compensation from D.C. for his pain, distress in prison
When he was first sent to the federal prison in Lorton, Va., for a crime he did not commit, Kirk Odom was warned never to tell other inmates about his rape conviction. If he did, the information could make him prey to inmates seeking vengeance....[
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Washington Post, Tuesday, November 4, 2014
- Letter: He objects to too-free use of the term ex-convict
Wiping the slate clean for ex-cons: In recent days, there were reports about a deranged person gaining access to the White House, with a follow-up story about a contractor being in an elevator, having a concealed weapon, with the President of the United States....[
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Quad Cities online, Wednesday, October 8, 2014
- America's convicted juveniles: The stories of those growing up behind the razor wire
Jesus Macedo-Perez was out driving with friends in his neighbourhood of Elkhart, Indiana, an industrial city on the banks of the St Joseph River known as the "RV capital of the world", but locally renowned for high crime rates, unemployment and communities ravaged by drugs....[
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Independent Online, Sunday, August 3, 2014
- John Oliver Brilliantly Tears Apart America's Broken Prison System
The growing population of prisoners in the U.S.: America's prison population has been exploding since the war on drugs led to tough-on-crime laws being implemented in the 1980s and 1990s. The new mandatory minimums for even low-level drug offenses helped America's prison population grow to be the biggest in the world. As Oliver points out, the U.S. now has more prisoners than even China, whose population is four times that of the U.S....[
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Business Insider, Monday, July 21, 2014
- A few ‘inmates’ from ‘Orange Is the New Black’ discuss prison life
An upper-middle class blonde from Brooklyn goes to jail for a drug-related screw-up years before.
The women’s federal prison of "Orange Is the New Black" is a different world than Piper Chapman had known, populated with a wildly varied group of characters played (alongside series star Taylor Schilling) by TV’s most diverse cast of actors....[
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Associated Press, Sunday, June 8, 2014
- Pentagon dossier to detail secretive U.S. Afghan detainee policy
(Reuters) - Some of them have been locked up for a dozen years. Some are suspected fighters from Yemen, Russia or Pakistan, arrested by U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere. Several have been linked to al Qaeda....[
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Reuters, Thursday, April 24, 2014
- Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter obituary - American boxer whose fight against the injustice of his life sentence for a triple murder was taken up by Bob Dylan in his 1975 protest song Hurricane
As a boxer, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who has died aged 76, was a middleweight Sonny Liston, an ex-convict whose only skill seemed to be inflicting hurt, which made him all the more intimidating to opponents. But Carter was a more flamboyant public figure than Liston and in the racially charged atmosphere of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1966, that was a dangerous thing. His biggest fight turned out to be against his conviction for a triple homicide in a Paterson bar......[
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Guardian, Monday, April 21, 2014
- Starred Up review: 'Shame, depression and fear are all pungently present' Former prison psychotherapist Jonathan Asser's debut screenplay takes an uncompromising look at the violence that underpins life behind bars in this brutal, macho drama
The title of this brutal, violent and very macho prison movie from director David Mackenzie means "transferred prematurely from juvenile detention to adult jail". The film's press pack came with a glossary explaining to reviewers some of the other code-words: "kanga" meaning officer; "tech" meaning mobile phone; "kick off back door" meaning anal sex, and "straightener", meaning pre-planned fight. For me, this last word has a certain kind of sad irony and prose-poetry. It is the debut screenplay from Jonathan Asser, a psychotherapist who has experience treating long-term prisoners with anger-management issues. ...[
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Guardian, Friday, March 21, 2014
- Revealed: How notorious prisoner Charles Bronson was talked down by a petite female officer after he took a governor hostage as the 'sinister' painting he sent Reggie Kray as a gift is put up for auction
He is Britain’s most brutal inmate with a 40-year history of prison violence.
But Charles Bronson was talked down by a petite female officer after he took a governor hostage, The Mail on Sunday can reveal as a 'sinister' painting he sent Reggie Kray is put up for auction....[
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Daily Mail, Saturday, March 15, 2014
- Film writer Asser uses his inside knowledge to dramatic effect in enthralling prison tale
It is not the kind of tale one tends to hear from the screenwriting coalface, where tussles over lost lines are normally as gnarly as it gets, but then Asser is no ordinary first time film writer, and the movie he has written, Starred Up, is hardly a typical prison picture. Perhaps that is why it is rattling so many cages....[
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Herald, Thursday, March 13, 2014
- Assange talks about Obama and 'prison life'
Fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London is a bit like prison - with a more lenient visitor policy....[
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Telegraph, Monday, March 10, 2014
- Women in prison: ignored and neglected
International Women’s Day on Saturday celebrates women’s accomplishments and struggles worldwide. The plight of one of the most vulnerable groups of women, female prison inmates, however, is often forgotten....[
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Saturday Star, Saturday, March 8, 2014
- U.S. prisons seen through the eyes of 'Birdman of Alcatraz'
(Reuters) - The pages are brown, faded and stained, but the handwriting is meticulous and the words detail a 150-year history of the U.S. prison system through the eyes of one of its most famous inmates....[
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Reuters, Sunday, March 2, 2014
- Ousted Mursi's Son Detained for Drug Possession by Egypt Police
Abdullah, the youngest son of Mursi, was detained with a friend in the town of Benha, North of Cairo, Voice of Russia reported....[
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FARS News Agency, Saturday, March 1, 2014
- Life behind bars in vivid color: Stunning photographs show American prisons in the 80s in a new light
Images taken inside prisons are often bleak and lifeless, but Stephen Milanowski's photos shot during the 1980s offer a different, strikingly vibrant look at the characters populating some of America’s correctional facilities....[
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Daily Mail, Saturday, December 28, 2013
- Schoolgirl raped in India, rod thrust down throat
Malda, Dec. 22: A farm labourer in Malda allegedly raped a schoolgirl, then pushed a metal rod down her throat last night, the grisly torture similar to the New Delhi December 16 fatal assault on a paramedic last year.
...[
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Telegraph (India), Monday, December 23, 2013
- Father of the nation - In prison Nelson Mandela the armed freedom fighter gave way to Nelson Mandela the man of peace. His campaign to forge a bond of trust with whites began with his guards
November 1985 was a hopeful month for the world but not for South Africa. Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan held their first meeting, offering the strongest signal in 40 years that the superpowers might prevail upon each other to shelve their strategies for mutually assured destruction. South Africa was rushing in the opposite direction. Tensions between anti-apartheid militants and the police exploded into the most violent escalation of racial hostility since Queen Victoria’s redcoats and King Cetshwayo’s battalions inflicted savage slaughter on each other in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879....[
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Sunday Times, Sunday, December 8, 2013
- I fired the killer question, he gave a killer answer
ONE of the most cherished memories of my journalistic life was doing the first interview with Nelson Mandela three days after his release from prison in 1990. We met in the garden of his small house in the black township of Soweto, a few miles outside Johannesburg....[
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Sunday Times, Sunday, December 8, 2013
- Castro's son wants prison diary, other items
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The son of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro wants his father's prison diary and other property left behind in his cell after he killed himself.
...[
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Associated Press, Thursday, December 5, 2013
- Trevor Hercules: on a mission to help young black men avoid prison
The ex-offender advising justice secretary, Chris Grayling, on how to to divert young black males from crime by challenging the way they see the world through a 'social deprivation mindset'...[
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Guardian, Wednesday, December 4, 2013
- Rose West's corset, a letter from Ruth Ellis and John Wayne Gacy's red handprint: The bizarre and chilling world of 'Murderabilia'
A corset believed to have been owned by serial killer Rose West and a disturbing sketch of the devil with an axe through his head by Ottis Toole have gone on display as part of a bizarre exhibition....[
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Daily Mail Online, Thursday, October 24, 2013
- White-collar criminals cope better with prison life than other inmates
Washington, Oct 22 (ANI): White-collar criminals, convicted of fraud, embezzlement, tax violation, anti-trust and other business offenses, report no greater level of difficulty adjusting to prison than those in a general prison population, according to a new study....[
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Asian News International, Tuesday, October 22, 2013
- Released prisoner who spent 41 years in solitary confinement passes away
Herman Wallace, who has died aged 71, left a Louisiana prison on October 1st, where he had been detained in solitary confinement for the last 41 years. On the following Friday he died of cancer in New Orleans....[
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Irish Times, Saturday, October 12, 2013
- 'Chopper' Read was a Criminal whose life story became a successful film
Not too many attempts are made to kidnap judges from their own courts. One who tried and failed was "Chopper" Read. On 26 January 1978 he made an abortive attempt to snatch County Court Judge Martin to obtain the release of his then friend, Jimmy Loughnan, from J Ward at Ararat Prison in Victoria....[
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Independent, Thursday, October 10, 2013
- Prisoners at UK jail ‘can get drugs but not soap’ Inspectors say drug use at supersized G4S jail is more than twice rate in similar prisons
London: Prisoners claim it is easier to get hold of illicit drugs than a bar of soap inside Britain’s largest prison, G4S’s flagship Oakwood jail near Wolverhampton, according to official inspectors....[
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Guardian, Tuesday, October 8, 2013
- Incarceration as achievement
It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi, had to pass through the ordeal of being locked up many times. But what is much less known is that the man, whose birth anniversary we observe today, linked suffering and its exaltation with the asceticism of Sufi traditions, i.e., the acceptance of pain as a necessary stage in a human being’s spiritual development. In search of tranquillity, he regarded the time spent behind prison bars as a crowning achievement....[
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Hindu, Wednesday, October 2, 2013
- Department of Justice readjusts prison policy
The prison system has failed Americans — or at least according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who as the head of the Department of Justice found that too many Americans are locked up for non-violent crimes....[
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U-Wire, Monday, September 16, 2013
- The Nature of Incarceration
With the success of the new Netflix series “Orange is the New Black,” popular Norwegian prison iFunny trend and American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF), penitentiary systems worldwide are now being placed in front of judge and jury....[
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U-Wire, Monday, September 16, 2013
- The Prison Trap: mental strains of solitary confinement ‘I was always a happy kid, chirpy, happy-go-lucky . . . but prison really broke me’
Peter was just 17 when he first entered solitary confinement. “I had 30 days of my sentence left – I will never forget it – and I got into a fight. Because of what I did, I was put into ‘the pad’ for 24 days. The only person I could see was the priest who’d bring down a cigarette for me and we’d sit there and have a chat for maybe 10 minutes. I would try to hold him there for longer, just for someone to talk to.”...[
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Irish Times, Monday, September 16, 2013
- Acquitted death-row inmate to inspire Irish teenagers with his “story of hope”
A FORMER DEATH row inmate is set to inspire dozens of teenagers tomorrow which his “unbelievable story of hope” of spending two decades behind bars — until he was proven innocent....[
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Daily Mirror, Thursday, September 5, 2013
- Prisoners enjoy a great escape thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey
INMATES are escaping the daily drudgery of prison life by sampling the steamy international bestseller 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'...[
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Irish Independent, Wednesday, September 4, 2013
- The other prison transfer Inmates want taxpayers to pay for sex-change operation
Jailbirds Ophelia De'Lonta and Bradley Manning have a lot in common. Taxpayers are paying for their incarceration, and both want those same taxpayers to pick up the tab for sex-change operations. It’s a sign of the times....[
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Washington Times , Wednesday, September 4, 2013
- Tim Robbins back behind bars - as an acting mentor Tim Robbins, star of The Shawshank Redemption, is back in prison. This time, however, it is to give acting classes to the inmates.
Tim Robbins, Academy Award-winning star of the much-loved 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption, has found himself back behind bars. Not, thankfully, as an inmate but as a mentor, giving acting classes to prisoners in one of California's medium-security compounds....[
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Telegraph, Monday, September 2, 2013
- Revealed: Shocking images expose the secret El Salvador prison pens where gang members are held for years in sweltering, cramped and diseased conditions
Members of rival MS-13 and M18 gangs held for years in sweltering cells designed for a maximum 72-hour stay....[
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Independent Online, Friday, August 30, 2013
- Could Bradley Manning become 'Chelsea' in civilian prison?
(CNN) -- When convicted intelligence leaker Bradley Manning asked Thursday for hormone treatment at a military prison so he can become Chelsea Manning, the response was immediate: No....[
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CNN, Friday, August 23, 2013
- Some prisons let inmates connect with tablets
Ohio became the latest state last month to allow inmates to purchase and use mini-tablet computers while incarcerated — a controversial move intended to better connect those in jail with their families and friends on the outside....[
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USA Today, Thursday, August 22, 2013
- Actor Wentworth Miller comes out as gay as he rejects invitation to Russian film festival
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Wentworth Miller is declining an invitation to be an honoured guest at a film festival in Russia because he is gay....[
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Postmedia News, Thursday, August 22, 2013
- Jailed for Nine years in North Korea gulag to keep a secret
As a member of the North Korean elite in the 1970s, Kim Young-Soon had it all: well-connected, well-heeled and well-housed. Until the night she was dragged to the country's most notorious prison camp....[
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The Nation, Thursday, August 22, 2013
- 5 questions about Manning's future
The Army private sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking reams of classified information to WikiLeaks issued a statement Thursday as a transgender woman. The soldier asked to be called Chelsea Manning instead of Bradley Manning and stated a desire for hormone therapy. Here are some questions and answers about this change:...[
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Canadian Press, Thursday, August 22, 2013
- DN Editorial: Getting a better 'cell'-phone plan
AFTER NEARLY a decade of inaction, the Federal Communications Commission is finally stepping in to regulate how much telephone companies may charge for interstate calls made by prison and jail inmates and immigration detainees. That's a welcome move that will put an end to an unfair practice that allowed telephone companies to gouge inmates and their families. ...[
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Deseret News, Monday, August 19, 2013
- Tough justice isn't working in the Land of the Free
News | The US locks up more of its citizens than any other country, but that may be about to change Out of America In September 2011, a petty hoodlum named Willie James Sauls stole the handbag of an old woman outside a department store in......[
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Independent, Sunday, August 18, 2013
- 'I've never been more repulsive': Peter Sarsgaard on playing Linda Lovelace's abusive husband
It's a sunny July day in London shortly before 6pm. Peter Sarsgaard is holding the fort, in the house he and his actress wife Maggie Gyllenhaal have decamped to while she's in prep for her new movie, The Honourable Woman, a spy thriller shooting in the UK and beyond. ...[
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Independent Online, Saturday, August 17, 2013
- Prisoners who boasted of easy life on Facebook lose their perks Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2395197/Prisoners-boasted-easy-life-Facebook-lose-perks-Pair-face-extended-sentences-Justice-Secretary-demands-authorities-throw-book-them.
TWO violent thugs caught boasting of their easy prison life on Facebook have been stripped of their perks, put in segregation and face a police investigation. Sonny Barker and Korrel Kennedy, both 20, could have 42 days added to jail sentences. Have lost their TV, and have been forced to wear uniform after posting the pictures. Having a phone in prison is a criminal offence carrying a two-year sentence...[
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Daily Mail Online, Friday, August 16, 2013
- Manning tells court he's 'sorry' for U.S. secrets breach to WikiLeaks
The material Manning released that shocked many around the world was a 2007 gunsight video of a U.S. Apache helicopter firing at suspected insurgents in Baghdad. A dozen people were killed, including two Reuters news staff. WikiLeaks dubbed the footage "Collateral Murder."
Manning, described by his superiors as an Internet expert, faces the prospect of decades of monotonous prison life - with no online access - once he is sentenced....[
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Cape Times, Thursday, August 15, 2013
- Wonkbook: 11 facts about America's prison population
Here’s a bit of context for Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to encourage federal prosecutors to charge low-level drug offenders with less severe crimes (thanks to Dylan Matthews and Brad Plumer for doing a lot of the spade work here):...[
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Washington Post, Tuesday, August 13, 2013
- The best prison food - bar none: Gourmet menu from Alcatraz shows the surprising grub served up to keep America's most dangerous criminals from rioting
Roast shoulder of pork, beef pot pie anglaise, zucchini saute and baked meat croquettes conjure up images of an evening at a fancy French restaurant and not mealtimes at the infamous Alcatraz prison....[
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Daily Mail Online, Monday, August 12, 2013
- Vicky Pryce to recount experiences of prison in Birmingham think tank talk
ECONOMIST Vicky Pryce, who recently served a jail sentence, will reveal the personal and economic cost of sending women to prison at a forum hosted by a Birmingham City University-led think tank....[
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Kidderminster Shuttle, Friday, August 9, 2013
- Chinese activist makes video in jail
In the roughly minute-long clip, Xu Zhiyong, handcuffed behind bars and wearing orange prison garb, urges people to unite so they can build "a China with freedom, justice and love."...[
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EFE News, Friday, August 9, 2013
- Monotonous, rigid military prison life awaits Bradley Manning
NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Bradley Manning, the soldier convicted in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, faces the prospect of years of monotony with no Internet access in a small military prison cell but he would ......[
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Reuters News, Sunday, August 4, 2013
- Prison Life, Real and Onscreen
The night before she reports to prison after pleading guilty to smuggling drug money, Piper Chapman, the protagonist of Netflix's popular series ''Orange Is the New Black,'' frets about maintaining her blond hair and meticulously groomed ......[
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New York Times, Sunday, August 4, 2013
- Prison art providers recognised in Big "A' Awards 2013
1 August 2013 Prison art providers recognised in Big "A' Awards 2013 Arts activities in prisons, including quilting, painting and M?ori cultural arts, were among those recognised when the Big "A' Awards 2013 were presented in Parliament on ......[
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Scoop New Zealand, Thursday, August 1, 2013
- The white middle-class girl's guide to surviving prison: Woman whose story inspired Orange is the New Black claims justice in...
Orange is the New Black author Piper Kerman says her time behind bars taught her that justice in America depends on income and skin color. Ms Kerman's memoir about her 13-month stint in federal prison is now a hit Netflix series starring Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon and Jason Biggs. ...[
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Mail Online, Thursday, August 1, 2013
- Reading in prison is not a trivial story
Erwin James: Questionable reports that Guantánamo detainees love Fifty Shades of Grey belittle this crucial bit of freedom in captivity It's been reported that the prisoners being held in Guantánamo Bay's secretive Camp 7 are all raving ......[
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Guardian, Thursday, August 1, 2013
- My year of hell behind bars in Bali's Hotel K: Convent girl convicted over £1.6m cocaine bust reveals vicious beatings drove her to breaking point...but was she a drug baron’s moll or the innocent she claims to be?
COWERING on a waferthin floor mat in an Indonesian prison, Rachel Dougall could do little but cover her face with her hands as a six-foot woman prisoner viciously punched and kicked her....[
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Irish Mail on Sunday, Sunday, July 28, 2013
- Stuart Hall's prison sentence doubled by appeal judges: 15-month jail term did not match repeated sex crimes Broadcaster 'used media' to try...
Stuart Hall's jail sentence for a string of sexual offences, including an attack on a nine-year-old girl, has been doubled to 30 months. The lord chief justice, Lord Judge, criticised the former broadcaster for using the media in an attempt ......[
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Guardian, Saturday, July 27, 2013
- Series looks at prison life through a woman's eyes
If you've seen the first episode of Orange Is the New Black, consider yourself schooled in what Piper Kerman went through when she was first locked up in a federal penitentiary....[
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Postmedia News, Saturday, July 20, 2013
- 'Orange is the New Black' is the best TV show about prison ever made
After the twin disappointments of House of Cards and Arrested Development's fourth season, Netflix has hit it out of the park with Orange is the New Black . I finished binge-watching the first season last night, and for my money it's one of ......[
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Washington Post, Wednesday, July 17, 2013
- Parents in State Prisons (2013)
Today, the parents of 1 in every 50 children in the United States are in prison. 1 Over half of those parents are serving time for non-violent offenses.2 The gains in public safety benefits stemming from incarcerating a record number of parents are dubious, but the potential adverse consequences for children are clear. More than 40 percent of parents in prison lived with their children before they were sent to prison and half were the main source of financial support for their children.3 Sending parents to prison contributes to single-parent households, damages family ties, and exacerbates chronic childhood poverty” (p. 1)....[
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National Institute of Corrections, Wednesday, July 17, 2013
- Internet Access for Prisoners?
It will draw howls of protest from politicians and the punditocracy, but the time has come to allow Internet access in jails and prisons. It would open a world of new opportunities for prisoners and improve the fraught process of ......[
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Weekly Standard Magazine, Tuesday, July 16, 2013
- Stars behind bars - Ten celebrities who have been to prison; FUGEES singer Lauryn Hill has been sent to prison for three months after failing to pay taxes .
The legendary R n B singer will serve her sentence in Connecticut in the US and will be kept under observation by prison services once she is released....[
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Scottish Sun, Thursday, July 11, 2013
- The Top 5 Facts About Women in Our Criminal Justice System
The top five facts about women incarcerated in the United States are discussed. These are: the number of women in correctional facilities has increased 800% over the last 30 years; a majority of these women have experienced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; many incarcerated girls have also experienced such abuse; pregnant mothers are often shackled during labor and delivery; and following release, ex-offenders face a lot of barriers to successful reentry......[
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National Institute of Corrections, Tuesday, July 2, 2013
- Robben Island: A view into Mandela's prison life
US President Barack Obama has visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. DW...[
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Deutsche Welle, Sunday, June 30, 2013
- Visitors get a taste of the prison lifestyle
Eastern State Penitentiary, opened in 1829, has experienced much decay over the years......[
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The Temple News, Friday, June 28, 2013
- Prison Will Either Make Ya or Break Ya: Punishment, Deterrence, and the Criminal Lifestyle
Although a prison sentence is often considered to be among the worst punishments that the state can provide, previous research indicates that offenders do not necessarily share this view. Some inmates, for example, adjust to prison life with relative ease, do not view their time in prison as severe punishment, and may even prefer prison to alternative sanctions such as boot camp or probation. To help explain such views, we point to the utility of a criminal lifestyle perspective. We argue that offenders who are committed to the values of the criminal subculture tend to view prison in a unique way. For various reasons, such offenders are less ...[
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Deviant Behavior, Friday, June 21, 2013
- Accounting for Violations of the Convict Code
Research over the past several decades shows that those who act in ways inconsistent with desired identities often account for (i.e., excuse or justify) their actions to save face and maintain social identities. While the bulk of research on the use of accounts examines how people make sense of behaviors that go against conventional values, recent research suggests that those who do not adhere to subcultural norms engage in similar talk. The current study builds on the sociology of accounts by exploring whether inmates articulate a convict code; whether they provide accounts for code violations that are comparable to those given by active off...[
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Deviant Behavior, Friday, June 21, 2013
- 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....[
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Insideprison.com, Wednesday, November 1, 2006
- 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......[
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Insideprison.com, Wednesday, November 1, 2006
- "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"......[
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Insideprison.com, Wednesday, November 1, 2006