05/17/12: Florida: State set to close local detention facility
The Crossroads detention facility at the Charlotte and Glades county line has been rehabilitating teenage boys for nearly a quarter of a century. The facility is sparse. Consisting of a half a dozen buildings in the middle of palmetto spotted farmland with nothing around for miles. The facility houses about 30 boys in their late teens and employs about 30 full time employees
WINK News
05/17/12: Illinois: Fight for Dwight prison now with legislators
Legislators are hard at work in the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee,
trying to include parts of the budget left out of Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed budget,
including making room for state facilities that the Commission for Government Forecasting
and Accountability voted to recommend to the governor to remain open. Representative
Jason Barickman, R-
By Cynthia Grau, Pontiac Daily Leader
05/17/12: Maine: Statewide impact expected
The Somerset County Jail's recent decision to no longer board inmates from other counties may end up testing the resolve of state officials to force their will upon counties, and the counties' will to fight back. The decision has officials grappling with the question of who has final say over those issues. "Currently, the system is in transition," said Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty, who oversees the county jail in Augusta. "We have competing interest at times."
By Craig Crosby, Morning Sentinel
05/17/12: Nevada: Public invited to State Prison decommissioning
Gov. Brian Sandoval has invited the public to attend decommissioning ceremonies at Nevada State Prison in Carson City on Friday at 11 a.m. This prison started as the Nevada Territorial Prison in 1862 and operated for 150 years until the state decided to close it. The last inmates were moved out in January.
Reno Gazette-
05/17/12: New York: Teens charged in guard beat at Children's Services facility
A guard at a Bronx detention center was seriously injured when five teens attacked him because they wanted more food, law enforcement sources said Thursday. The assailants hit Sgt. Joseph Forrester in the head with a chair and repeatedly punched him in the face during Tuesday’s incident at the Horizon Juvenile Center. The detention facility is run by the Adminstration for Children’s Services and houses suspects as young as 10 while their cases are pending.
By Kerry Wills AND Rocco Parascandola, NY Daily News
05/17/12: Wisconsin: Four guards hurt in Stanley prison assault
The latest in a string of guard assaults at Stanley Correctional Institution leaves four guards with injuries, and has a community wondering what's prompting them. The Stanley Police Chief says a male inmate hurt all four of the guards in a housing unit of the prison as they tried to restrain him. Officers have now reported injuries to seven different guards in three separate incidents in a little more than a month.
By Andrew Fefer, WEAU
05/17/12: U.S. Issues Far-
The Justice Department on Thursday issued the first comprehensive federal rules aimed at “zero tolerance” for sexual assaults against inmates in prisons, jails and other houses of detention. The regulations, issued after years of discussions among officials and prisoner advocacy groups, address a problem that a new government study finds may afflict one out of every 10 prisoners, more than twice as many as suggested by an earlier survey. Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003, and the rules to carry it out are the first to address federal, state and local prisons and jails, including institutions holding juveniles.
By John H Cushman Jr, NY Times
05/16/12: Georgia: ACLU alleges rights violations at immigration detention centers
Suspected illegal immigrants in Georgia are suffering from a "systemic violation
... of civil and human rights" during their confinement in "substandard" federal
immigration detention facilities, including Stewart Detention Center, the largest
of its kind in the nation, according to a new report by the state's chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union. The 182-
By Richard Fausset, McClatchy-
05/16/12: Rhode Island: Assembly recognizes correctional officer who has served for 50 years
Correctional officer Lloyd Hedges received a citation from the state House of Representatives
on Wednesday honoring his 50 years of government service. The 83-
By Philip Marcelo, Providence Journal
05/16/12: Virginia: City providing rides for families of juvenile inmates
City–arranged transportation is under way for families of inmates displaced by the
sudden closing more than two weeks ago of Richmond’s Juvenile Detention Center. City
officials have also announced a weekend visitation schedule for families to visit
the facilities in Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Chesterfield and Goochland where
Richmond’s juveniles were sent after the city shuttered its facility. Forty-
By: Robert Zullo, Richmond Times-
Responding to pressure from probation chiefs, district attorneys and prison guards,
Gov. Jerry Brown has done an about-
By Karen de Sa, Oakland Tribune
05/15/12: Idaho: State to boost prison medical staff
The Idaho Department of Correction has agreed to increase staffing and dramatically
increase medical care oversight as part of a long-
By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press
05/15/12: Illinois: Proposed detention center has Crete, state officials at odds
State legislation aimed at killing a proposed immigrant detention center in Crete continued to move forward Tuesday, less than 24 hours after considerations related to the bill led to sniping between village officials and state Rep. Anthony DeLuca. The bill, which would ban private companies from building or operating detention centers — as would be the case in Crete — moved closer to a vote in the Illinois House. Passage there likely would result in it becoming law, as the Senate already passed the bill and Gov. Pat Quinn has signaled he is no fan of the detention center project.
By Matthew Bruce, Sun-
05/15/12: Ohio: SOCF honors fallen employees
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) held its 19th annual memorial ceremony May 15 to honor its fallen employees who have given their life in service. The employees who lost their lives at SOCF and were remembered at the service include Arthur Sprouse, Gary Underwood, Eric Bowling, Beverly Taylor and Robert (Bobby) Vallandingham. Keynote speaker for the event was Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Gary Mohr.
By Wayne Allen, Portsmouth Daily Times
05/15/12: Texas: Ruling puts Harris County juvenile offenders' housing in limbo
Eight violent juveniles awaiting trial in the Harris County Jail, considered too young to interact with adult inmates and too dangerous to mix with other youths, appear to have been placed in limbo with the release of a Texas attorney general opinion last week. Juveniles certified to stand trial as adults must be "separated by sight and sound" from adult inmates, according to a new law that took effect last fall and is explained in the opinion. This separation "must extend to all areas of the facility." Though certified juveniles long have been kept separate from adult inmates at the jail for their protection, Sheriff Adrian Garcia said it is impossible to satisfy the new rules as explained in the attorney general opinion.
By Mike Morris, Houston Chronicle
05/14/12: California: NCCD Launches New Website Featuring Latest Report on Private Prisons
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) is proud to launch today its
new website, www.nccdglobal.org, which features the new report "Prison Bed Profiteers:
How Corporations Are Reshaping Criminal Justice in the U.S." The report details how
private prison corporations are derailing public safety and long-
PR Newswire
05/14/12: Kentucky: Private prison supervisors say CCA denied overtime
A group of shift supervisors at a private prison in central Kentucky has sued Corrections
Corporation of America, alleging the company forced them to work extra hours and
denied them overtime. The six current and former CCA employees at the Marion Adjustment
Center in St. Mary's who filed suit also said the Nashville, Tenn.-
By Brett Barrouquere, Associated Press
05/14/12: Louisiana: Female Guards on the Rise at Louisiana's Most Notorious Prison
When the sun sets at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, the inmates and their guards are sent to the dorms. Warden Burl Cain says, "You think about it, you put a female in a dormitory and it has 90 inmates and 25% of them are aggravated rapists and one out of two is here for the life and the majority of them are lifers and lock her in, she doesn't have the key." Throughout the night, she keeps order. Today nearly 50% of corrections officers at Angola are women: in the walk, in the watchtowers and on the worksites.
By Ann Cutler, ABC News 26
05/14/12: Louisiana: North Louisiana family is a major force in the state's vast prison industry
Clay McConnell is an unlikely scion for a prison empire. An ordained minister, his
curly brown hair is fashionably rumpled, and he gets flustered when speaking in front
of a video camera. His father, Billy, is the brains behind LaSalle Corrections, the
one who expanded the family business from senior citizens to criminals. When a prison-
By Cindy Chang, The Times-
05/13/12: Louisiana: Louisiana is the world's prison capital
Louisiana is the world's prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people,
per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in
the world. Louisiana's incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran's, seven times China's
and 10 times Germany's. The hidden engine behind the state's well-
By Cindy Chang, The Times-
05/13/12: Montana: Moms incarcerated at Women’s Prison cherish visits with their children
Lisa Huey’s 3-
By Mary Pickett, Billings Gazette
05/13/12: Pennsylvania: Factions unite over prison reform
As former Gov. George Leader sat down at a table at the Hilton Harrisburg in November,
he thought, “This is an impossible group.” In one seat, he could see someone from
the American Civil Liberties Union, often identified with liberal causes. At another
seat, he saw someone from the Commonwealth Foundation, the conservative group that
advocates for leaner, less-
By Donald Gilliland, The Patriot-
05/12/12: Arizona: Questions raised about company to take over prison inmate healthcare
It's supposed to save taxpayers money and reduce the likelihood of lawsuits. However, there's growing concern that when a private company takes over the inmate health care program for Arizona's Department of Corrections this summer, there could be a new set of problems. The ADOC is already under fire for how it treats inmates, based on an ongoing lawsuit that accuses the state of widespread abuse and mistreatment of thousands of inmates.
By Jason Barry CBS News 5
05/12/12: Michigan: Prison firm GEO has troubled record
A private company that a federal investigation found allowed "a cesspool" of conditions
at a Mississippi youth prison and that paid a $1.1 million fine for understaffing
New Mexico prisons could be in line to oversee Michigan inmates in the next year.
The Republican-
By Kathy Barks Hoffman, Associated Press
Also ran in Clarion Ledger, Free Press, Ionia Sentinel-
05/12/12: New Mexico: Growth seen in white supremacist prison gangs
New Mexico’s prisons have seen a rise in white supremacist gang membership as some inmates seek protection against largely Hispanic gangs, according to state officials. State numbers show that membership in white supremacist gangs has doubled in prisons during the past 10 years, and state officials worry the numbers may keep climbing. “Membership is increasing in white supremacist gangs affiliated with those in Texas and Arizona,” said Dwayne Santistevan, administrator of New Mexico’s Security Threat Intelligence Unit. “We think they’re banding together for protection against Hispanic gangs.”
By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
05/12/12: Texas: Council members fiddle while prison closes
At a special meeting called here this week for the City Council to deal with an ongoing crisis at its correctional facility, only one member showed up. And while elsewhere this might seem odd, here it has become the norm. Despite doomsday warnings by city lawyers, who say a financial catastrophe looms unless a new prison operator is quickly hired, nothing was done Thursday night because, for the third time in a month, a quorum was not present. Among those missing: the mayor, who many believe is stalling until his brother, the former warden, is hired as the new prison warden. The mayor denies the claim.
By Jack MacCommack, San Antonio Express News
05/11/12: Idaho: Corizon counters Idaho prison health care report
The national prison health care company Corizon says a scathing court-
By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press
05/11/12: Michigan: No indication so far of Lakeland Prison closure
It’s a constant worry for the city of Coldwater: Will Lakeland Prison close?
City Councilwoman Heather Peet asked city staff if they were in contact with state legislators so the city would not get caught by surprise like it did when Florence Crane — the sister institution — was closed last year. Peet said staff had been downsized and only an interim warden had been named to replace retiring Carol Howes. Department of Corrections Information Officer John Cordell said Bonita Hoffner, the assistant warden, has been named interim warden until after Howes official retirement date of May 1.
By Don Reid, The Daily Reporter
05/10/12: California: High-
A deal between Gov. Jerry Brown's administration and a private communications company to deploy special equipment to block the rampant use of contraband cell phones by state prison inmates is based on a technology that is unproven and could undermine public safety, according to a new report. A study by the nonpartisan California Council on Science and Technology released this week raises “significant concerns” about plans to install “managed access technology” in the state’s 33 adult prisons. "Managed access as proposed will not do the job that the (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) wants done," said Susan Hackwood, the council's executive director.
By Michael Montgomery, California Watch
05/10/12: Georgia: prison under lockdown after fight
Corrections officials have placed parts of a south Georgia prison under lockdown
after a fight involving several inmates. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn
Hogan says authorities locked down parts of Coffee County Correctional Facility after
a fight on Saturday left several inmates hospitalized. She says the inmates received
non-
Associated Press
05/10/12: Louisiana: 'No promises, no guarantees' on state prison in Pineville
Facing the closure of one prison and privatization of another, mayors of Pineville and Alexandria took advantage of Central Louisiana Day at the Louisiana Legislature to seek support for their positions. Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields, who is concerned about the proposed state budget cutting funds for J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center, said "I continue to be optimistic. But I don't know where things are headed." But after meeting with Kristy Nichols, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bobby Jindal, "It did not make me more optimistic," Fields said
By Mike Hasten, The Town Talk
A correctional officers union is seeking to boost pay for officers in Bristol County, which the union says lags far behind the state average, in some cases by more than 40 percent. The starting pay for a correctional officer in Bristol County is $32,513, compared to a state average of $45,166, according to the National Correctional Employees Union. The maximum pay has an even greater gap: $39,736, compared to $62,111.
By Grant Welker, GateHouse News
04/10/12: Tennessee: CCA Board Votes Down Resolution on Reporting Rape, Sexual Abuse Statistics
Outside Corrections Corporation of America's Green Hills headquarters, a group of
predominantly Christian activists gathered to protest the private prison's raison
d'etre (to incarcerate human beings for profit) and to support a shareholder resolution
that would force the company to publicly release information regarding instances
of rape and sexual abuse at CCA facilities. That resolution was proposed by Alex
Friedmann, a former CCA inmate turned associate editor of Prison Legal News and anti-
By Jonathan Meador, Nashville Scene
05/09/12: Illinois: Town chosen for detention center
The U.S. government has selected a town 30 miles south of Chicago as the location
for a detention center for illegal immigrants, local officials said. The proposal
by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to build a 788-
UPI
Four months after shutting down Nevada State Prison in Carson City, site of the state’s
only death chamber, officials have no solid plan for carrying out executions and
no access to a lethal injection drug. As Nevada’s death row inmates continue to appeal
their convictions and sentences, the Nevada Department of Corrections has continued
to lose its ability to hold an execution. Corrections officials shut down the Nevada
State Prison in Carson City, site of the state’s only death chamber, early this year,
and they have no solid plan in place for transporting and holding an inmate who is
about to be executed, the Reno Gazette-
By Martha Bellisle, Reno Gazette Journal
05/09/12: New Hampshire: Hinsdale second of three possible private prison sites
The town of Hinsdale in southwest New Hampshire has surfaced as a possible location
for a privately built prison that would house all of New Hampshire's inmates and
perhaps those from neighboring states as well. Corrections Corporation of America
-
Business Review
05/08/12: New Mexico: Governor awards medal of valor to officer
Gov. Susana Martinez has awarded correctional officer Louie Nieto with a medal of valor for risking his life to save a fellow officer and inmate at the state penitentiary. The governor presented the award during a ceremony Monday in Albuquerque at the annual New Mexico Gang Task Force Conference. She says Nieto's actions are a reminder of the strength, will and courage that make up the fabric of the state.
Associated Press
05/06/12: Illinois: Facilities on hold as state mulls fix for canceled credit program
Finding a solution to overcrowding in Illinois prisons will accomplish more than easing an already overstretched corrections budget — it could put the state back on track to meaningful prison reform. As state lawmakers consider a proposal to reinstate good conduct credits for most of Illinois’ 48,042 inmates, prison reform advocates are tallying what they consider the damage done by the 2010 decision by Gov. Pat Quinn to end the Meritorious Good Time program. That decision followed a controversial change in the longstanding program that gave inmates 60 days credit when they entered prison rather than waiting until they’d earned the credit.
By Edith Brady-
05/06/12: Ohio: State last inspected local jails in 2008
Despite a policy requiring annual inspections to ensure “safe, secure and humane
jails,” the state prisons department has not inspected a single county jail or city
lockup since 2008. Critics call the state’s failure to inspect Ohio’s 349 jails,
ranging from full-
By Randy Ludlow, The Columbus Dispatch
05/06/12: Pennsylvania: Prison reform expert crunches numbers to help cut $1.86 billion inmate costs
The architect of prison reform in Texas has crunched the numbers for Pennsylvania
and will be presenting policy suggestions next month to Gov. Tom Corbett’s Justice
Reinvestment Working Group. Tony Fabelo said his four-
By Donald Gilliland, Patriot News
05/06/12: Texas: Victoria County Jail takes steps to stop suicide by inmates
At a time when suicides are the leading cause of death in county jails, Texas jails are following tougher standards to bring down those numbers. Authorities agree the application of the state's suicide prevention program at the Victoria County Jail helps keep the number of suicides and inmate uprisings to a minimum. Of the five deaths in the county jail since the Texas Commission on Jail Standards began regulating them in 2009, two were suicides. The other three were listed as natural causes.
By Erin Pradia, Victoria Advocate
05/04/12: Illinois: Rutherford supports keeping Tamms prison open, urges strategic planning
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford says Tamms Correctional Center should not close, as proposed by the governor earlier this year. He is pleased the bipartisan Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) voted against the governor’s recommendation of closing the facility. Rutherford toured the supermax prison in March. “Closing Tamms would pose a significant public safety threat to prison guards and communities across Illinois,” he said.
Daily Ledger
05/04/12: Tennessee: Officers, inmates injured in fight at Turney Center
Turney Center Industrial Prison in Hickman County remained on lockdown Saturday while
officials investigated an altercation in which two officers and two inmates were
injured. The officers suffered non-
By Micca Terrell, WSMV News 4
05/04/12: Oregon: Federal aid for prison health?
Oregon’s health care overhaul could play an unexpected role in how the state funds
medical expenses for some prison inmates. Correctional Health Partners, a Denver-
By Queenie Wong, Statesman Journal
Updated 5/18/12