The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/corrections/prisons/)
Nearly 150,000 mothers will be in prisons and jails this Mother’s Day. And that means their children will effectively be imprisoned as well by a system that inflicts long-term trauma and financial strain on families, says the Prison Policy Initiative.
The controversy began back in March 2019 when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied the request of convicted murderer Patrick Murphy to have a Buddhist spiritual adviser in the execution chamber.
Recommending standardized sentences, and new requirements on time served before qualifying for parole, the task force proposals could end up increasing prison populations and costing taxpayers millions.
Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme that may have bilked clients of at least $17 billion, died in a federal prison early Wednesday. He was serving a 150-year sentence.
Louisiana Rep. Edmond Jordan has put forward legislation to amend the state’s Constitution to abolish forced labor as punishment for those convicted of a crime. If it passes, Louisiana will join other states in abolishing a practice that many consider to be legalized slavery.
Marlon Peterson emerged from 10 years in prison with a degree and a conviction that incarceration is an ultimately futile tool of the U.S. justice system. In an interview for the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation’s “At the Crossroads” series, he tells writer Greg Berman that punishment alone cannot address the traumas at the root of violent criminal behavior.
In states that did not implement a mass testing strategy for incarcerated populations, rates of infection among incarcerated people were nearly eight times the rate for non-incarcerated populations of similar age, gender and race, according to the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice.
Just over a year since the pandemic hit American shores and began to spread, carceral facilities and police departments alike have seen copious amounts of change. Jails and prisons still battle deadly outbreaks, and law enforcement struggles with community relations and hiring new recruits.
Finding persistent, targeted abuse of disabled inmates in California’s prison system, a federal judge on Thursday ordered prison officials to install surveillance cameras and require guards to wear body cameras at five state prisons.
A panel of experts explored the challenges confronting women both formerly and currently incarcerated and addressed an overall need for reform in the state.