corrections officers

An investigation of records from 25 county jails across Pennsylvania shows that nearly 1 in 3 "use of force" incidents by guards involved a prisoner who was having a psychiatric crisis or who had a known mental illness. Guards used weapons like stun guns or pepper spray to subdue prisoners who may have been unable to understand what was going on.

Health & Safety

In county jails, guards use pepper spray and stun guns to subdue people in mental crisis

7:01am January 02, 2023

by Brett Sholtis

An investigation finds that corrections officers in Pennsylvania use physical force on people who may be unable to comply with orders due to a mental health condition.

A group of male detainees at an Indiana jail were given the keys to female detainees' cells and allowed to sexually and verbally assault the women, a federal lawsuit alleges.

National

Female inmates allege they were raped after a guard sold cell access for $1,000

5:14pm July 28, 2022

by Ayana Archie

A lawsuit alleges officers at an Indiana jail watched the incident play out, but didn't intervene. A lawyer for the sheriff's office has said the women are seeking financial gain from the department.

The Joliet Treatment Center, southwest of Chicago, is one of four facilities now providing mental health care to some of Illinois' sickest inmates. It's a start, say mental health advocates, but many more inmates in Illinois and across the U.S. still awai

Most Inmates With Mental Illness Still Wait For Decent Care

2:42pm February 03, 2019

by Christine Herman

Nearly three years after the state of Illinois agreed in a court settlement to revamp mental health care in prisons and provide better treatment, a judge says the care remains "grossly insufficient."

A confederacy of prison reform activists rallied at City Hall in New York City to demand that it close the long-controversial Rikers Island Corrections facility where, among others, Kalief Browder, died; critics maintain that the prison is unsafe and prol

National

Why Young People of Color Are Central To 'Raising The Age' Debates

4:01am March 20, 2017

by Gene Demby

The politics of raising the age in New York State are complicated: both liberals and conservatives broadly support raising the age in principle, but question the governor's proposal.