prisons

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Report: Inmates Control 65% of Mexico's Prisons

According to review of 101 most populated prisons

(Newser) - Mexico's prisons are in "critical condition," says an official, and a new report seems to confirm it: Sixty-five of Mexico's 101 most populous prisons were controlled by the inmates themselves last year, according to the National Human Rights Commission; that's up 4.3% from 2011....

Irish Prison to Stop Making Inmates Crap in Buckets

182 will no longer have to 'slop out'

(Newser) - Some sweet-smelling news for prisoners at Dublin's Mountjoy Prison: They will no longer have to go to the bathroom in buckets or commodes in their cells, a practice known as "slopping out." Across Ireland, 504 prisoners—about 12% of the country's prison population—still have to...

Celebs Back Calif. Prisoners' Hunger Strike

Jay Leno, Bonnie Raitt, others sign letter to governor

(Newser) - California prisoners have been hunger striking since July 8 to protest the state's use of solitary confinement, and now they have a cohort of celebrities and other big names on their side. In a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown sent yesterday, Gloria Steinem, Jesse Jackson, Bonnie Raitt, Jay Leno,...

What Death Row Inmates Say Before They Die

Texas keeps an online database of last words

(Newser) - Texas executes more inmates than any other state, but its gone are not forgotten. The state memorializes its executed with a morbidly fascinating online database containing each inmate's last statement, the New York Times reports. Some praise a deity, some tell their family they love them one last time,...

What We Spend on Each Gitmo Inmate a Year: $900K

High price could help Obama argue for closure

(Newser) - Obama once again promised to close Guantanamo Bay last week, citing its high operating cost as a factor. Just how high? $150 million a year—or $900,000 per inmate. That's compared to $60,000 to $70,000 for an inmate in a super-max prison. And military officials are...

Hot on Yelp: Prison Reviews
 Hot on Yelp: 
 Prison Reviews 
Apr 29, 2013 12:59 PM CDT

Hot on Yelp: Prison Reviews

But amusing trend underscores serious problem

(Newser) - Planning on committing a crime in the near future? You might want to check Yelp first and make sure you do so in a county that has a nice jail. Yes, prison reviews are increasingly popular on Yelp, with reviewers commenting on everything from cleanliness and food quality to security...

Clue in Colorado DOC Chief Murder: 'Boxy' Car

Police still have no suspects, motive

(Newser) - Colorado is reeling in the fatal shooting of corrections head Tom Clements, and police are scrambling to come up with either suspect or motive. Fearing additional attacks, the state is ramping up security measures for Gov. John Hickenlooper, lawmakers, and other officials, the Denver Post reports. Police aren't sure...

NRA Prisons, 3-Strikes Laws &#39;Gave Us a Headache&#39;
NRA Prisons, 3-Strikes Laws 'Gave Us a Headache'
mother jones
Feb 9, 2013 4:58 PM CST

NRA Prisons, 3-Strikes Laws 'Gave Us a Headache'

'Mother Jones' takes CrimeStrike program to task

(Newser) - Wayne LaPierre tossed off a line at the Senate gun-control hearings : "We've supported prison building." In fact, the NRA backed stricter sentencing and more prisons in a perfect storm of lobbying that Mother Jones says led to a larger and harsher culture of incarceration in America. It...

Home of America&#39;s Cruelest Prisons: Arizona
 Home of America's 
 Cruelest Prisons: Arizona 
in case you missed it
Apr 7, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Home of America's Cruelest Prisons: Arizona

Amnesty International report cites state's overuse of solitary confinement

(Newser) - Of all the places to commit a crime, you may want to avoid Arizona. Amnesty International today released a report blasting the state's "cruel isolation" practices. It claims that Arizona's state prisons overuse solitary confinement, with prisoners spending as long as 15 years alone in a windowless...

Now OK in Prison: MP3 Players
 Now OK in Prison: MP3 Players 
Feb 27, 2012 8:10 AM CST

Now OK in Prison: MP3 Players

Many inmates to get OK to carry devices, pick songs from pre-approved list

(Newser) - The music industry will soon have another chart to keep track of: jailhouse rock. The Bureau of Prisons plans to allow many of its 200,000+ federal inmates to own MP3 players and pick their own soundtrack to prison life, USA Today reports. The devices will be sold in prison...

Man Busts Out of Jail Using Homemade Nunchucks

Lorenzo Pollard recaptured within 48 hours after fighting off a dozen guards

(Newser) - Lorenzo Pollard really, really wanted to get out of jail. The inmate, 31, escaped a medium-security facility in St. Louis after fighting off some dozen guards with home-made nunchucks fashioned from bedsheets and a chair, according to cops. Pollard used the weapon to smash through glass blocks and then scaled...

California Prisons Set to Release 4K Moms

But female inmates who don't have kids are out of luck

(Newser) - Thousands of mothers currently doing time will head home soon as California rushes to shrink prison populations . Moms with 2 years or less left to serve for “non-serious, non-sexual” crimes—possibly half of the state’s 9,500 female prisoners—may be released within days; once home, they’ll...

Tunnels? Today's Jailbreaks Need Hackers

Security experts warn about vulnerable computer systems

(Newser) - A prison warden's worst nightmare came true a few years ago: A freak power surge opened every death row inmate's door at the same time. All ended well, but a security engineer recounts the anecdote to the Huffington Post to highlight a scary vulnerability of modern prisons controlled...

Why We Must Bring Back Flogging
 Why We Must 
 Bring Back Flogging 
OPINION
Jun 16, 2011 12:53 PM CDT

Why We Must Bring Back Flogging

It's more humane than prison, argues Peter Moskos

(Newser) - Prisons were invented to replace “barbaric” corporal punishment—but now, with our prison system failing, there’s only one thing to do: Bring back flogging. Yes, it sounds horrible, writes Peter Moskos in the Washington Post . But “America has a prison problem.” Namely, they cost too much...

US Military Review Calls for Afghan Prison Changes

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s prison system, including the American-run Bagram facility, needs a complete overhaul, according to a new US military review. The current system, which has a dreadful reputation with both human rights advocates and Afghan civilians, houses radical inmates with more moderate prisoners. The offensive in the southern part of...

The Best Prison Breaks
 The Best Prison Breaks 
OPINION
Mar 31, 2009 4:43 PM CDT

The Best Prison Breaks

Frenchman's joins infamous company with clever escape

(Newser) - A Frenchman’s daring escape from a London prison—Julien Chautard turned himself in yesterday after busting out by gripping the bottom of a prisoner transport van as it left the courtyard—gets Jon Henley, in the Guardian, thinking about the best such tries ever. His highlights:

Packed Calif. Prisons Must Dump 1/3 of Inmates: Judges

Judges say squeeze threatens inmate health

(Newser) - A panel of federal judges ruled yesterday that overcrowding in California's 33 prisons—158,00 inmates in space meant for 84,000—poses a threat to inmate health. The court tentatively required the state to reduce the prison population by up to 57,000, the LA Times reports. The governor’...

Record 2.3M Crowd US Prisons
 Record 2.3M Crowd US Prisons 
Jun 12, 2008 5:46 AM CDT

Record 2.3M Crowd US Prisons

Federal report describes system in crisis

(Newser) - A record 7.2 million criminals were behind bars, on parole, or being supervised on probation in 2006—a figure that cost taxpayers $45 billion and has states rethinking sentencing laws and shipping inmates elsewhere, the Washington Post reports. Of that number, 2.3 million people were in jail or...

First Inmates Freed in Crack Overhaul

More than 3,000 eligible for release this year under new sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - Federal prisons are beginning to release prisoners to comply with new crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines, the Washington Post reports. The US Sentencing Commission made more than 3,000 inmates eligible for release this year by voting in December to even out punishments for crack-cocaine offenses against those involving powdered cocaine; crack...

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