November 19, 2018 United States: prison inmates fight deadliest fire in California history for $1 an hour News United States Scores of prison inmates are engaged fighting California’s deadliest ever wildfire for just $1 an hour – a deployment campaigners say has created the potential for “exploitation and abuse”.
November 19, 2018 USA: women who work in federal prisons — How we got their story News Women United States Ever since journalists exposed Harvey Weinstein for his predatory behavior toward women, we’ve learned that workplace sexual harassment and even assault seem to plague every major industry, from manufacturing to the media. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that women who work in the male-dominated…
November 17, 2018 USA: hazing, humiliation, terror — working while female in federal prison News Women United States Inmates expose themselves and threaten rape. Male guards let them do it. Women who complain are ‘pretty much blackballed.’
November 10, 2018 United States: to lower prison health costs, Maryland serves healthy food News Health Material conditions United States Not long after taking over as warden of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Margaret M. Chippendale noticed a sizable problem: Women were leaving the system a lot heavier than when they arrived.
October 29, 2018 USA: prisons are using video visitation as punishment News Social ties United States While the technology has its uses in the criminal justice system, it’s no substitute for in-person contact. Recently, a feel-good video circulated on Twitter. “Orleans Parish Inmates Get Surprise Visit From Family for Good Behavior” showed incarcerated fathers holding their newborns for the first t…
October 29, 2018 USA: attorneys want all NC prison inmates tested for hepatitis C News Health United States Attorneys for a trio of North Carolina inmates with hepatitis C are trying to change how the state deals with the virus in its prison system.
October 18, 2018 USA: the isolation of being deaf in prison News United States “I didn’t have a way to communicate. And they basically just flipped me the bird.”
October 15, 2018 USA: 'We are going to die from sadness' News United States A rare look inside an immigration prison reveals the suffering of indefinitely detained families: poor schooling, little sleep, and no idea when they will get out
October 15, 2018 USA: Florida evacuates 4,000 inmates from prisons damaged by hurricane Michael News United States Not even a week has passed since Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 storm, obliterating much of the infrastructure in its path. Despite the fair warning before impact, the state Department of Corrections failed to evacuate most of its prison facilities. Now tha…
October 11, 2018 USA: capital punishment has officially ended in Washington state News United States Washington state just abolished capital punishment. On Thursday morning, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s death penalty is unconstitutional because it’s racially biased and arbitrary applied.
October 9, 2018 USA: more women are behind bars now. One prison wants to change that. News Women United States Despite their names, state “departments of correction” in the United States aren’t known for correcting much. More than seven of every 10 prisoners, according to some studies, are arrested again less than four years after they are released.
September 26, 2018 USA: Virginia backtracks on tampon ban for prison visitors News Social ties United States The Virginia Department of Corrections has decided to hold off implementing a controversial new policy that would have barred women from visiting state prisons wearing tampons or menstrual cups.
September 25, 2018 The true history of America's private prison industry News United States Before founding the Corrections Corporation of America, a $1.8 billion private prison corporation now known as CoreCivic, Terrell Don Hutto ran a cotton plantation the size of Manhattan. There, mostly black convicts were forced to pick cotton from dawn to dusk for no pay. It was 1967 and the Beatle…
September 18, 2018 USA: federal prisons fail to provide adequate services for female inmates News Women United States The study by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General reveals a system that fails to meet certain basic needs of prisoners in ways large and small.
September 12, 2018 USA: the national prison strike is over, now is the time prisoners are most in danger News Protest United States Over the last few weeks men and women across the United States – and even as far away as Nova Scotia, Canada – have protested to demand humane treatment for the incarcerated.
September 11, 2018 USA: at least 650 inmates in South Carolina could be stranded when hurricane Florence hits News United States South Carolina officials don’t plan to move at least 650 inmates from a prison located in a county that’s under mandatory evacuation order as Category 4 Hurricane Florence approaches.
September 11, 2018 USA: hundreds of NC inmates are on the move because of Hurricane Florence News United States North Carolina officials say they have begun evacuating hundreds of inmates from state prisons and county jails who are in the projected path of Hurricane Florence.
September 7, 2018 USA: will the 2018 prison strike mean better meals for people inside? News Health Material conditions Protest United States At the conclusion of a nearly three-week prison strike across North America, the incarcerated and advocates have sought better conditions and better food.
September 5, 2018 USA: a mega-merger in the prison phone industry is in the FCC's hands News Social ties United States Securus has had more than its share of negative headlines. In the past few years, the company, which provides technology services to prisons and jails, has been slammed by inmates’ families who say they’re charged outrageous prices to phone loved ones.
August 30, 2018 United States of America: going around in circles Testimonial United States Nate is sentenced to life in prison and is incarcerated in a maximum security facility. He describes, for Prison Insider, his daily life.
August 23, 2018 États-Unis : le maintien à tout prix de la peine de mort en Floride assombrit l'image de l'"état ensoleillé" News Death penalty Violence United States This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
August 22, 2018 États-Unis : "esclavage", "zones de guerre"... Des détenus se mettent en grève News United States This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
August 22, 2018 USA: inside a radical experiment to transform the lives of incarcerated women News Women United States A new prison unit aims to reduce recidivism in Connecticut. But can it become the standard nationwide?
August 21, 2018 USA: the Nationwide Prison Strike, why it’s happening and what it means for ending mass incarceration News United States Brutal treatment from corrections officers, deteriorating prison conditions, and incredibly long, punitive sentences had led to a condition of hopelessness in South Carolina’s prisons.A decision was made: It was time to launch a national prison strike to raise awareness around the brutality of mass…