Irish Prison to Stop Making Inmates Crap in Buckets

Some sweet-smelling news for prisoners at Dublin's Mountjoy Prison: They will no longer have to go to the bathroom in buckets or commodes in their cells, a practice known as "slopping out." Across Ireland, 504 prisoners—about 12% of the country's prison population—still have to slop out due to antiquated facilities, and 182 of those are at Mountjoy. But a refurbishment at the prison this month will finally end that, the Journal reports. The Irish Prison Service says "significant improvements" have been made recently, with numbers of those slopping out down 50% from three years ago, but the practice will continue at other prisons for now. (More Ireland stories.)