Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

May 22, 2017

United States: a wrongfully incarcerated artist discusses prison at the Brooklyn Public Library

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America Culture North America United States

From May 23 to 25, Sherrill Roland will be on-site, hoping to facilitate more open dialogues about the US criminal justice system.

May 19, 2017

United States: the Trump administration is expanding its use of for-profit prisons to house undocumented immigrants

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America North America United States

The Bureau of Prisons has already started the process for acquiring at least one new private prison to house immigration offenders “in anticipation of population increases” following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ crackdown on immigration.

May 17, 2017

USA: One Heart hopes to disrupt path to prison for Indiana's juvenile offenders

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United States

A national non-profit plans to bring its juvenile reentry model to Indianapolis to help disrupt young adults’ path to prison.

May 17, 2017

USA: Georgia carries out its first execution in 2017

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Death penalty United States

Convicted murderer J.W. Ledford Jr. was put to death by lethal injection, despite arguments from his lawyers that the lethal cocktail would react with his pre-existing medication and cause cruel and unusual punishment.

May 15, 2017

USA: Oregon Senate OKs bill to keep youth out of adult prisons

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United States

Adult prisons aren’t the place for youth who wind up in trouble with the law, say members of the Oregon Senate who voted Monday to send a bill to stop that harmful practice to Gov. Kate Brown for her signature.

May 11, 2017

Women living with babies inside Ohio prison

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Women United States

The soft-spoken young woman sitting on the floor with her toddler son playing with toy cars could easily be in any setting. A preschool. A child care center. Or her own living room.

May 10, 2017

USA: State Assembly unanimously passes prison guard abuse bill

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United States

The state Assembly has unanimously passed a bipartisan bill that would require guards at Wisconsin’s troubled youth prison to report child abuse.

May 3, 2017

Media silent as U.S. prisoners continue to hunger strike abysmal conditions

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Protest United States

Prisoners across the U.S. have been holding hunger and labor strikes since last year, with tens of thousands of inmates protesting abuse and poor conditions. But news reports on the strikes have been few and far between, leaving prisoners’ requests for humane treatment in the dark.

May 3, 2017

One in three prisoners serving a life term anywhere is in the US

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United States

The massive US prison population has started to fall in recent years, with violent crime at historic lows. Despite this, the number of inmates locked up for life is at an all-time high, according to a new report.

May 2, 2017

USA: fixing solitary confinement in New York state prisons

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Discipline United States

Victor Pate spent almost two years in solitary confinement in New York prisons, off and on. Once, he said, he was isolated for 90 days for having too many bed sheets in his room. Only two sheets were allowed per prisoner, but Pate was at his prison job when laundry pickup came, he said, so he kept…

May 2, 2017

USA: Milwaukee inmate died after being deprived of water for 7 days

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United States

Inmates, correction officers and investigators are testifying in Milwaukee this week to help determine whether jail employees will be charged with abuse in the dehydration death of an inmate who the authorities say was deprived of water for a week.

May 1, 2017

USA: dog training changes prison inmates’ lives

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United States

In five Florida prisons, some inmates are learning how to train dogs, with stunning results.

April 28, 2017

United States: Utah to use firing squads in upcoming executions

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America North America Death penalty United States

Utah will execute three inmates by firing squad for the first time since the method was reinstated in 2015 by Gov. Gary Herbert.

April 27, 2017

United States: YPEI plans inmate teaching program

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America North America United States

Incarcerated people in Connecticut may soon be able to take Yale College courses for academic credit as part of the Yale Prison Education Initiative.

April 26, 2017

Alabama inmates riot, damage jail over bad food

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Material conditions Protest United States

Seven Alabama jail inmates are facing additional charges after a riot to express their dissatisfaction with the food served at the lockup, according to AL.com.

April 25, 2017

United States: privately run federal prison poses safety risks for inmates, says DOJ inspector general

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America North America United States

A new report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General says a privately-run federal prison in Kansas put the safety of its inmates in jeopardy because of understaffing, overcrowding and poor training.

April 25, 2017

United States: policy shifts reduce federal prison population

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America North America United States

A decline in the number of federal prosecutions and in the severity of sentences for drug-related crime in recent years has resulted in a significant drop in the federal prison population, according to statistics from the Judiciary, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), and the Bureau of Prisons (…

April 25, 2017

United States: Arkansas puts two inmates to death in state's first double execution since 2000

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America North America Death penalty United States

Jack Jones and Marcel Williams administered lethal injections after death penalty carried out on fellow convict Ledell Lee last week

April 25, 2017

United States: bill to eliminate death penalty in Louisiana advances past committee

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America North America Justice United States

Every day and night, former Louisiana prosecutor A.M. Stroud thinks about Glenn Ford, the man he wrongfully sent to prison for almost half of his life and who would have been executed by the state had he not been exonerated 30 years after his conviction.

April 24, 2017

United States: we’re jailing way more people who’ve been convicted of exactly nothing

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America North America United States

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promise to close the notoriously overcrowded and brutal Riker’s Island jail made national news last month, but less famous policymakers all over the country struggle with jail overcrowding on a regular basis (see, for example, Kansas, Indiana and Upstate New Yor…

April 24, 2017

United States: fourth Arkansas execution in eight days prompts questions about inmate’s movements

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America North America Death penalty United States

Arkansas executed a death-row inmate late Thursday in the state’s fourth lethal injection in eight days, concluding a frantic execution schedule officials said was necessary to carry out death sentences before one of their drugs expired.

April 24, 2017

United States: women inmates file second suit against state prison doctor

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America North America Women Health United States

Three inmates who claim they were sexually abused by a physician at the state women’s prison have filed a federal lawsuit against the doctor and two other medical staffers.

April 23, 2017

USA: how "schools not prisons" became a favorite rallying cry for criminal justice reformers

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United States

A bill winding its way through the Legislature proposes a creative way to fund early childhood education: imposing a tax on companies that do business with California’s prison systems.

April 21, 2017

United States: the price of justice doesn't cover the bills

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America North America United States

The money cities generate from bail bonds and conviction fines and fees is not enough to be relied upon.