prisons

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Inmates Flee as Floods Bring Prison Walls Down

Authorities have recaptured just 7 of the 281 inmates who escaped from prison in Maiduguri, Nigeria

(Newser) - Nigerian authorities said 281 inmates escaped after devastating floods brought down a prison's walls in the country's northeast. A major dam collapsed on Sept. 10, unleashing severe flooding that left 30 people dead and more than a million displaced, and prompted evacuations across the state of Borno, reports...

US Food Chain Rides Heavily on Backs of Prison Labor
US Food Chain Rides Heavily
on Backs of Prison Labor
INVESTIGATION
Jan 29, 2024 1:17 PM CST

US Food Chain Rides Heavily on Backs of Prison Labor

Major companies are making bank off forced labor: AP

(Newser) - In a sweeping two-year investigation, the AP found that goods linked to the forced labor of US prisoners wind up in the supply chains of a dizzying array of products, from Frosted Flakes cereal and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour and Coca-Cola beverages. They're on the...

Honk for These New Prison Guards in Brazil

Vigilant geese replace dogs at the Penitentiary Complex near Florianopolis

(Newser) - Who needs guard dogs when you have guard geese? Perhaps not as intimidating as a dog with bared teeth, a gaggle of the vigilant, honking birds have replaced canines as guards at a prison in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, Reuters reports. "We have electronic surveillance, in-person...

Solitary Confinement Is No More in NYC

NYC Mayor Eric Adams vows to veto City Council's ban on practice some call akin to torture

(Newser) - Lawmakers on Wednesday banned most instances of solitary confinement in New York City, over the protests of the city's mayor. The City Council's 39-7 vote greenlit the ban, which allows for inmates to be placed in isolation for "deescalation" purposes for no more than four hours at...

Massive Operation Clears Out Prison Run by Inmates

Venezuela's Tocoron prison had its own zoo, nightclub

(Newser) - Venezuela's government has congratulated security forces on clearing out a "center of conspiracy and crime"—the notorious Tocoron prison. The BBC reports that 11,000 security personnel took part in the clearing of the prison, which had been run by inmates for years and functioned more as...

Inmates Sue Prison Over Forced Labor in Fields

Punishment for not meeting quotas can include solitary confinement, filing says

(Newser) - Men incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary filed a class-action lawsuit Saturday, contending they have been forced to work in the prison's fields for little or no pay, even when temperatures soar past 100 degrees. They described conditions as cruel, degrading, and often dangerous, the AP reports. The men, most...

Inmates in Hot Prison Return to Their Cells Peacefully

Prisoners objected to lack of air conditioning, limited access to showers

(Newser) - A Minnesota prison has "resolved without incident" a situation involving about 100 inmates in one housing unit who would not return to their cells Sunday, in what a former inmate called an act of "self-preservation" in the face of dangerously high temperatures in the region. The situation was...

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...

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...

Inmates Struggle to Pay for Prison Stay After Release

Suit battles Connecticut law that bills prisoners $249 per day

(Newser) - Two decades after her release from prison, Teresa Beatty feels she is still being punished. When her mother died two years ago, the state of Connecticut put a lien on the Stamford home she and her siblings inherited. It said she owed $83,762 for her 2½-year imprisonment for...

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...

Alabama's Plan for $400M in COVID Relief Proves Contentious

Jerry Nadler asks Treasury to block plan to build 3 prisons, renovate 4 others

(Newser) - Alabama lawmakers plan to use almost 20% of the state's federal pandemic relief money to build three new prisons and renovate four others. Lawmakers in the state, which has the highest COVID-19 death rate in the country, initiated a special session Monday to discuss the $1.3 billion plan,...

NY Governor Makes Move on 'Out of Control' Rikers Island

Kathy Hochul signs new legislation, releases 191 prisoners to relieve overcrowding

(Newser) - Update: State lawmakers who'd lobbied New York's governor to address the overcrowding crisis at Rikers Island have seen results. Per CBS , Kathy Hochul on Friday signed the Less Is More Act and ordered 191 inmates, most with technical parole violations, to be released from the beleaguered prison complex....

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...

Cell Check Missed Beheaded Inmate: IG Reports

Guards instead reported both California prisoners were alive

(Newser) - It must have taken hours to decapitate and dissect the body of Luis Romero in his cell at California's Corcoran State Prison. But the guards, who were supposed to be checking the cells, didn't see anything. In fact, they reported that everyone was fine, according to two reports...

Navalny May Be in a 'Situation of a Slow Death'

So says Amnesty International

(Newser) - Amnesty International is weighing in on Alexei Navalny's prison conditions, and it isn't pulling punches. "We have to do more," said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard on Wednesday. "[They] have already attempted to kill him, they are now detaining him, and imposing prison conditions,...

NY Puts Kibosh on 'Inhumane' Prison Policy

New law will bar solitary confinement for more than 15 days in a row

(Newser) - A prison policy labeled by many as "torture," "inhumane," and "counterproductive" is ending in New York state. On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law the HALT Act , a measure that bars the use of solitary confinement for more than 15 days in a row...

He Survived 18 Years in Solitary Confinement
He Survived
18 Years in 
Solitary 
Confinement
OPINION
Mar 25, 2021 12:30 PM CDT

He Survived 18 Years in Solitary Confinement

Ian Manuel pleads for end to juvenile solitary confinement

(Newser) - Ian Manuel had just finished seventh grade when he shot a woman in the face during a robbery. It was "the act of a 13-year-old in crisis," Manuel writes in a New York Times op-ed, adding that the "cruel and unusual punishment" that followed did not fit...

1 in 5 US Prisoners Has Had COVID-19
Prison Infections
Hit a New High
Dec 18, 2020 4:35 PM CST

Prison Infections Hit a New High

Infections among inmates have to be addressed before the pandemic can end, expert says

(Newser) - One in every five state and federal prisoners in the US has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population. In some states, more than half of prisoners have been infected, according to data collected by the AP and the Marshall...

4 Guards Face Prison After Inmate's Beating

Alabama corrections officers are charged

(Newser) - Four former corrections officers have been charged in the 2018 beating of an inmate in Alabama. A male prisoner was taken down by officers at the Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent, Ala., on Sept. 12, 2018, after running out of his cell. Jordan Thomas, Kevin Blaylock, and Sgt. Keith Finch...

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