CORRECTIONS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION
Corrections News (updated 3/10/10)

 

03/09/10: California: Alameda County Jail Workers Go On Strike
More than 140 healthcare workers who treat inmates at Alameda County jails are striking over contract negotiations. Tuesday's one-day strike includes nurses, physicians assistants and dental assistants at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and Glenn Dyer Detention Facility in Oakland. The workers say Tennessee-based Prison Health Services has not been negotiating a new contract in good faith and has backtracked after agreeing to a 10-percent increase in wage and health care benefits.
KTVU News 2

 

03/09/10: Kentucky: Woman charged with murder of dead baby found at prison
A 20-year-old Corbin woman has been charged with murder after she gave birth to a baby girl in a visitors' restroom at a state prison here on Sunday and hid the baby in a trash bin, police said. The baby was found dead hours later. Kentucky State Police arrested Ashley Nicole Cox on Monday and charged her with first-degree murder and concealing the birth of an infant. Cox was being held at the Oldham County Jail. Preliminary autopsy results show her baby was alive and healthy when she was born at the Roederer Correctional Complex, police said. The cause of death has not been determined.
By Andre Udhe, Cincinnati Enquirer

 

03/09/10: Florida: Sheriff, CCA lobby Hernando commissioners to run county jail
Promising commissioners the same level of efficiency he has achieved in his own agency, Sheriff Richard Nugent made his pitch to take over the county jail to Hernando County commissioners on Tuesday. Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the jail now, pleaded its own case for keeping the contract, citing a 22-year history of working well with Hernando. Company officials also urged the board to be certain it had full information before making a decision. Reversing a long-held position, the Nashville-based company offered to open its books to allow the sheriff and the county to examine operational costs, something it has refused to do before, citing confidentiality concerns.
By Barbara Behrendt, St. Petersburg Times

 

03/09/10: Kentucky: Prison incidents reveal lapses at lockups
Days after a Texas prison trusty sneaked into a Sugar Land Walmart to buy cigarettes, contraband-sniffing dogs outside Beaumont's Stiles Unit pinpointed a cache of tobacco, 19 cell phones and 18 phone chargers hidden behind a prison food barn. Both cases came on the heels of the discovery of 200 packages of forbidden tobacco and 4 gallons of booze stashed outside the fences of Brazoria County's Darrington Unit. To Texas Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate's criminal justice committee, the February contraband cases show that recent security improvements at state lockups haven't made prisons secure enough.
Houston Chronicle

 

03/08/10: Arizona: Arizona inmates picking up trash along interstate
State agencies are teaming up to use prison inmate labor to clean up Arizona highways. The new initiative between the Departments of Corrections and Transportation was announced Monday by state Sen. Al Melvin during a brief Senate floor speech. Melvin said inmates have started picking up trash along Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson and that future stages will have them cutting down dead trees and clearing brush.
Associated Press

 

03/08/10: Michigan: Baraga Max Officer is Michigan C.O. of the Year
A corrections officer at Baraga Max Prison is the best at what he does in Michigan. Shawn Minerick is Michigan's Corrections Officer of the Year. The honor comes from the Michigan Correctional Training Council.
ABC News 10

 

03/08/10: New Jersey: Assembly committee plans to study N.J. prison inmate population
New Jersey's Assembly Judiciary Committee wants to create a panel to study the state's prison inmate population. The Blue Ribbon Panel to Review New Jersey's Inmate Policy would analyze things including race, length of incarceration and participation in prison education and jobs programs. Committee Chairwoman Linda Greenstein says the bill cuts language from an earlier version that would have allowed the review of individual prisoners.
Associated Press

 

03/08/10: South Carolina: Info sought after corrections officer shot
Crimestoppers wants your help finding the person who shot a Midlands corrections officer in his own home. Robert Johnson works for the S.C. Department of Corrections. Sumter police say someone went into his home early Friday and shot him in the chest.
WIS News 10

 

03/07/10: Arizona: State using Kino for inmate care, costing Pima
The Arizona Department of Corrections is sending hundreds of inmates to Kino Hospital's emergency room every month, shifting much of the cost of their care to Pima County taxpayers - and making it more likely that Tucsonans will be treated alongside criminals. The state is paying less than it used to for inmate care, leaving the county to pick up the slack. The change also requires the county to spend up to $500,000 on safety and security upgrades, said Honey Pivirotto, Pima County assistant administrator for health policy.
By Bethany Conway, Arizona Daily Star

 

03/07/10: Maryland: Frivolous lawsuit? Not up to prison officials to decide
Prison inmates throughout the country fill local courthouses with lawsuits that appear frivolous. Raymond Taylor, serving three life sentences for attempted murder, seemed to have joined this dubious group when he sued a woman in a petty dispute over drawings of cartoon characters. Taylor was locked in a cell in Cumberland. The defendant - who Taylor claimed never paid him $685 for his purported sketches of Shrek and Garfield to be sold at a flea market - lived 256 miles away in Princess Anne.
By Peter Hermann, Baltimore Sun

 

03/06/10: California: State Overtime May Be Canceling Out Savings By Furloughs
Like many other state employees, prison nurse Nellie Larot was hit last year with furloughs that cut her salary: It dropped $10,000, to $92,000. But she more than made up for it by working extra shifts, raking in $177,512 in overtime, according to state records. Her total $270,000 in earnings last year eclipsed the $225,000 paid to Matthew Cate, head of the entire state prison system.
By Patrick McGreevy, LA Times

 

03/06/10: Maryland: 1 fired, 7 more disciplined for inmate's release
The state prison agency said Friday it has fired one employee and disciplined seven others whose sloppy work led to the mistaken release of in inmate serving three life terms. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said the workers included correctional officers, their uniformed supervisors and administrators of the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center in Baltimore. Three of the workers were suspended without pay, while three others received reprimands.
By DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press

 

03/06/10: Oklahoma: Jail Closing 'Big Blow' For Watonga
The mayor of Watonga said the decision to close the Diamondback Correctional Facility will be a big blow to his city's economy. The facility is expected to close within the next 60 days. The decision means that more than 300 Oklahoma employees will be out of work or forced to transfer to other jobs out of state.
KOCO News 5

 

03/05/10: Colorado: Prison Guards Warn Against More Budget Cuts
Pam Kahanic was working as a corrections supervisor when the state cut 588 full-time employees during the last recession in 2002. In 2007, when state lawmakers were still struggling to cover staffing shortages created by those cuts, an inmate took her hostage and slashed her throat. On Friday, she begged lawmakers not to make that mistake again as lawmakers look for ways to cover a $1.5 billion shortfall in next year's $18 billion budget. "Cutting staff any more or reducing training we receive will only make the job that much more dangerous," she said. "We just can't afford to have any more staff taken away from us."
By Steven K Paulson, Associated Press

 

03/05/10: Tennessee: Private prison company loses appeal over records
A magazine that advocates for the rights of prisoners has won another round in the legal battle with private prison giant Corrections Corporation of America. The Tennessee Supreme Court has declined to hear CCA's appeal of a lower court's ruling that it must turn over some documents on lawsuits and complaints against the company. Alex Friedmann, a former prisoner who is now an editor at Prison Legal News, asked for the information in April 2007 and sued Nashville-based CCA after the company refused to turn it over.
Associated Press

 

03/04/10: Arizona: Sheriff Joe Arpaio: I'll take all juvenile inmates
A proposal from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to take custody of all of Arizona's juvenile inmates offers a glimpse into the complexities of dismantling the state Department of Juvenile Corrections. Gov. Jan Brewer's budget proposes eliminating the $63 million agency, an idea that raises significant concern among county officials around the state. They fear the costs of caring for juvenile inmates will be pushed back on to their taxpayers.
By JJ Hensley and Yvonne Wingett, Arizona Republic

 

03/04/10: California: State prison cuts could backfire, report says
Recent cuts to California prison programs could result in more former inmates returning to prison and an increase in prison crowding, according to a draft state report. The report from the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board, charged with overseeing rehabilitation programs, appears to contradict contentions by state prison officials who have said the budget cuts would not affect recidivism rates and will make prison programs more effective. The report warns that the $250 million cut from inmate programs this year "may well mean that the hoped for reduction in recidivism will not be achieved any time soon," and that without those reductions "it seems likely that California will be unable to get control of the inmate population crisis."
By Maria Lagos, San Francisco Chronic

 

03/04/10: Georgia: Baldwin prison to close by May 1
The Georgia Department of Corrections has made it official: Bostick State Prison in Baldwin County, already tabbed for closure, will shut down by May 1. The 700-bed facility is a 1950s-era dormitory that was converted for prison use in 1987. It lacks the safety features of other state prisons, requires more staff and is more expensive to run, the department said. The department expects to save about $6.7 million a year by closing the prison, and its shutdown already is written into the state budget, which is working its way through the Georgia General Assembly
By Travis Fain, Macon

 

03/04/10: Kentucky: As prison costs soar, new trend and local non-profit save money
Kentucky lawmakers are examining every penny in the Commonwealth's budget as the state faces more than a $1 billion shortfall in the next two years. And while funds for education and healthcare are at risk, it might surprise you that on average $19,000 is spent yearly to house each inmate in the state. With over 21,000 people incarcerated, that adds up to a lot of money.
By Carrie Weil, WAVE News 3

 

03/04/10: Illinois: Cook County Jail downsizes as inmate population drops
he has shuttered one building and will soon close another, saving up to an estimated $15 million a year and easing staffing woes. Surrounded by rows of empty metal bunk beds in closed Division 2, Dart told reporters he believed this marked the first time ever that the sprawling West Side jail had been downsized. The closings lower the jail's capacity to about 9,100, down some 900 beds.
Tribune

 

03/04/10: Michigan: Geo Prison to Remain Closed, Community Devastated
It's been a prison decision waiting game, and the end result is not good news for Northern Michigan. The Geo Prison in Lake County will not reopen anytime soon. The Federal Bureau of Prisons decided not to move forward on a contract with the prison in Baldwin.
News 9

 

03/04/10: New York: Safety, bureaucracy among union's gripes
Area correctional officers rallied Thursday in Auburn against the proposed 2011 closure of four state correctional facilities, including a portion of Butler Correctional Facility in Red Creek, which employs a number of people from Cayuga County and Auburn. More than 40 people, most of them members of the 3,000-strong New York State Correctional Officers Police Benevolent Association, went to the rally at the Ukrainian National Club to share information and unite against the closures. “To hamper public safety and the safety of correctional officers and our employees ... that doesn't fit,” said Christopher Hickey, executive vice president of NYSCOPBA.
By Kelly Voll, The Citizen

 

03/03/10: Connecticut: Law denies inmate access to guard info.
The Freedom of Information law is designed to help people find out what their government is doing. But when prison inmates use it, lawmakers are ready to draw a line. There are approximately 4,500 correction officers working at the state's 18 prisons, guarding and supervising a prison population of approximately 18,000 inmates. What has prompted this legislation is the requests by some inmates for correction officers' personal information such as where they live under the State's Freedom of Information Law.
WTNH News 8

 

03/03/10: States reduce prison populations as budgets shrink
Many state governments continued last year to reduce their prison populations through sentencing reforms enacted because of shrinking state budgets, according to two reports released Wednesday by a research group that advocates for lower rates of imprisonment. In 2009, at least 19 states adopted criminal justice policies intended to cut down on the number of prisoners they house by shortening sentences, according to the Sentencing Project. For example, Minnesota, New York and Rhode Island each scaled back mandatory sentencing laws for some drug offenses.
By Krissah Thompson, Washington Post

 

03/02/10: California: New jail program targets illegal immigrants
Sonoma County this week will become the first in the Bay Area in which anyone booked into the county jail automatically will have their immigration status checked. Under the program announced Tuesday by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the fingerprints of those arrested will be electronically sent to the Department of Homeland Security for comparison with more than 100 million fingerprint records. Those with immigration records will be flagged for review by ICE agents.
By Julie Johnson, Press Democrat

 

03/02/10: Florida: Hernando County sheriff considers taking over jail operations
After researching the matter, Sheriff Richard Nugent believes he can take over operations of the Hernando County Jail and save the county money. Due to the current economic condition of the county and the continually rising cost of the county's contract with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to operate the jail, Nugent said Tuesday he has conducted research into the possibility of his office assuming the task. The sheriff will make a presentation to county commissioners at their meeting next Tuesday.
Hernando Today

 

03/01/10: Illinois: Lawmakers rail on state's juvenile prison system
Illinois’ system for handling young criminals came under searing criticism Tuesday by lawmakers who said the agency has been mismanaged since it was formed in 2006. In a review of an audit covering the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice’s first two years of existence, members of a legislative panel raised questions about the cost of treating youthful offenders, as well as the agency’s apparent failure to hire guards despite having the money to do so. “This isn’t normal,” said state Sen. Chris Lauzen, R- Aurora, pointing to the nearly $200,000 per year cost to incarcerate each of the 19 minors at a juvenile prison north of Alton. “This is bizarre spending of money.”
By Kurt Erickson, Journal Gazette, Times Courier

 

03/02/10: Oregon: Juvenile correction staff get drug, alcohol training
The state's juvenile corrections agency plans to begin dramatically increasing the number of staff members formally certified to deliver alcohol and drug counseling to youth offenders when it begins training counselors this month. Twenty-five Oregon Youth Authority staff members from the North Coast and MacLaren youth correctional facilities in Warrenton and Woodburn, respectively, will begin formal training at the Warrenton facility March 10. Although the agency has a number of staff members with training in alcohol and drug counseling, only two staff members at these facilities are certified by the Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon.
KOIN News 6

 

03/02/10: Oregon: Jail's first female commander steps in
Commander Sheila Lorance has a closet full of boxes begging to be unpacked onto empty shelves in her new office at the Marion County jail, but that will have to wait. Lorance, who becomes the first female institutions division commander in the sheriff's office's history, was promoted to the position last week and started Monday. "It's a challenge and it is really exciting," Lorance said. "I have a lot to learn."
By Stacey Barchenger, Statesman Journal

 

03/02/10: Pennsylvania: Prison head: Release short-term state inmates to halfway houses
The head of the state prison system today outlined steps that could be taken at little or no cost to free up as many as 2,000 prison beds statewide and save the state $200 million, the cost of a new prison. Current law prevents the Department of Corrections from sending newly jailed inmates -- even those with a "short sentence," meaning less than a year to serve -- to community correctional facilities or halfway houses, Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard told the Senate Appropriations Committee. All new inmates now must go to state prison for the first nine months of their sentence. Since more than 3,500 inmates with short sentences enter the prison system each year, they are a major driver of the state's prison-overcrowding problem.
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette

 

030/1/10: Iowa: Prisoner attacks correctional officer at state prison; adequacy of staffing questioned
A male inmate serving a prison sentence for sexual assault attacked a female correctional officer early Monday at the Mount Pleasant state prison, state officials said. The assault renewed questions about the adequacy of prison staffing in the wake of recent state budget cuts. The incident happened about 3 a.m. inside the Mount Pleasant prison’s sex offender unit when Antonio Mikhal Johnson, 24, stuffed a piece of clothing into the officer’s mouth and wrestled her to the floor, said Fred Scaletta, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections.
By William Pertowski, DesMoines Register

 

02/28/10: Vermont: Jail guard says denial of medication led to attack by mentally ill inmate
A Corrections guard attacked by a mentally ill inmate in 2005 is suing the company that provided health care services to prisons statewide at the time, alleging the firm denied the inmate prescription medications meant to control his penchant for violent outbursts. The guard, Christopher Barrett of Newport, sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of the attack by Daniel Heart, 46, of Whiting, and he has been unable to return to his job at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, where the attack occurred.  Heart was convicted of aggravated assault following the incident.
By Sam Hemingway, Free Press