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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: prison system

prison system stories: 12 news summaries

 Recession Cuts Into 
 Prison Sentences 

States opt for cheaper routes to justice

Jul 13, 09 10:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - With the recession squeezing their finances, many states are opting to cut the high costs surrounding incarceration—meaning fewer criminals are heading to jail and prison, and more are getting out earlier, the Washington Post reports. Some states are sending drug offenders and drunk drivers to special courts that allow... More »

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drugs • prison • recession • prison system • jail • criminal justice system • imprisonment • DWI • prison sentence

(Newser) - The collective freak-out over closing Guantanamo proves that Americans do care about prisons and prisoners, but Gitmo “is a mere speck in the eye of America’s larger prison program,” writes Dahlia Lithwick in Newsweek. That’s why Sen. Jim Webb of the “lock ‘em... More »

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prison • Guantanamo Bay • mental illness • prison system • James Webb • inmates • prison population

 Supermax Neighbors 
 Fear Gitmo Influx 

Townspeople worry that transfer will make them a target for terrorists

May 23, 09 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - People who live near some of America's most notorious killers fear closing Guantanamo Bay will wreck their neighborhood, the New York Times reports. Residents of Cañon City, Colo., close to the Florence "Supermax" prison, worry the detainees will be transferred there, making them a target for terrorists and... More »

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Guantanamo Bay • prison system • federal prison • Colorado • Guantanamo prisoners • Supermax

US Prisons Leave Driving
to Greyhound

Convicts unescorted
in transfers; feds say there's little risk

Apr 28, 09 2:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Federal convicts regularly transfer themselves between prisons unescorted, riding public transportation without a guard in sight, WFAA-TV reports. Some 5,300 have switched prisons on their own since April 2006; 54,000 have headed to halfway houses. And in 2003-05, 77 escaped while en route. “It’s an inherent... More »

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travel • prison • convict • prison system • transportation • Bureau of Prisons • buses • Greyhound

glossies

 Recession to Unlock 
 Wave of Ex-Cons 


Mar 7, 09 4:54 AM CST
(Newser) - Thousands of prisoners around the country will have the recession to thank for setting them free, Ken Steir writes in Time. With California planning to release nearly 160,000 prisoners from under-funded, overcrowded prisons, and other states transferring drug convicts to rehab, the US is likely to see a wave... More »

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recession • prison system • job market • inmates • prison population • prisoner • Bill Maher Grid

California to End Last Outpost
of Segregation: Prisons

Many expect surge in violence with change

Jun 15, 08 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - California will fully integrate its prison system next month, making it one of the last states to do so, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The state will end the practice of separating new arrivals to the nation's largest prison system based on race. Both guards and inmates are bracing for... More »

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California • prison system • segregation • integration • racial tension • California Department of Corrections • segregated prisons • Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown • University of North Texas

1 in 100 Americans in Prison

'Tough on crime' proving expensive stance as state resources dwindle, study reports

Feb 28, 08 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - One American adult out of 100 is incarcerated, a new study shows—the first time in US history such a high proportion of the population is behind bars. The Pew Center on the States reports the nationwide prison population grew by 25,000 last year, to 1.6 million, with... More »

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California • Department of Justice • FBI • Texas • prison • prison system • prisoners • jail • prison population • Pew Center on the States • race in prison • Paul Cassell • nonviolent offenders

Filling Jails Doesn't
Cut Crime

Study concludes that  longer sentences don't make streets safer

Nov 20, 07 6:23 AM CST
(Newser) - Getting tough on criminals through longer prison terms—at an annual cost of tens of billions of US taxpayer dollars—hasn't made a major impact on crime, concludes a study released yesterday. The US prison population has increased 800% since 1970—giving the nation has the world's highest incarceration rate—... More »

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Department of Justice • prison • crime • prison system • Drug Enforcement Administration • drug abuse • violent crime • prison population

Americans Losing Taste for
Death Penalty

Capital sentences and executions slow as public attitudes change

Sep 2, 07 7:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Capital punishment seems to be dying a slow death in the US. As public sentiment shifts toward life sentences, the number of death sentences has dropped 60% since the mid-'90s and the number of executions has fallen 46% since 1999, reports the Economist. Then there’s Texas, which has carried... More »

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death penalty • crime • execution • capital punishment • prison system • death row

(Newser) - How much is a year of jail time worth if you're falsely convicted? The potential awards vary widely, the American Prospect reports. Some states fix rates, with exonerated Wisconsinites claiming $5,000 per year in the clink while those from Alabama get $50,000. Twenty-two states have no laws guaranteeing... More »

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prison • prison system • conviction • wrongful conviction • exonerate

Send Cons Home to Do Time, Says Paris Sheriff

Give 2,000 inmates
the Hilton treatment, Lee Baca urges

Jul 12, 07 5:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - The sheriff who put Paris Hilton on mansion arrest is now championing a bill that would curb the overcrowding in California jails by sending thousands of other Los Angeles County inmates home to carry out their sentences. Some 2,000 low-level offenders would be tracked via ankle monitoring devices under... More »

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California • prison • police • Paris Hilton • Los Angeles • Lee Baca • LA County Jail • convict • prison system • overcrowding • jail

Pay-to-Stay Prisons Have a Lock on Style

No price on freedom, but cash buys kinder incarceration in California jails

Apr 29, 07 4:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Californians convicted of minor, non-violent crimes can pony up to stay in jail cells that look more like college dormitories, the New York Times reports. For $75 to $127 a day these in-the-know inmates are separated from violent offenders and, in some cases, allowed a cell phone, laptop, or iPod. More »

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California • prison • self pay jails • convict • prison system • jail

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