A 22-year-old political prisoner has died in Belarus, rights campaigners say

A 22-year-old political prisoner has died behind bars in Belarus, the country's oldest human rights group said Saturday. Russian-born Dmitriy Schletgauer, who had been serving a 12-year sentence for espionage and “facilitating extremist activities” is the seventh dissenter to...

Florida's convicted killer clown released from prison for the murder of her husband's then-wife

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A woman who pleaded guilty to dressing as a clown and in 1990 murdering the wife of a man she later married was released from prison Saturday, ending a case that has been strange even by Florida standards. Sheila Keen-Warren, 61, was released 18 months...

A man is accused of punching and bloodying another passenger who was sleeping on a US flight

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A man faces a felony assault charge after an unprovoked attack on a fellow passenger who was sleeping during a cross-country flight this week, according to authorities. An FBI agent said Everett Chad Nelson punched the other man repeatedly in the face and...

Prisoners plead for air conditioning in lawsuit against Florida corrections department

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — It was the hottest September in more than a century in parts of South Florida, and Dwayne Wilson could hear his 81-year-old fellow inmate gasping for breath and crying out for help at the Dade Correctional Institution, 45 miles southwest of Miami on the edge of the...

9 arrested in federal investigation into drug trafficking at New Mexico prison

MILAN, N.M. (AP) — Nine people were arrested this week in connection with a suspected drug trafficking operation at a federal prison in a small New Mexico town, authorities announced Friday. The arrests were made Wednesday as the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service raided 13 homes across...

Illinois officials take first step toward construction of 2 new prisons

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois officials Friday announced their impending search for a firm to manage the planning and construction of two prisons with a combined budget of $900 million. The Illinois Capital Development Board announced that it will issue a bulletin as early as...

Court confirms federal takeover of a Mississippi jail but limits power over budget

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An appeals court says a federal receiver can proceed with a takeover of a Mississippi jail where a judge found unconstitutional conditions and “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths.” A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled...

Drugs, weapons and electronics seized during sweep at Brooklyn federal jail where 'Diddy' is held

NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators seized drugs, homemade weapons and electronic devices this week during an “interagency operation” aimed at cleaning up the troubled New York City federal jail where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held, the Bureau of Prisons said Friday. The...

Algeria pardons and releases journalist who became a key voice during 2019 pro-democracy protests

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria has pardoned a journalist who emerged as a key voice during the country’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and was later imprisoned for taking foreign funding for his media outlets and threatening state security. Ihsane El Kadi was released from prison...

Algeria pardons journalist who played major role in 2019 democracy protests, later jailed for threatening state security