prison

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What Prison Life Looks Like for Alex Murdaugh

He's being kept away from other inmates for his own safety, at least for now

(Newser) - Alex Murdaugh is being kept away from other inmates at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, for his own safety. The state Department of Corrections tells TMZ that the convicted killer—sporting a shaved head in his new mugshot —is held in a single cell with a steel...

Bureau of Prisons Closes Notoriously Violent Unit

At least 7 inmates have died by homicide or suicide since Thomson unit opened in 2019

(Newser) - One of the most notorious units in the federal prison system is being shut down after a series of inmate deaths. There have been at least five suspected homicides and two suspected suicides since the Special Management Unit at the Thomson federal penitentiary in northwest Illinois opened in 2019, NPR...

Guards 'Running on Fumes' at Violent, Short-Staffed Prison

'All signals are blinking red,' warns union official at USP Hazelton

(Newser) - A federal prison complex in West Virginia is desperately short on staff, and it's not hard to see why the Hazelton facility might be having trouble attracting workers: Union officials say short-staffing has made the notoriously violent prison even more dangerous, and mandatory overtime is so common that the...

Texas Prisoners Are on Hunger Strike

Some inmates have been in solitary confinement for more than 20 years

(Newser) - Prisoners in Texas are in the second week of a hunger strike to demand an end to the practice of keeping inmates in solitary confinement for much, much longer than the 15 days that the United Nations considers torture. One of their main demands is that "under no circumstances...

Report: Prison Forces Pregnant Inmates Into Early Labor

3 prisoners at Arizona's Perryville facility claim that forced inductions are prison policy

(Newser) - Three female inmates have lobbed an eyebrow-raising accusation against the Arizona prison where they're incarcerated. The three women say that when they were pregnant at the Perryville facility outside of Phoenix, they had labor induced against their will, and medical records seen by the Arizona Republic confirm that all...

Guard Brutally Attacked by Inmate Rescued by Other Inmates

2 stepped in when fellow prisoner attacked guard at South Carolina max-security site

(Newser) - Two inmates at a maximum-security South Carolina prison are being lauded for helping a guard who was attacked by another inmate. The state's Department of Corrections is now detailing the Monday evening attack, which WCIV notes could've been a deadly one had the rescuing inmates not intervened. "...

Gunfire, Blaze Break Out at Prison Holding Protesters
Iran Says Prison Fire
Killed 4, Injured 61
updated
Oct 16, 2022 10:55 AM CDT

Iran Says Prison Fire Killed 4, Injured 61

Sources inside Evin prison dispute the count

(Newser) - Update: Iranian state media reported Sunday that four inmates died of smoke inhalation and 61 people were injured in a fire at the Evin prison, NBC News reports. Prison sources told BBC Persian , however, that the toll is higher. The state news agency quoted judiciary officials as saying that inmates...

Suit: She Gave Birth on Jail Cell Floor as Staff Laughed

Jazmin Valentine alleges she was ignored during her 6-hour labor

(Newser) - A woman who said she was left to give birth to her baby alone on the dirty, concrete floor of her jail cell in Maryland filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that jail nurses ignored her screams and pleas for help for six hours. Jazmin Valentine alleges some nurses working...

It's Time to Push Back Against the 'Inhumanity' in Our Prisons
Don't Ignore the Suffering
in America's Prisons
OPINION
Sep 11, 2022 5:00 PM CDT

Don't Ignore the Suffering in America's Prisons

Writing for 'Philly Inquirer,' Cheryl Smith slams 'soul-chilling inhumanity' toward incarcerated

(Newser) - The Eighth and 14th Amendments are meant to prevent cruel and unusual punishment, as well as discrimination and unequal treatment—including for the incarcerated. But that's not what's being applied in America's prisons, Cheryl Smith writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer , where she lays out the "soul-chilling...

Pregnant Women Jailed Here for Drugs Have Only One Way Out

They're kept behind bars in Etowah County, Ala., unless they go to rehab, pay $10K

(Newser) - Multiple pregnant women or new moms are behind bars in an Alabama prison after being arrested for drug use, and they're being kept there for "weeks or months" on end under "special conditions," per AL.com . The outlet reports that the women involved, accused of exposing...

Prison Chaplain Sentenced for 'Egregious' Abuse

James Highhouse abused female inmates at FCI Dublin

(Newser) - Behind a closed chapel office door inside a federal women's prison in California, a chaplain forced inmates seeking his spiritual guidance to have sex with him, exploiting their faith and their powerlessness behind bars for his own gratification, prosecutors said. James Theodore Highhouse was sentenced Wednesday to seven years...

US Keeps Over 40K in Solitary: Report

States pass or take up legislation to limit the practice

(Newser) - American prisons are holding tens of thousands of inmates in solitary confinement—a practice much of the world calls a human rights violation and the United Nations considers torture. Between 41,000 and 48,000 men and women were being kept for an average of 22 hours a day, for...

Suit: Jail Staff Ignored Pleas of Woman in Labor, to Tragic End

Tiana Hill says her infant died 4 days after birth due to sheriff's, prison medical staff's negligence

(Newser) - A Georgia mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clayton County after she gave birth while in jail there and her baby died. The New York Times reports that the federal complaint by Tiana Hill accuses Sheriff Victor Hill (no relation) and the medical staff at the Clayton County...

ISIS Stormed a Prison. There Are Hundreds of Boys Inside

Siege on Gweiran Prison shines a light on the children's plight

(Newser) - A distressing series of voice notes sent by an Australian teen from a prison in northeast Syria underscores the plight of thousands of forgotten children who remain trapped in detention facilities in Syria and Iraq. Hundreds of minors (Human Rights Watch estimates 600 boys) are believed to be holed up...

The Town Is Built on Prisons. What Happens If One Shuts?

A look at the situation in Susanville, California

(Newser) - The husband of Susanville, California's mayor is a corrections officer. It's a place where plenty of people are married to a corrections officer, or one themselves, or the child of one. Roughly 1 out of every 2 adults in the town are employed by the two prisons there,...

Denmark Plans to Ban Lifers From Starting New Romances

They're worried about prison 'groupies,' including a teen who fell for Peter Madsen

(Newser) - Peter Madsen, the Danish man serving a life sentence for torturing, killing, and dismembering journalist Kim Wall on his submarine in 2017, apparently has a busier love life than many people on the outside—and the country's lawmakers want to put an end to it. A new bill introduced...

One 'Vulnerable Community' Isn't Prepared for Rising Temps

They're a particular threat for our incarcerated population

(Newser) - A heat index—meaning how hot it feels—of 103 can cause heat stroke. In a piece for Fast Company , Kristin Toussaint explains that a 2014 study out of Texas found the heat index in Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) facilities could hit 149 degrees. "They’re built...

His Case Helped Oust a President. Now He's Free on Parole

Samsung's Lee Jae-yong out of prison after 18 months of 30-month sentence

(Newser) - Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong walked out of prison Friday a year early, in a parole decision showing the conglomerate's outsize influence in South Korea. Lee left the prison near Seoul to a barrage of camera flashes and bowed in apology over the anger ignited by his case, related to...

State Makes Prison Phone Calls on the House

Connecticut is the first state to remove the barrier to families keeping in contact

(Newser) - Connecticut has gone from charging some of the highest rates in the nation for prison phone calls to providing them free of charge. A vendor with the state contract has been charging as much as $5 for a 15-minute call, WTNH reports. Inmates, including juveniles, will now be entitled to...

Inmate at DC Jail Wins Local Election
DC Jail Inmate
Elected to Office
Jun 18, 2021 10:32 AM CDT

DC Jail Inmate Elected to Office

Joel Caston's case may be a US first

(Newser) - Joel Caston has become an elected official in Washington, DC, after an extremely unusual election—Caston, the four candidates he defeated for an Advisory Neighborhood Commission seat, and almost all the voters are inmates at the DC City Jail. The Ward 7 seat he won has been vacant since it...

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