Tag: Jails
Correctional officers are driving the pandemic in prisons
New research shows correctional officers are vectors of infection, driving COVID-19 rates both inside prisons and in their communities. While prison may isolate people from the larger community, it does not isolate them from COVID-19. Scott…
On first day in Office, LA County District Attorney George Gascón announces move to end cash bail
“I recognize for many this is a new path… Whether you are a protester, a police officer, or a prosecutor, I ask you to walk with me.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Monday, December 7 On…
Neko Wilson released in landmark Arizona case
Despite a unanimous ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals that Wilson has been held illegally since July 2019, it has taken months to reach Tuesday’s final decision allowing him to walk free yesterday. by Levi…
ACLU sues Trump Admin. to obtain key records on federal handling of Coronavirus pandemic in prisons
The suit seeks “the immediate release of improperly withheld agency records related to federal government’s failed response to the spread of Covid-19 in prisons in jails.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Wednesday, October 21 The American…
When “usual residence” is a prison
Census method of counting prisoners distorts demographics. by Jonathan Thompson, High Country News If a demographer were to draw up a profile of eastern Colorado’s Crowley County using the most recent census data, it would appear…
108,000 US inmates infected with Covid-19
Among prisoners, the death rate from the potentially fatal virus is three times higher than average. Report: Only 7% of Inmates’ Loved Ones Say Prisoners Have Soap and Other Basic Necessities to Stop the Spread of…
Tens of thousands attend march in Washington on 57th anniversary of historic Civil Rights rally, today
‘Get Your Knee Off Our Necks’ “We’ve been here before, but this time we know that it is necessary to redefine public safety in order to save black lives.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Friday, August…
ICE guards “systematically” sexually assault detainees in an El Paso detention center, lawyers say
Allegations include guards attacking victims in camera “blind spots” and telling them that “no one would believe” them in ICE detention centers, which imprison about 50,000 immigrants each year at a taxpayer expense of $2.7 billion….
Saying ICE has ‘Lost the right to be trusted,’ Federal Judge orders mandatory testing at detention center hit by Covid-19
Court order follows an outbreak at the Mesa Verde Detention Center and evidence that officials opted not to test detainees for fear of positive test results. by Lisa Newcomb, staff writer Thursday, August 6 A federal…
As the coronavirus rages in prisons, ethical issues of crime and punishment become more compelling
A 1970 image of prisoners in cell blocks at Rikers Island Prison. Bettmann / Contributor/Bettmann via Getty Images by Austin Sarat, Amherst College Thursday, August 6 Across the United States, prisons and jails have become hot…
Supreme Court rules jail does not have to provide basic protections to inmates
As Prisons Across US Report Surge in Covid-19 Cases “There is no legal principle justifying this stay. The only ‘principle’ animating it is the belief of the Republican appointees to the Court that prisoners are subhuman.”…
New ACLU analysis of crime data shreds GOP’s argument against decarceration during pandemic
“With additional decarceral efforts, many further infections can be prevented in the… cities analyzed and many others.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Monday, July 27 An ACLU report released Monday uses data from 29 locations across…
The prison was built to hold 1,500 inmates. It had over 2,000 Coronavirus cases.
Prison overcrowding has been quietly tolerated for decades. But the pandemic is forcing a reckoning. by Dara Lind Thursday, June 18, 11 am. MST Jason Thompson lay awake in his dormitory bed in the Marion Correctional…
Coronavirus in jails and prisons
Despite early warnings, jails and prisons have seen a rapid spread of the virus—a humanitarian disaster that puts all of our communities, and lives, at risk. Every day, The Appeal examines the scale of the crisis,…
Outbreak at private immigration detention center near Abilene
The outbreak at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in rural West Texas is the second-largest among the nation’s 49 immigration detention centers that have seen positive cases. by Texas Tribune Staff, The Texas Tribune May 23, 2020,…
‘If the virus makes it here, this place is a ticking time bomb’, a play and graphic short story
‘If the virus makes it here, this place is a ticking time bomb’ By Laura C. Morel, Thi Bui, Sarah Mirk and Amanda Pike / May 18, 2020 This story was originally published by Reveal from…
What the coronavirus crisis reveals about vulnerable populations behind bars and on the streets
by Stephanie Hartwell, Wayne State University; Ijeoma Nnodim Opara, Wayne State University, and Sheryl Kubiak, Wayne State University The notion that COVID-19 is an equal opportunity killer has crumbled. The health and economic fallout from…
Under COVID cloud, prisons in rural America threaten to choke rural hospitals
by LJ Dawson Thursday, May 14, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic swept into Montana, it spread into the Marias Heritage Center assisted living facility, then flowed into the nearby 21-bed hospital. Toole County quickly became the…
COVID-19 outbreak grows at Arizona jail with largest concentration of U.S. Marshal detainees in nation
by Jude Joffe-Block May 8, 2020 PHOENIX, A private facility in Florence, Arizona that houses more than 3,000 defendants awaiting federal court proceedings is grappling with an outbreak of COVID-19 where at least 20…
