prison

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Murderer Van der Sloot Weds in Prison This Week

He is due to become a father in September

(Newser) - Joran Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year murder sentence for one young woman's death and is the main suspect in another, but that won't keep him from becoming a married man this week, reports Reuters . Tomorrow, the 26-year-old will marry Leidy Figueroa, the 24-year-old Peruvian girlfriend...

How Companies Gouge Prison Inmates

Firms line up to be banks, telecom companies for the incarcerated

(Newser) - There are many reasons that it sucks to be in prison, but one of them is that it can cost more than eight bucks to make a 15-minute phone call—and private companies are collecting that dough. The New York Times today takes a look at how a new breed...

What It's Like to Visit Rikers Island

Even among prisons, it stands out in terms of long waits and security

(Newser) - News that Rikers Island prison is investigating the alleged smuggling of drugs and weapons by guards prompts Dateline producer Dan Slepian to recount his first visit to the facility in the course of his work. Think every airport security or bank line you've ever been in, then multiply by...

California Sterilized Inmates Without Lawful Consent

Audit finds evidence of many illegal procedures

(Newser) - The California prison system illegally had dozens of women sterilized, possibly without their consent, according to a new report from the state auditor. Of the 144 inmates given tubal ligations from fiscal years 2005-06 to 2012-13, at least 39 were done without lawful consent, with physicians either failing to sign...

Cops: Man Tosses Football Full of Drugs Into Prison

It had cell phones, too, but the throw was off target

(Newser) - Points for creativity, at least. Michigan authorities say a man attempted to chuck a football filled with drugs and cellphones into the exercise yard of a state prison in Jackson. Two big problems: The throw fell short, with the ball landing between two fences instead of in the exercise yard....

Indiana: We Can't Afford to Reduce Prison Rape

State decides it's better off losing federal grants

(Newser) - Indiana's governor says the state will not be implementing federal guidelines for reducing prison rape because the cost is too high and it has other spending priorities. State officials say complying with the Prison Rape Elimination Act passed in 2003 and signed into law by George W. Bush would...

Orange Is the New Black Exploits Prison

The show's crass sensationalism undermines the book's message: Noah Berlatsky

(Newser) - Watch the trailer for the new season of Orange Is the New Black, and it's chock-full of sex, threats, gags, and a general sense of fun and excitement. The message seems to be that "drama, sex, violence, all in prison = awesome," observes Noah Berlatsky at Splice...

No One Intervened as Ky. Inmate Starved to Death
No One Intervened as
Ky. Inmate Starved to Death
INVESTIGATION
Apr 21, 2014 1:25 PM CDT

No One Intervened as Ky. Inmate Starved to Death

Prison doctor has been fired, criminal investigation opened

(Newser) - A 57-year-old Kentucky inmate is dead after going on a five-week hunger strike, dropping 50 pounds between September and his death in January. A prison doctor was fired and two other staffers are in the process of being dismissed over the death of James Kenneth Embry, 57, found dead in...

What Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Can, Can't Do in Prison

No speaking to inmates; little outdoor time

(Newser) - A year to the day after the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston is mourning —and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is awaiting trial. The New York Times offers a look inside the medical facility where he is being held under federally-approved "special administrative measures." The rules apply to prisoners who are...

It's Time to Expand College Programs in Prison

Degrees will make ex-cons less likely to end up back in jail, says Bill Keller

(Newser) - Andrew Cuomo got flak when he announced plans to fund college classes for inmates in 10 of New York's prisons, and ended up backing off the idea. But he was right, writes Bill Keller in the New York Times . After all, "what is prison for?" Yes, one of...

Whitey Bulger: An Innocent Man Is Behind Bars

Boston hit man urges 'real killer' to step forward

(Newser) - Notorious Boston hit man James "Whitey" Bulger has adopted an unlikely cause: exonerating a man in prison for murder, the Boston Globe reports. Fred Weichel, a South Boston man behind bars for 32 years, has long claimed he never committed murder in 1980. He even got a new trial...

Homeless Vet 'Basically Baked to Death' in NY Jail

Riker's Island having trouble with mental illness, violence

(Newser) - Guards at Rikers Island are supposed to check on mentally ill inmates every 15 minutes. But when Jerome Murdough was booked for sleeping on a housing project roof, he was left unattended long enough to keel over dead from overheating, the AP revealed today. The former Marine was left alone...

Why a Prisons Chief Put Himself in Solitary

Rick Raemisch wanted to have the experience

(Newser) - Rick Raemisch is no average prisons chief, but these aren't average times for US prisons. Newly appointed as Colorado's chief of corrections, Raemisch put himself in solitary confinement for 20 hours to experience the most controversial form of punishment in prisons today, the New York Times reports. "...

FBI Probes Prison Known as 'Gladiator School'

Audit found serious understaffing; facility said to be run by gangs

(Newser) - Violence at Idaho's biggest prison has prompted inmates to call it "Gladiator School," and now the FBI is on the case. Federal agents are taking over an Idaho investigation into the private Nashville, Tennessee-based firm Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the Idaho Correctional Center, the AP...

Killer Breivik Vows Hunger Strike Over PlayStation

He likens current jail treatment (including a lowly PS2) to torture

(Newser) - The man who killed 77 people at a Norway summer camp has threatened to go on hunger strike over, among other things, his video game selection. The AFP obtained a letter sent by Anders Breivik to prison officials in November in which he likened his current treatment to "torture,...

Guards Accused in Half of All Prison Sex Assaults

But the vast majority of cases are dismissed

(Newser) - Guards are accused in roughly half of all prison sex assaults, yet they almost never face charges for them, according to a grim new Justice Department survey of prison administrators. There were 8,000 sexual abuse reports logged between 2009 and 2011, the report says, an 11% increase from the...

Century Later, Conjugal Visits to End in Mississippi

Leaving 5 states that allow them, down from 17 in 1993

(Newser) - Only six states allow prisoners conjugal visits—and the state where the practice began roughly a century ago, Mississippi, is poised to halt (but not legally ban) those visits Feb. 1. The prison commissioner in the state, where 155 of some 22,000 inmates had such visits last year, blames...

How a Model Prison Became America's Scariest

USP Lewisberg: from rehabilitation to hardcore 'attitude adjustment'

(Newser) - A prison that once encouraged upbeat activities among inmates is now home to the nation's nastiest criminals and severe prison tactics—a transformation that may say a lot about our prison system in general. An academic article , summarized by Justin Peters at Slate , recounts how the USP Lewisberg facility...

Sweden Closing Prisons as Inmate Numbers Drop

Nation sees a steep 6% reduction

(Newser) - Seems like a good problem to have: Sweden is shutting down four prisons and a detention center because it doesn't have enough inmates to fill them, reports the Guardian . The move follows a 6% drop in inmate numbers from 2011 to 2012, with similar numbers expected this year. What...

Family of Pussy Riot Member Says She's Cut Off

Husband hasn't heard from her in nearly 2 weeks since transfer

(Newser) - The family of jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova accuse Russian authorities of trying to cut her off from them and the outside world, reports BuzzFeed . Tolokonnikova's husband says he hasn't had any contact with his wife since she got shipped off by train to a new prison...

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