Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

May 11, 2017

Canada: number of prison workers suffering from PTSD much higher than official stats, union says

News

North America Health Canada

Approximately 1 in 20 employees at federal penitentiaries have been diagnosed with stress injuries

May 4, 2017

Canada: Ontario vows to act on solitary confinement limits in new report

News

North America Discipline Canada

Ontario’s prisons adviser has laid out a plan that would catapult the province’s prison system from a national laggard to one of the most progressive in the world by placing hard limits on the use of solitary confinement and prohibiting the segregation of vulnerable prisoner populations.

April 28, 2017

Canada: Justice ministers craft plan to unclog court systems

News

North America Justice Canada

Elimination of some minimum mandatory sentences and reform of bail system will be under review

April 28, 2017

United States: Utah to use firing squads in upcoming executions

News

North America Death penalty United States

Utah will execute three inmates by firing squad for the first time since the method was reinstated in 2015 by Gov. Gary Herbert.

April 27, 2017

United States: YPEI plans inmate teaching program

News

North America United States

Incarcerated people in Connecticut may soon be able to take Yale College courses for academic credit as part of the Yale Prison Education Initiative.

April 25, 2017

United States: privately run federal prison poses safety risks for inmates, says DOJ inspector general

News

North America United States

A new report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General says a privately-run federal prison in Kansas put the safety of its inmates in jeopardy because of understaffing, overcrowding and poor training.

April 25, 2017

United States: policy shifts reduce federal prison population

News

North America United States

A decline in the number of federal prosecutions and in the severity of sentences for drug-related crime in recent years has resulted in a significant drop in the federal prison population, according to statistics from the Judiciary, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), and the Bureau of Prisons (…

April 25, 2017

United States: Arkansas puts two inmates to death in state's first double execution since 2000

News

North America Death penalty United States

Jack Jones and Marcel Williams administered lethal injections after death penalty carried out on fellow convict Ledell Lee last week

April 25, 2017

United States: bill to eliminate death penalty in Louisiana advances past committee

News

North America Justice United States

Every day and night, former Louisiana prosecutor A.M. Stroud thinks about Glenn Ford, the man he wrongfully sent to prison for almost half of his life and who would have been executed by the state had he not been exonerated 30 years after his conviction.

April 24, 2017

United States: we’re jailing way more people who’ve been convicted of exactly nothing

News

North America United States

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promise to close the notoriously overcrowded and brutal Riker’s Island jail made national news last month, but less famous policymakers all over the country struggle with jail overcrowding on a regular basis (see, for example, Kansas, Indiana and Upstate New Yor…

April 24, 2017

United States: fourth Arkansas execution in eight days prompts questions about inmate’s movements

News

North America Death penalty United States

Arkansas executed a death-row inmate late Thursday in the state’s fourth lethal injection in eight days, concluding a frantic execution schedule officials said was necessary to carry out death sentences before one of their drugs expired.

April 24, 2017

United States: women inmates file second suit against state prison doctor

News

North America Women Health United States

Three inmates who claim they were sexually abused by a physician at the state women’s prison have filed a federal lawsuit against the doctor and two other medical staffers.

April 21, 2017

United States: the price of justice doesn't cover the bills

News

North America United States

The money cities generate from bail bonds and conviction fines and fees is not enough to be relied upon.

April 21, 2017

Canada: Ontario faces lawsuit over solitary-confinement practices

News

North America Discipline Canada

Ontario is facing a $600-million lawsuit on behalf of thousands of mentally ill inmates who have served time in solitary confinement since 1985, yet another addition to a glut of litigation currently facing governments in the country over their handling of prisoners in isolation.

April 20, 2017

United States: state prisons putting emphasis on rehabilitation and education

News

North America United States

As California prison officials shift toward inmate programs centered on rehabilitation and education, they are evaluating new regulations for awarding time credits for good behavior and reaching milestones.

April 20, 2017

Canada: Ontario ombudsman calls for sweeping changes to inmate segregation

News

North America Canada

Ombudsman’s probe was launched after inmate Adam Capay was held in segregation for 4 years

April 19, 2017

United States: prisons and jails are forcing inmates to pay a small fortune just to see a doctor

News

North America Health United States

The fees are designed to discourage inmates from seeking care, which could have dangerous consequences.

April 18, 2017

United States: does solitary confinement make inmates more likely to reoffend?

News

North America Discipline United States

As a teenager, Adam Brulotte relished the attention he received from getting into fights at parties. When he was 18 years old, he was arrested for burglary and aggravated assault after punching a man and breaking his jaw in seven places.

April 17, 2017

United States: innovative prison programs boost opportunities for female inmates

News

North America Women United States

For five years, inmates haven’t even had the opportunity to obtain high school equivalency diplomas at the Lackawanna County Prison in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The GED program was scrapped during a county budgeting crisis in 2012 and has yet to be reinstated.

April 11, 2017

United States: official says hunger strike over at South Mississippi prison

News

North America United States

The Mississippi Department of Corrections announced Tuesday that a hunger strike at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution at Leakesville has ended, as the prison system continues to push a crackdown on contraband there and elsewhere.

April 10, 2017

United States: New York raises age of criminal responsibility in 'lightning rod' reform

News

North America United States

Polarizing bill approved in state budget to stop charging 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, sparing teens of criminal records: ‘I lost some years of my life back there’

April 6, 2017

United States: Moore v. Texas: US Supreme Court enforces constitutional prohibition against executing intellectually disabled defendants

News

North America Death penalty United States

A recent Supreme Court judgment in the US is being hailed as a triumph by death penalty abolition advocates.

April 4, 2017

United States: LGBT youth are disproportionately in jail

News

North America United States

A disproportionate number of queer youth, particular lesbians and bisexual girls, end up in jail or prison in the United States, according to a study released today by researchers at UCLA. Worse, those youth are considerably more likely to be raped during their time in custody.

March 14, 2017

Canada: prison watchdog sees sharp decline in use of solitary confinement

News

North America Discipline Canada

Correctional investigator Ivan Zinger notes positive penitentiary trends in report.