penitentiary

7 Stories

Honk for These New Prison Guards in Brazil

Vigilant geese replace dogs at the Penitentiary Complex near Florianopolis

(Newser) - Who needs guard dogs when you have guard geese? Perhaps not as intimidating as a dog with bared teeth, a gaggle of the vigilant, honking birds have replaced canines as guards at a prison in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, Reuters reports. "We have electronic surveillance, in-person...

Killer Put Away for Life Dead in Apparent Suicide

Judge said Kenneth Gleason, murderer of 2 Black men in Louisiana, couldn't be rehabilitated

(Newser) - A white man convicted of the random killing of two Black men in Baton Rouge, La., in 2017 reportedly died by suicide just as he was starting a life sentence. Authorities say Kenneth Gleason, 27, was discovered dead early Wednesday in his cell at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola,...

Feds Investigate Troubled Mississippi Prison System

Move follows string of inmate deaths

(Newser) - The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the Mississippi prison system after a string of inmate deaths in the past few months, officials said Wednesday. Federal prosecutors are looking into conditions at four state prisons after the deaths of at least 15 inmates since late December. The...

2 More Inmates Die in Violence-Plagued Mississippi Prison

That brings total number killed since Dec. 29 to 5 at this prison, 7 total

(Newser) - Two inmates were beaten to death in a fight with other inmates in an understaffed Mississippi prison that has been shaken by other deadly violence in recent weeks, a coroner said. The state Department of Corrections on Tuesday confirmed the men died at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and said...

Why We Must Bring Back Flogging
 Why We Must 
 Bring Back Flogging 
OPINION
Jun 16, 2011 12:53 PM CDT

Why We Must Bring Back Flogging

It's more humane than prison, argues Peter Moskos

(Newser) - Prisons were invented to replace “barbaric” corporal punishment—but now, with our prison system failing, there’s only one thing to do: Bring back flogging. Yes, it sounds horrible, writes Peter Moskos in the Washington Post . But “America has a prison problem.” Namely, they cost too much...

No Cushy 'Camp Fed' for Madoff
 No Cushy 'Camp Fed' for Madoff 
ANALYSIS
Jun 30, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

No Cushy 'Camp Fed' for Madoff

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff’s high profile and long sentence will likely land him in a medium- or high-security prison, Bloomberg reports. Though previous white-collar criminals have spent terms at federal prison “camps,” any sentence longer than 10 years makes an inmate ineligible for that cushy treatment. Insiders also say...

SF Voters Nix Plan to Tear Down Alcatraz

Motion to transform island prison site into peace center fails

(Newser) - Alcatraz Island shouldn't be transformed into a global peace center, San Franciscan voters decided in rejecting a measure on Tuesday's ballot. Only 28% backed the non-binding proposal to convert the one-time penitentiary and tourist hotspot into a peace dome, the New York Times reports. But DaVid, the measure's main sponsor,...

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