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United States: people in NY prison’s mental health unit kept in solitary confinement, suit says
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In recent months, at least two people on the unit have attempted suicide and at least three have gone on hunger strike.
United States: California sues Los Angeles County over "inhumane" conditions in its jail system
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Citing “inhumane conditions” and a “shocking rate of deaths”, Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced that the state is suing Los Angeles County over conditions in its jail system.
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Lawyers requested swift cooling measures in a prison with no A/C. One man shares the dangerous conditions inside while people await a judge’s ruling
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Minnesotans in prison are growing old — fast. Nearly 1 in 5 people incarcerated in the state is over 50, a figure that’s more than tripled since 1999. The oldest is 93. Thirteen others are in their 80s.
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Facing growing pressure from advocacy groups, lawsuits and climate projections that show hotter days ahead, some state prison systems are moving to install air conditioning and expand cooling measures — though many facilities remain years away from significant upgrades.
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A man convicted of murder in Bay County who was sitting on death row has committed suicide in prison.
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Menard has been on lockdown nearly every day since September 2023, according to data from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Lockdowns, according to officials, are largely the result of short staffing. On average, Menard has only been able to staff 44% of the prison so far this year.
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A group of incarcerated people at Michigan’s only women’s prison filed a class action lawsuit against the state, claiming they were exposed to toxic black mold for years.
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Riicara Janel Dior is a trans woman currently serving time at the Grafton Correctional Institution — a men’s prison in Lorain County.
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Twenty-eight people have died in county jails so far this year. The county’s death toll is running alongside the deadliest years on record.
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Incarcerated people at the Lancaster County Prison endured extreme heat as temperatures this week soared to the high 90s and felt like over 100 degrees in some spots.
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Another person has died in Los Angeles County Jails, bringing the county’s number of deaths this year to a staggering 22. LA jails have totaled 99 deaths since the start of 2023.
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Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken actions to eviscerate due process and the rule of law, make prison and jail conditions worse, expand the use of extreme sentences and harsh law enforcement tactics, eliminate oversight, undermine solutions that reduce incarceration.
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The MacArthur Justice Center filed a class-action case on behalf of six incarcerated people at Algoa Correctional Center. All of them are especially sensitive to heat due to their age or underlying medical conditions, or have spent time in solitary confinement.
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Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the once-notorious prison island in the icy waters of San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz - popularly known as “the Rock” - has not been used as a prison for decades. It is now a historic landmark visited by millions of tourists.
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The corrections officer, Christopher Walrath, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a sentence of 15 years in state prison. Walrath, 36, also had been indicted on a second-degree murder charge. That was dropped as part of his agreement to plead guilty.