Latest Prisons News
COVID-19 variant looked for as culprit of prison outbreak
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials on Wednesday sought to determine whether a coronavirus variant might be fueling a new outbreak at a minimum-security state prison where inmates regularly work in surrounding communities. The state Department of Health and Environment has been watching for...
Feds withheld info on virus cases following executions
WASHINGTON (AP) — At least two journalists tested positive for coronavirus after witnessing the Trump administration's final three federal executions, but the Bureau of Prisons knowingly withheld the diagnoses from other media witnesses and did not perform any contact tracing, The Associated Press has...
Some Alabama lawmakers question Ivey's prison lease plan
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Some Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday questioned Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to lease three new mega-prisons, saying they want to see more financial details on the plan before the administration signs the agreements. The governor's administration plans to lease three mega prisons...
Guards upset over lack of vaccination plan in prisons
Connecticut's unionized prison guards expressed anger Wednesday over what they say is the lack of a plan to vaccinate them against COVID-19. Jody Barr, the executive director of AFSCME Council 4, said the union was told there would be a plan to vaccinate prison employees by early January, but they have yet to...
Health nonprofit barred from aiding inmates over BLM support
The Hancock County sheriff ended the work of a nonprofit with jail inmates recovering from addiction in June because the organization had put out a statement supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement. Sheriff Scott Kane terminated the agreement with Healthy Acadia, which provided peer mentors for inmates in...
Zimbabwean journalist released on bail after weeks in prison
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s High Court on Wednesday freed on bail journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who had spent nearly three weeks in prison — his third detention in five months. Chin’ono repeatedly expressed fears of catching COVID-19 in jail due to the overcrowded...
Biden orders Justice Dept. to end use of private prisons
President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the Department of Justice to end its reliance on private prisons and acknowledge the central role government has played in implementing discriminatory housing policies. In remarks before signing the orders, Biden said the U.S. government needs to change “its whole...
2 escaped inmates from an Arizona prison have medical issues
PHOENIX (AP) — Two inmates who escaped from an Arizona prison in Florence last weekend both have medical issues and may try to visit drug stores or pharmacies, authorities said Tuesday as the search continued. Arizona Department of Public Safety officials on Tuesday released a surveillance photo they said...
Efforts slow to reduce crowded Texas jail amid pandemic
HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday expressed frustration over what she saw as a lack of progress in efforts to try and relieve overcrowding at Texas’ largest county jail, where some inmates have described the facility as a “metal can of contagion” because of ongoing concerns...
Indictment: Pair used drones to drop drug packages at prison
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — Two men allegedly used a drone to drop drugs and cell phones into the yard at an Ohio prison last summer in what authorities described as an “Easter egg hunt” for inmates. Michael Eugene Russell Williford Jr., 28, of East Cleveland, and Bryan Douglas Shepherd, 27, of...
LOADING MORE STORIES
