prisons

Inmates point from inside the La Modelo facility in Bogotá, Colombia, on Sunday. Violence broke out in the prison out of inmates' fears that prison guards are not doing enough to prevent coronavirus inside overcrowded prisons.

World News

U.N. Calls For Countries To Reduce Prison Populations

1:31pm March 25, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

The U.N. human rights chief says authorities should look for ways to release people in detention who are especially vulnerable to the disease, such as those who are elderly or who have health issues.

A picture of a cell at the state prison in Florence, Ariz., where attorneys for the Prison Law Office and ACLU found what they called "squalid" and "filthy" conditions on a recent tour.

National

Prisons And Jails Change Policies To Address Coronavirus Threat Behind Bars

5:00am March 23, 2020

by Jimmy Jenkins

Some prisons are waiving fees for hygiene supplies and county jails are releasing certain inmates early to combat the potential threat posed by the Covid-19 virus.

Corrections health experts have been urging prison administrators to plan for coronavirus.

National

Prisons And Jails Worry About Becoming Coronavirus 'Incubators'

4:18pm March 13, 2020

by Martin Kaste

Inmates and guards don't have the option of staying home during a coronavirus outbreak, so detention centers risk becoming "incubators" for the disease. Some are scrambling to mitigate the risk.

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Sarah Ziegenhorn and Andy Beeler shared a selfie while hiking in Texas' Big Bend National Park in December 2018. Beeler died of an opioid overdose last March. Ziegenhorn traces his death to the many obstacles to medical care that Beeler experienced while

Health & Safety

They Fell In Love Helping Drug Users. But Fear Kept Him From Helping Himself

3:41pm February 24, 2020

by Will Stone

Sarah and Andy were in love and also advocates, determined to keep drug users from dying. But when his own addiction reemerged, Andy's fear of returning to prison kept him from the best treatment.

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Hip-hop artist Mysonne, co-founder of the prisoner rights group United Freedom, speaks at a mass rally at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson in January to protest conditions in prisons where inmates have been killed in violent clashes.

National

DOJ To Investigate Mississippi Prisons After Spate Of Inmate Deaths

12:08pm February 06, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The Justice Department's civil rights division will examine conditions at four state prisons, including the oldest, Parchman, where a prison riot broke out on Dec. 29.

Shane MacLeod is covered head-to-toe in tattoos. He says he's tired of being pre-judged.

National

Tattoo Removal Programs Help Former Inmates Wipe The Slate Clean

11:45am January 16, 2020

by Judith Kogan

For people who have been incarcerated, head and neck tattoos are often a barrier to reentering society and getting jobs. Some former inmates are removing their tattoos to help leave the past behind.

Va. Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Friday that he is "deeply disturbed" by reports of a young girl being strip searched at a corrections facility last month.

National

Virginia Governor Suspends Policy Allowing Strip Searches Of Children At Prisons

7:14pm December 06, 2019

by Brakkton Booker

An 8-year-old girl was strip searched at Buckingham Correctional Center last month. A prison spokesperson says the prison staffer who approved the search didn't have the authority to do so.

Politics & Government

North Carolina Creates New Prison Leadership Position

11:07am June 03, 2019

by Neal Charnoff

North Carolina has created a new leadership position to oversee the state's troubled prison system.

Todd Ishee will become the state's first Commissioner of Prisons, effective June 24th.

Courts

Report Sheds Light On The Number Of People In 'Correctional Control'

3:53pm December 11, 2018

by Sean Bueter

A new report from a non-partisan advocacy group is comparing North Carolina's correctional system to others across the country.

A view inside Rhode Island's John J. Moran Medium Security Prison, in Cranston. Rhode Island is the only state to screen every individual who comes into the correctional system for opioid use disorder, and to offer, in conjunction with with counseling, al

Rhode Island Prisons Push To Get Inmates The Best Treatment For Opioid Addiction

8:19pm November 19, 2018

The state has started to reduce overdose deaths by offering counseling and medication for opioid addiction in prison. Research finds the treatment helps inmates avoid relapse after release.

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