inmates

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Video Prison Visits Bring Inmates Home

Pioneering program lets loved ones visit jail without leaving home

(Newser) - Families can visit incarcerated relatives from the comfort of their living rooms through a first-of-its-kind program in Indiana, the AP reports. Visitors on the approved list are allowed to schedule video conferences with inmates from anywhere they choose. Prisoners use ATM-like machines set up and paid for by a private...

Never Mind Gitmo—the Real Prison Problem Is Here

(Newser) - The collective freak-out over closing Guantanamo proves that Americans do care about prisons and prisoners, but Gitmo “is a mere speck in the eye of America’s larger prison program,” writes Dahlia Lithwick in Newsweek. That’s why Sen. Jim Webb of the “lock ‘em up”...

How Many Cigarettes for a Cell Phone?
How Many Cigarettes for
a Cell Phone?
May 26, 2009 12:40 PM CDT

How Many Cigarettes for a Cell Phone?

Prisons awash in smuggled phones as authorities crack down

(Newser) - We know the kind of thing that gets traded on the prison black market: weapons, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes. Now add cell phones to the list, Time reports: Authorities say there is an epidemic of smuggled cell phones, which have been used to orchestrate crimes, plot escapes, and harass witnesses, in...

Cash-Strapped Calif. Considers Selling San Quentin

(Newser) - Some state lawmakers have proposed a novel solution for California's budget problems: sell San Quentin Prison, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Experts estimate the 435-acre site, picturesquely situated on a peninsula overlooking San Francisco Bay, could go for more than $2 billion. About half of that would go toward building...

Recession to Unlock Wave of Ex-Cons
 Recession to Unlock 
 Wave of Ex-Cons 
glossies
Mar 7, 2009 4:54 AM CST

Recession to Unlock Wave of Ex-Cons

(Newser) - Thousands of prisoners around the country will have the recession to thank for setting them free, Ken Steir writes in Time. With California planning to release nearly 160,000 prisoners from under-funded, overcrowded prisons, and other states transferring drug convicts to rehab, the US is likely to see a wave...

'Coaches' Help New Inmates Move from Suits to Stripes

Rise of white-collar crime has benefited prison consultants

(Newser) - The recession is providing new career opportunities for criminals turned consultants, reports the Los Angeles Times. Using the web, “jailhouse litigators” coach future inmates who’ve been convicted of white-collar crimes that presumably haven't prepared them for life on the inside. “We deal with anybody who has fears,...

Yemen Is New Haven for al-Qaeda
Yemen Is
New Haven
for al-Qaeda
Jan 30, 2009 4:11 PM CST

Yemen Is New Haven for al-Qaeda

Group's numbers likely to see boost from freed Gitmo inmates

(Newser) - As the US prepares to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Yemen presents a problem: Despite government efforts, the country is becoming a safe haven for al-Qaeda operatives, the Economist reports. Rebuffed by anti-terror initiatives in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, jihadists have flocked to Yemen, where rugged countryside, weak...

Alcatraz Garden Blooms Despite Years of Neglect

Once cared for by prisoners, plants still thrive on 'The Rock'

(Newser) - The hardened inmates on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island had tough neighbors who endure to this day: sun-kissed geraniums, snapdragons, gazanias, and roses. Thanks to an ambitious restoration project, “The Rock” is blooming, the Sacramento Bee reports. After work began 5 years ago, gardeners discovered 145 plant varieties that...

In Japan, Jailhouse Chic Rules Fashion

Aprons, bags made by convicts are hot sellers this season

(Newser) - Japan's fashion-forward set is flocking to a line made by an unlikely group—prison inmates. Aprons, bags, and pouches emblazoned with the character for "jail" inside a circle are selling out just as quickly as inmates at a juvenile prison in Hokkaido can make them, the AP reports. "...

Ex-Inmates Say Russia Keeps 'Torture Prisons'

Prisoners speak out after 4 were allegedly killed this spring

(Newser) - Overcrowding and disease are comparatively minor problems for inmates in Russia's alleged "torture prisons," where convicts are said to suffer regular beatings. Officials insist that they probe all complaints, but NPR has yielded harrowing stories from ex-inmates after four were reportedly clubbed to death this spring. "God...

Imprisoned Moms Are Keeping Kids
 Imprisoned Moms Are Keeping Kids
May 10, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Imprisoned Moms Are Keeping Kids

More states allow convicted mothers to raise their children

(Newser) - More states are imprisoning babies, and moms couldn't be happier: Prisons nationwide are allowing incarcerated mothers to keep their little ones, the AP reports. Opponents of the practice say the kids may be traumatized, but one researcher found that “the outcomes are promising, if the prison nursery programs have...

Thriller Inmates Do Live Shows
 Thriller Inmates Do Live Shows 
Apr 28, 2008 12:44 PM CDT

Thriller Inmates Do Live Shows

Audience watches numbers from platform above grounds

(Newser) - Inmates at a Philippines prison who made it big on YouTube dancing to Thriller are now a live attraction, Reuters reports. Hundreds of viewers each month stand on platforms around the jail's exercise grounds to watch prisoners dance to songs like Queen’s Radio Ga Ga and Bonnie Tyler’s ...

Calif. Crunch May Force Drastic Cuts

State might slash education funds, free inmates early

(Newser) - California's dire financial straits may force the early release of 30,000 low-risk inmates and bring drastic cuts in education, the Los Angeles Times reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger will declare a fiscal emergency next month as the state wrestles with a $14.5 billion budget gap. The governor has ordered agencies...

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