Corrections News

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="13c785a3.jpg"> <div> <B>CORRECTIONS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITION</B><B>   </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=156 BGCOLOR="#A0A0A4" TEXT="#080000" background="13dd2b03.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CORRECTIONS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE COALITI"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> </B><B>Corrections News</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Officers News"><U><B>From The Front Line</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Officers News"><U><B>Officers' Exchange</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Federal Legislation"><U><B>Federal Legislation</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meeting Dates"><U><B>Meeting Dates</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Membership Links"><U><B>Member Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Research Links"><U><B>Research Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Workplace Safety and Standards Committee"><U><B>Workplace Safety</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Corrections News</I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.startribune.com/nation/18842709.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.startribune.com/nation/188427"><U><U>05/11/08: Indiana: Growing number of states let inmate moms keep newborns to bond, break cycle of incarceration</U></U></A></div> <div> Three-week-old Kevin fussed in mother Melissa Lankey's arms until she started singing softly to him, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." The newborn began dozing within seconds. "That's kind of our little song. It usually calms him right down," Lankey said.</div> <div> By KEN KUSMER, Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2008/05/10/news/doc4824b26fb3754324641697.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/"><U><U>05/10/08: Arizona: Prison complex still on lockdown day after fights</U></U></A></div> <div> The Mojave Unit at the state prison facility in Douglas remained locked down Thursday afternoon. The lockdown continued a day after unrest at the prison. Nolberto Machiche, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections, said the cause of the unrest is still under investigation.</div> <div> By Gentry Braswell, Daily Dispatch</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_130200506.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_st"><U><U>05/10/08: Massachusetts: Suspicious white powder prompts quarantine at jail</U></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> When an envelope full of a suspicious white powder forced 18 Essex County Sheriff's Department administrators into quarantine yesterday, TV superhero Jack Bauer helped lend a hand - sort of - at Middleton Jail. Bauer's name was the correct answer in a Hangman game that some of the 18 administrators were playing to relieve more than three hours of boredom as a regional hazardous materials team investigated, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Paul Fleming, among those quarantined. The incident started around 10:20 a.m. when a secretary opened an envelope that turned out to be filled with a white powder.</div> <div> By Mike Stcuka, Salem News</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/355163.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/"><U><U>05/09/08: California: Several CMC inmates found to have syphilis</U></U></A></div> <div> California Men’s Colony is halting inmate transfers and barring conjugal visits after several cases of syphilis were reported this week. Prison officials were notified Monday by medical staff that several inmates had been diagnosed with the sexually transmitted disease, according to acting prison spokesman Andrew Pitoniak. The exact number of cases was unknown Thursday. </div> <div> By Leslie Parrilla, San Luis Obispo Tribune</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.guards09may09,0,3773535.story?track=rss" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/b"><U><U>05/09/08: Maryland: O'Malley meets with correctional officials</U></U></A></div> <div> Gov. Martin O'Malley met yesterday with prison officials in Western Maryland, where more than 20 correctional officers were fired recently after allegations of inmate abuse, and said he would consider extending the time before disciplinary action is taken in such cases. Officers and union officials complained that the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services acted too hastily in response to several incidents in March during which officers were accused of beating inmates, failing to intervene or subsequently covering up for colleagues. Twenty-five officers were fired within 30 days, the time frame allowed for disciplinary action, and two were rehired after they were cleared of wrongdoing by further investigation.</div> <div> By Laura Smitherman, Baltimore Sun</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://casperstartribune.net/articles/2008/05/10/news/wyoming/c036ce4195118569872574430001a698.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://casperstartribune.net/articles/20"><U><U>05/08/08:Wyoming: Wyo sends minimum-security inmates to maximum-security prison</U></U></A></div> <div> Sixteen minimum-security inmates from Wyoming are among the more than 100 inmates the state has sent to a maximum-security Virginia prison that has been the target of human rights complaints over the years.Some civil liberties groups say Wallens Ridge State Prison, in Big Stone Gap, Va., is inappropriate for minimum-security inmates. Virginia built the prison in the late 1990s as a "supermax" facility exclusively for the most dangerous inmates, but downgraded it to a maximum-security prison in 2002.</div> <div> By BEN NEARY, Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.kxxv.com/global/story.asp?s=8286646" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.kxxv.com/global/story.asp?s=8"><U><U>05/07/08: Texas: Inmate Slashes Guard At Gatesville Prison</U></U></A></div> <div> A criminal investigation has been launched at a women's correctional facility after a female prison guard was attacked by an inmate. About 12:15 Wednesday morning, a Gatesville Unit guard making routine checks in a minimum security dorm was grabbed from behind and slashed by an inmate with a knife-like weapon. The guard, whose name was not released, was taken to Coryell Memorial Hospital to be treated for lacerations to her throat, neck, and arms.</div> <div> By Tihanna McCleese, KXXV TV New 25</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=8286153" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=8"><U><U>05/07/08: Virginia: Sheriff's deputies attacked by mentally ill inmate</U></U></A></div> <div> A Newport News Sheriff's Deputy is recovering in the hospital. Jail officials say Colonel Brian Dodge and a fellow deputy were attacked by a mentally ill inmate. Newport News Lieutenant Gerald Grogan says Dodge had emergency surgery to repair his injuries after Tuesday night's jail cell attack. He's recovering at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News.</div> <div> By Katie Collett, WAVY TV New 10</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=14857" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/"><U><U>05/07/08: Washington: Inmate reportedly stabs jail sergeant</U></U></A></div> <div> An inmate awaiting transfer to an out-of-state federal prison stabbed a Spokane County Jail sergeant Wednesday morning in what the sheriff's office called an example of escalating violence at the crowded jail. Sgt. Donald Hooper suffered an ear laceration and two puncture wounds to his cheek when Michael J. Wigren, 26, punched him while holding a bendable pen, given to inmates to use for legal papers. Hooper was treated and released at a hospital and Wigren, who was being held on federal charges for making threats to U.S Senator Patty Murray and the FBI, was transported out of the jail as scheduled.</div> <div> By Meghann M. Cuniff, Spokesman Review</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sacbee.com/capolitics/story/911060.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sacbee.com/capolitics/story/9"><U><U>05/04/08: California: Parolees get a chance in community programs</U></U></A></div> <div> California corrections officials are again diverting thousands of parole violators into community programs instead of sending them to prison, hoping this time the experiment doesn't fail. Since August, the prison population has steadily declined as the state pours millions of dollars into community programs like drug treatment and electronic home detention. Four years ago, a similar effort collapsed.</div> <div> By Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/18555194.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/1855519"><U><U>05/04/08: Louisiana: Prison employees testify</U></U></A></div> <div> One of the five Louisiana State Penitentiary inmates accused of first-degree murder in the death of a security officer offered to testify against the other four soon after the slaying, prison employees said during a pre-trial hearing Saturday. Jeffrey Cameron Clark followed up his initial offers with a lengthy October 2001 letter offering to make a deal for his testimony in the case, Angola Deputy Warden Darrel Vannoy testified. Attorneys for the so-called Angola 5 are trying to persuade 20th Judicial District Judge George H. Ware Jr. to throw out statements the defendants made about the Dec. 28, 1999, death of Capt. David C. Knapps, claiming the statements were gained through beatings and other forms of duress.</div> <div> By James Minton, The Advocate</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-10/120996213962360.xml&coll=1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/ind"><U><U>05/04/08: New Jersey: State acts silently on smuggled prison gun</U></U></A></div> <div> It was a major security breach for the state Department of Corrections, with potentially deadly consequences: A loaded .32-caliber semi-automatic handgun was found inside the walls of New Jersey State Prison on Aug. 4, 2006. Commissioner George Hayman responded by ordering the Trenton prison's 1,800 inmates locked in their cells for three weeks. Officers performed one of the most exhaustive searches in the prison's history to ensure no other firearms were stashed inside the state's only maximum-security jail.</div> <div> BY RICK HEPP, Star-Ledger</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.projo.com/news/content/aci_mail_policy_rescinded_05-05-08_EIA0AK6_v18.27b942f.html?npc" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.projo.com/news/content/aci_ma"><U><U>05/04/08: Rhode Island: ACI mail policy rescinded</U></U></A></div> <div> The Department of Corrections has rescinded a new mail policy after an inmate and local civil libertarians criticized it as unconstitutional. And now the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union is investigating whether segregation punishment meted out to the inmate who crusaded against the new policy was retribution for his objections. Last year, corrections officials, saying they wanted to prevent inmates from extorting items from each other and reduce the time-consuming process of reviewing incoming mail, banned a common method that inmates around the country use for receiving books and magazines.</div> <div> By Tom Mooney, Providence Journal</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wtov9.com/news/16133053/detail.html?rss=steu&psp=news" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wtov9.com/news/16133053/detai"><U><U>05/02/08: Ohio: Prison Workers Protesting Job Cuts</U></U></A></div> <div> Prison workers at the Belmont Correctional Institution have been on the picket line since 5 a.m. Friday, protesting 16 job cuts that could come in the near future. The possible job cuts have been proposed by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. Workers said they are protesting to inform the community about what's happening at the institution.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20080502/NEWS04/805020371/1004/SPORTS" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/"><U><U>05/02/08: Vermont: Tentative agreement on prison overhaul</U></U></A></div> <div> House and Senate lawmakers reached a tentative compromise Thursday on a massive plan to overhaul Vermont's prison system. After two days of back-and-forth meetings, House lawmakers agreed to the main thrust of the proposal - the closing and reorganization of several state prisons - while senators agreed to some changes in how to spend the expected savings from the move. The compromise proposal, which is expected to be finalized this morning, will result in the closing of Waterbury's Dale facility, with female inmates being sent to a St. Albans prison, and the opening of a new work camp for male offenders in Windsor.</div> <div> By Daniel Barlow, Times Argus</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/POLITICS/805020359" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art"><U><U>05/01/08: Michigan: Prison costs on agenda</U></U></A></div> <div> Policymakers say continued growth of Michigan's sprawling, $2-billion-a-year prison system is unsustainable when the state is struggling to pay for such priorities as education, health care and police. Some of the top thinkers regarding Corrections strategies are convening in the capital today to discuss reforms that could help the state get a handle on prison spending without compromising public safety. Speakers at the sessions - expected to draw about 100 people - will include the state's deputy Corrections director, leaders of the two sections of the State Bar of Michigan, a sheriff, a prosecutor and the head of the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency.</div> <div> By Gary Heinlein and Charlie Cain, Detroit News </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080501/geo_group_michigan_facility.html?.v=1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080501/geo_group"><U><U>05/01/08: Michigan: GEO Group plans expansion of Michigan prison</U></U></A></div> <div> GEO Group Inc., which operates prisons and mental health centers, said Thursday it plans to expand its idle 500-bed prison in Baldwin, Mich. GEO expects the expansion of the North Lake Correctional Facility to cost about $60 million and to be completed by the second quarter of 2009. The 1,225-bed expansion of the company-owned prison will increase its capacity to 1,725 beds. GEO expects to market the prison to federal and state agencies around the country.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/05/02/news/local/doc481a68f998328426028469.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008"><U><U>05/01/08: Nebraska: Inmate sues over missing porn</U></U></A></div> <div> Someone’s stealing Nebraska State Penitentiary inmate Raul Calderon’s adult magazines, he claimed this week, and he wants a federal judge to get to the bottom of it all. Calderon, 31, said in legal papers that, since about October, he did not receive between 10 and 15 issues of three magazines he subscribes to. Two of the magazines have been described as pornographic, and the third as “adult male.”</div> <div> By the Lincoln Journal Star</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/05/02/news/latest/doc481a686ae3342466932628.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/05"><U><U>05/01/08: New York: Union calls for removal of mental health unit at prison </U></U></A></div> <div> The union that represents correction officers at Great Meadow Correctional Facility is calling for the state to scrap a new prison unit for the mentally ill because of security concerns. Great Meadow was one of two state prisons that established so-called "behavioral health units" in 2005 after the settlement of a lawsuit against the state Department of Correctional Services over mental health care. As part of the settlement, the state designated a 38-cell area as a behavioral health unit at the maximum-security prison in an effort to better treat the severely mentally ill who are in the prison system.</div> <div> By Don Lehman, Post Star</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wtov9.com/news/16119232/detail.html?rss=steu&psp=news" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wtov9.com/news/16119232/detai"><U><U>05/01/08: Ohio: Prison Workers: Inmate Violence On The Rise And Not Stopping</U></U></A></div> <div> Today workers at the Belmont Correctional Institution are protesting because they say inmate violence is on the rise and will only get worse with expected worker cuts on the way. As part of Governor Ted Strickland's plan to save the state of Ohio money prison-worker jobs across the state, and in Belmont County, are being cut. It's the loss of jobs that prison worker and union leader Terry Dayton told NEWS9 is concerning, especially considering what he called a rise a in inmate violence at the prison.</div> <div> WTOV News 9</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2008/04/30/news/news03.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2008/04/"><U><U>04/30/08: Arkansas: Inmate Jump Puzzles Officials</U></U></A></div> <div> Since January, the state prison population has averaged 108 new inmates a month, more than three times the monthly average over the past 10 years, the state Board of Corrections heard Tuesday. Officials were at a loss to explain the spike in numbers. We’re not sure what’s going on,” state Prison Director Larry Norris said, hinting during the board’s monthly meeting he might ask the Legislature next year for additional funding to build a new prison.</div> <div> By Bob Moritz, Times Record</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/tcoast/epaper/2008/04/30/m1a_sex_harass_0501.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=77" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/conten"><U><U>04/30/08: Florida: Nurse felt like sexual 'bait' in prison job, she tells jury</U></U></A></div> <div> After 10 years as an emergency room nurse in Broward County, Vesna Poirier began hunting for a new job in Martin County, where she and her family were building a home. Her search turned up an opening for a prison nurse at the Martin Correctional Institution near Indiantown, the only local job she could find at the time that offered her 40 steady hours a week, plus all the overtime she wanted. Poirier told federal jurors Wednesday that she realized she had become prey on her first full day at work in September 2000, when she walked alone along an outside corridor facing a group of prison cell windows.</div> <div> By DAPHNE DURET, Palm Beach Post</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/services/content/local_news/epaper/2008/04/29/0429sagopalmpahokee.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=76" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/services/co"><U><U>04/29/08: Florida: Adult prison in Pahokee to replace juvenile lockup</U></U></A></div> <div> The Sago Palm Academy for juvenile offenders will soon reopen as a prison for 384 adults. The Department of Corrections will place the same kind of offenders in the Pahokee facility that it does in work camps around the state, spokeswoman Jo Ellyn Rackleff said. The state budget, which is being distributed to lawmakers for final approval this week, includes an $8.2 million appropriation for Sago Palm and another prison in Polk County. </div> <div> By Kathleen Chapman, Palm Beach Post</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wpsdtv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=14a6caee-afd9-48f0-910b-c43ddb8581d9&rss=672" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wpsdtv.com/news/local/story.a"><U><U>04/29/08: Kentucky: Jail Preps For Challenges If Faced With Amish Inmate</U></U></A></div> <div> A second Western Kentucky county has been drawn into the battle between a religious sect and area law enforcement. Since January, members of the Amish community in Graves County have been cited for refusing to display the orange slow-moving vehicle triangle on their buggies. Now one of the men charged in Graves County faces charges in Hickman County as well.</div> <div> By Gabriel Roxas, WPSD News 6</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://yankton.net/stories/042908/com_273237486.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://yankton.net/stories/042908/com_27"><U><U>04/29/08: South Dakota: Faith-Based Retreat Program Offered To Area Prison Inmates</U></U></A></div> <div> Sixteen people from the South Dakota and Iowa region spent 3 1/2 days at the Yankton Federal Prison Camp this past week to provide a retreat, Brothers in Blue of South Dakota, for inmates there. The program was introduced to the prison in Fall 2007 and plans are to bring the program to more South Dakota prisons in the future. Brothers in Blue director Stan Visser of Rock Valley, Iowa, said the presentations and prayer the team members brought to the prison are intended to provide a "short course in Christian living."</div> <div> By Loretta Sorensen, Press & Dakotan</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=192323&format=html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displ"><U><U>04/28/08: Maryland: Three Roxbury officers honored for saving inmate's life</U></U></A></div> <div> Three Roxbury Correctional Institution officers have been honored for their roles in helping save the life of an inmate who was stabbed April 12. RCI Warden Nancy Rouse named Sgt. Earl Clark, Officer Kevin Bittney and Officer Richard Smith as the prison's employees of the month for May. When the officers realized the extent of the inmate's injuries, they applied pressure to the wound, took him to the prison's dispensary and called 911, Rouse said Monday in a telephone interview.</div> <div> By ERIN JULIUS, Herald Mail</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6409458&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/New"><U><U>04/28/08: Utah: Jail Populations Scrutinized for Immigrants</U></U></A></div> <div> Federal immigration agents are visiting Utah jails with a renewed emphasis on finding immigrants who have been arrested by local police. In March, immigration agents announced an expansion of the jail program. They're now using improved technology to record fingerprints in a database and alert authorities when a previously arrested immigrant is again booked into a jail.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/5734401.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/biza"><U><U>04/27/08: Arkansas: 300-pound inmate sues over Arkansas jail food</U></U></A></div> <div> An inmate awaiting trial on a murder charge is suing the county, complaining he has lost more than 100 pounds because of the jailhouse menu. Broderick Lloyd Laswell says he isn't happy that he's down to 308 pounds after eight months in the Benton County jail. He has filed a federal lawsuit complaining the jail doesn't provide inmates with enough food.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/343895.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/"><U><U>04/27/08: California: Paso plan includes 2 fences, 2 towers</U></U></A></div> <div> Not reusing El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility for up to two adult prisons and an inmate-staffed fire camp would be a waste of taxpayer resources, retiring state prisons secretary James Tilton said Friday. Plans presented by Tilton’s staff show that minimal construction would be required to get the former boys school ready to house up to 900 male inmates, most of whom would be serving life sentences in a medium- security prison. Major changes would include two fences to be built within the existing property’s perimeter, and two 2-story guard towers to be constructed to watch over the prison, one visible from Airport Road.</div> <div> By Leah Etling, Tribune</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/04/26/news/news258.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/20"><U><U>04/26/08: Pennsylvania: State prison project will have energy savings</U></U></A></div> <div> A state prison in Somerset Township is taking steps to go green. An “ESCO Project,” or Energy Savings Conservation, will turn natural methane gas from Mostoller Landfill into usable energy for the State Correctional Institution at Laurel Highlands. In return, the facility will receive leachate - rainwater that has seeped through garbage - from the landfill, which is located along state Route 31 in Somerset Township.</div> <div> By TIFFANY WRIGHT, Daily American</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/04/25/2008-04-25_sting_may_turn_guards_into_inmates.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime"><U><U>04/25/08: New York: Sting may turn guards into inmates </U></U></A></div> <div> Several Rikers Island prison guards have been busted for smuggling drugs and other contraband into the jail in exchange for money, authorities said Thursday. The seven correction officers accepted up to $1,500 in cash from undercover investigators for delivering marijuana, simulated heroin and cocaine to inmates, probers said. One of the accused guards, Tamar Peebles, 26, even offered to sneak razor blades onto Rikers in addition to the banned drugs, prosecutors said.</div> <div> BY CHRISENA COLEMAN and TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, DAILY NEWS</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.altoonaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080424/NEWS/80424060" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.altoonaherald.com/apps/pbcs.d"><U><U>04/24/08: Iowa: State Senate approves money for new Fort Madison prison</U></U></A></div> <div> The Iowa Senate approved $130.7 million in bonding to pay for a new state penitentiary at Fort Madison tonight, and approved spending $184 million for upgrades at the women's prison in Mitchellville, expanding community corrections facilities in Des Moines, Waterloo, Sioux City and Ottumwa and other projects. The spending was approved late tonight with a 30-13 vote on a $484 million infrastructure budget bill. Some Republicans senators said it makes little sense to build a prison in Fort Madison, located on a remote southeastern edge of the state.</div> <div> BY JENNIFER JACOBS, REGISTER</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2b354c27-4d60-4bf9-baae-bebe5930cc7d&rss=702" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story"><U><U>04/24/08: Maryland: Rationing Inmate's Toilet Paper</U></U></A></div> <div> Labor leaders are recommending that Montgomery County ration toilet paper for inmates to help save costs. The request comes as council members try to resolve a $297 million budget deficit. The president of the union that represents Montgomery County government employees has given council members a six-page memo of recommended budget cuts suggested by some of the workers.</div> <div> ABC News 2</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080424/ap_on_go_co/youth_boot_camps_7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080424/ap_o"><U><U>04/24/08: Washington DC: Marketing of boot camps under congressional scrutiny </U></U></A></div> <div> During an emotional hearing in the House on Thursday, lawmakers and witnesses likened the treatment of teens in youth boot camps to the kind of torture faced by prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Investigators uncovered cases in which a program employee's pit bull was trained to bite students in the groin and where teens had bags placed over their heads and nooses slipped around their necks, testified Greg Kutz, who has led an investigation into youth residential programs for the federal Government Accountability Office. "It's hard to believe that people would do this to somebody else's child," said a visibly angry Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.</div> <div> By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_114212106.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/l"><U><U>04/23/08: Indiana: INTOLERANCE: Jail sees gangs, like prison</U></U></A></div> <div> Vice Lords, Black Gangster Disciples and members of the Aryan Brotherhood can all be found from time to time inside the county’s lockup, according to the jail’s unofficial gang information coordinator. “We have gangsters, of course,” said Civilian Jail Officer Scott Bronner. “But I think they have to get along because of the way the jail is set up. I think it’s just an unwritten rule.</div> <div> By Shawn McGrath, Herald Bulletin</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wlio.com/localNews.aspx?NewsID=6565" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wlio.com/localNews.aspx?NewsI"><U><U>04/23/08: Ohio: Unfair Burden on Shoulders of Prison Workers</U></U></A></div> <div> The contentious relationship between state prison workers and the state has not subsided. Top union officials in the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections say front line employees being cut statewide is putting an unfair burden on the shoulders of prison workers to accommodate for the budget shortfall and at the same time putting security at risk. OCSEA President Shawn Gruber says 700 positions are being cut statewide, a 5 percent cut in the total workforce of 14,000 workers at prisons in Ohio and although corrections officers are not being cut Gruber says the one's that are affect inmate services. </div> <div> WLIO News</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.luskherald.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=&story_id=653" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.luskherald.com/V2_news_articl"><U><U>04/23/08: Wyoming: Wyoming Prison Industries makes first fish shipment</U></U></A></div> <div> On April 11 the Wyoming Department of Corrections made the first tilapia fish shipment from the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk. The fish had been growing for eight months. The WDOC began this first prison industry for the Wyoming Women’s Center in August 2006.</div> <div> The Lusk Herald</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/384005.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/384"><U><U>04/22/08: Alaska: State prison chief, workers trade accusations</U></U></A></div> <div> Tensions escalated in the state's prisons Tuesday with corrections officers publicly censuring their boss, and he, in turn, saying they were retaliating because of his efforts to clean up the department. The workers, through their union, gave the Commissioner Joe Schmidt a "vote of no confidence," which passed 514-19. It was the first of its kind, as far as they knew. Members of the union, the Alaska Correctional Officers Association, allege that Schmidt has cut staff to dangerous levels in the prisons and covered up medical issues in the jails, including the spread of a contagious bacterial infection among prisoners and even guards.</div> <div> By Megan Holland, Anchorage Daily News</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/story/551548.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/st"><U><U>04/22/08: Florida: Prison layoffs could be avoided</U></U></A></div> <div> House and Senate budget negotiators have reached a tentative agreement that would avoid layoffs in the state prison system where they might result in the early release of inmates. A Senate proposal would still cut 385 positions in the Department of Corrections but most are vacant, said Sen. Victor Crist, the lead Senate negotiator on criminal justice issues. Those reductions also would be offset by new jobs that would be created as additional prisons are opened during the budget year beginning July 1.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/state/1031963.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.herald-review.com/articles/20"><U><U>04/22/08: Illinois: Vandalia prison farm slated for closure</U></U></A></div> <div> A plan to shut down Illinois' only prison-based farming operation once again has put the Vandalia Correctional Center in the middle of a Springfield political fight. Two downstate lawmakers are slamming Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration over the decision. "They are either so smart that I can't understand their actions or this administration is, well, they're bordering on malfeasance of office," said state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Greenville, who blames the farm's financial losses on the state's "inability to administer the facility."</div> <div> By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY,  Lee News Service</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-guards0422,0,5361176.story?track=rss" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/b"><U><U>04/22/08: Maryland: Lawmakers want fired prison guards reinstated</U></U></A></div> <div> Two Western Maryland state lawmakers have asked the state's prison chief to reinstate 23 fired correctional officers until investigations into alleged brutality against inmates at two prisons are complete. The officers - 15 at the medium-security Roxbury Correctional Institution near Hagerstown and eight at the maximum-security North Branch Correctional Institution near Cumberland - were fired this month. None of the unidentified officers has been charged pending the outcome of criminal investigations led by the Maryland State Police.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_on_re_us/prison_deaths_2" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_o"><U><U>04/21/08: Colorado: Guards kill 2 during inmate brawl at Colorado prison </U></U></A></div> <div> Guards shot and killed two inmates at a federal prison after up to 200 inmates battled with homemade weapons in a fight that appeared to be racially motivated, authorities said Monday. The fight broke out Sunday in the recreation yard of the high-security U.S. Penitentiary in Florence, about 90 miles south of Denver. U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said earlier that authorities believe the riot started when white supremacist inmates targeted minorities on Adolf Hitler's birthday.</div> <div> By CATHERINE TSAI, Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.wdsu.com/news/15945919/detail.html?rss=no&psp=news" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.wdsu.com/news/15945919/detail"><U><U>04/21/08: Louisiana: Angola Prison Kicks Off Rodeo Season</U></U></A></div> <div> The murderer, in a black protective vest, prison stripes and blue jeans, was rigid on the horse's back. The brown bronco sprayed from the tiny pen like an exploding soda. The rider kept both hands clamped down. He bobbled as his kicking mount bounced from the gate, tearing up clumps from the freshly tilled arena mud, throwing its body this way and that as the man clung to its back.</div> <div> By Bryan Harris, WDSUNews 6</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080421/NEWS/80421040" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.d"><U><U>04/21/08: Mississippi: Barbour signs bill for private Natchez jail</U></U></A></div> <div> Gov. Haley Barbour has signed into law a bill that gives a privately owned jail in Natchez the authority to house federal and state inmates. The Adams County Correctional Center is currently under construction and is slated to be completed in December 2008. Barbour said signing "this legislation is appropriate as the state continues to find alternative housing solutions for our growing inmate population." Governor. The correctional facility is located on more than 140 acres in southwest Mississippi near Natchez. It is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/20/two-inmates-killed-florence-prison/?partner=yahoo_headlines" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/20"><U><U>04/20/08: Colorado: 2 killed in fed prison fight</U></U></A></div> <div> Two inmates were killed at a Florence prison Sunday after a massive fight that authorities say may have been racially motivated and planned to coincide with Adolf Hitler's birthday. The fight broke out around 12:30 p.m. in the recreation yard of the high-security U.S. Penitentiary, said Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley. As many as 100 inmates were involved, and five were transported to local hospitals with injuries.</div> <div> By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/04/21//news/local/doc480a86839815d873819056.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/04/"><U><U>04/20/08: Iowa: The history of prison hospice</U></U></A></div> <div> A convict who smuggled and sold enough cocaine to land himself in federal prison for 14 years, Fleet Maull is one of the people who launched what is believed to be the first prison-based hospices. Maull, who now lives in Colorado, was an inmate at the federal prison hospital in Springfield, Mo., when the hospice unit opened there in 1988. I was 35 years old when I went to prison. I had been through a lot of craziness,” he said.</div> <div> By Ann McGlynn,</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=191523&format=html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displ"><U><U>04/20/08: Maryland: There's money in them thar jails</U></U></A></div> <div> In Maryland's booming prison economy there are winners and losers. Inmates face financial ruin and state taxpayers lose, too - about $39,000 per year, per inmate. Prison entrepreneurs, for whom each inmate is a government-subsidized business opportunity, are the big winners. Growing nationally by 3.4 percent a year for the past 10 years, federal, state and local prisons hold 2.3 million inmates - one half of whom are nonviolent and small-time drug law offenders. By RONALD FRASER, Herald Mail</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.kfor.com/global/story.asp?s=8199632" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.kfor.com/global/story.asp?s=8"><U><U>04/20/08: Oklahoma: Prison workers say escapes are result of low staffing</U></U></A></div> <div> A state employees group says a recent run of escapes from Oklahoma prisons can directly be attributed to low staffing levels for corrections officers. But a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections somewhat disputes that notion. According to DOC figures, nine inmates at four Oklahoma prisons have escaped so far in 2008, all from minimum-security facilities. 6 of those came in April from state-run prisons.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.timesleader.com/news/20080421_21_HIV_dw_ART.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.timesleader.com/news/20080421"><U><U>04/20/08: Pennsylvania: Inmate’s HIV test info to be released</U></U></A></div> <div> A judge has ordered state prison officials to release all medical records regarding an inmate’s HIV-related testing. The judge made the ruling at the request of Luzerne County prosecutors. They say the inmate, Shawn Quinnones, was infected with HIV, hepatitis B or another infectious disease when he spit on a guard’s face in 2006. Prosecutors say they need the test results to show Quinnones knew he was infected with a disease when he spat on the guard.</div> <div> By David Weiss, Times Leader</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpolitics/17936314.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpo"><U><U>04/19/08: New Jersey: Health care firm loses jail pact, wins another</U></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> A health care company that was stripped of an Essex County contract after losing a bid-rigging lawsuit has been awarded a no-bid contract for the Bergen County Jail. The freeholders voted unanimously this week to approve a yearlong, $690,200 contract with Correctional Health Services, a politically active firm led by former Hudson County Administrator Geoff Perselay. A state Superior Court judge removed Correctional Health Services as the health care provider for the Essex County Jail in January after finding that Essex "arbitrarily and capriciously" steered the contract to CHS over another vendor who bid to do the same job for $4.2 million less.</div> <div> BY OSHRAT CARMIEL, The Record</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5714829.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metr"><U><U>04/19/08: Texas: State prison guard shortage 'critical'</U></U></A></div> <div> The Neal prison in Amarillo has so few guards working these days that Dorothy Barfoot, a correctional officer, often finds herself working alone in a dorm with 80 to 100 male felons. Sometimes she gets so scared her knees shake. "Usually there should be two (correctional officers with me), at least," said the 13-year veteran. But the prison can't find enough people to do the job of guarding inmates in Amarillo or anywhere else.</div> <div> By LISA SANDBERG, Houston Chronicle </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/500412.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/500"><U><U>04/17/08: Florida: Sheriff: Inmate raped corrections officer in Florida jail</U></U></A></div> <div> A female corrections officer was beaten and raped in a jail library Thursday by an inmate awaiting trial for murder, authorities said. Jonathan Tave, 26, used a makeshift knife to attack the victim in the law library at the Duval County Jail, Sheriff John Rutherford said. The officer, who does paralegal work and was alone in the law library, was taken to a hospital for treatment and her condition was not known.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080417/NEWS01/804170343" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll"><U><U>04/17/08: Louisiana: Pollock prison staff member stabbed by inmate</U></U></A></div> <div> A corrections officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock was stabbed in the neck a number of times by an inmate at the facility Monday, officials said Wednesday morning. The employee was treated at a local hospital Monday night and was released with "relatively minor" injuries, prison spokeswoman Karen Million said. The inmate involved was placed in the facility's special housing unit pending the outcome of an FBI and internal investigation, she said.</div> <div> By Abbey Brown, The Town Talk</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080418/ap_on_re_us/sheriff_sex_charges_5" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080418/ap_o"><U><U>04/17/08: Oklahoma: Sheriff charged with using inmates as sex slaves</U></U></A></div> <div> Authorities have charged a western Oklahoma sheriff with coercing and bribing female inmates so he could use them in a sex-slave operation run out of his jail. Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess resigned Wednesday just as state prosecutors filed 35 felony charges against him, including 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official. Burgess, the top officer in the county of 26,000 since 1994, appeared in court Wednesday was released after posting $50,000 bail.</div> <div> By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5711117.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chro"><U><U>04/17/08: Texas: Chickenpox puts Harris County jail under quarantine</U></U></A></div> <div> Muscled-up gangsters aren't as much of a threat to some inmates at the Harris County Jail as a micro-sized predator they might have dodged since their days on the playground: chickenpox. About 80 prisoners in three cellblocks are under quarantine, meaning that for a 21-day period they can't receive visitors, officials said Thursday. They eat their food off disposable plates and any guards coming near them wear protective masks and gloves.</div> <div> By DANE SCHILLER, Houston Chronicle </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2008/04/17/news/wyoming/a0f7ac87f4758fc88725742d00806447.txt" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.casperstartribune.net/article"><U><U>04/17/08: Wyoming: State won't need another prison until 2012, official says</U></U></A></div> <div> With a new prison in Torrington coming on line and with no changes in sentencing laws, Wyoming won't need another prison until 2012 or possibly 2015, the director of the Department of Corrections said Wednesday. Robert Lampert said the Legislature in the recent session helped to reduce the prison population growth by adopting laws dealing with medical furloughs for seriously ill inmates, allowing jail sanctions or sentences instead of revoking probation, and giving good-time credit to parolees. "We're trying to come up with alternatives to revocation of probation and parole," Lampert said. "But if we end up with additional mandatory minimum sentences, that will change."</div> <div> By JOAN BARRON, Star-Tribune</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sbsun.com/ci_8952747?source=rss" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sbsun.com/ci_8952747?source=r"><U><U>04/16/08: California: Prison guards express hope</U></U></A></div> <div> With the recently announced change in leadership in the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a spokesman for the Chino prison and a member of the correction officer's union expressed hope for the local prison's future. Secretary of the department James Tilton announced his retirement Tuesday after more than two years in that role. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed the department's inspector general, Matthew Cate, to replace Tilton, effective May 16. Marty Aroian, former president of the California Institution for Men's chapter of the California Corrections Peace Officers Association and a correctional officer at the Chino prison, expressed hope for change.</div> <div> By Neil Nisperos, The Sun</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.connpost.com/ci_8950938?source=rss" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.connpost.com/ci_8950938?sourc"><U><U>04/16/08: Connecticut: Judge: Inmate's Passover food sufficient</U></U></A></div> <div> There won't be any increase in the number of snack items female inmates at the Danbury federal prison will be able to purchase during the upcoming Passover holiday, which begins Saturday at sundown. U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on Wednesday ruled against Agnes Kole, one of the 16 Jewish inmates at the prison, who claimed the reduction violated her rights to freedom of religion and due process. Hall sided with arguments posed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Soloway and testimony from Associate Warden Felipe Rodriguez.</div> <div> By MICHAEL P. MAYKO, Connecticut Post</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080416/News01/601399892" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbc"><U><U>04/16/08: Indiana: Vandalism by LaPorte inmates leads to emergency</U></U></A></div> <div> An emergency has been declared at the LaPorte County Jail from inmate vandalism that caused severe flooding. Raw sewage also rained down, and despite the efforts of a cleaning service, mold in the ceilings and insulation poses a health hazard to employees, said Jim Sosinski, LaPorte County Sheriff's Office chief deputy. In recent weeks, a sprinkler head in a cell block was broken off. And one inmate even backed up a toilet by flushing a blanket.</div> <div> South Bend Tribune</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sunjournal.com/story/261335-3/MaineNews/Maine_House_Senate_OK_jail_consolidation_package/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sunjournal.com/story/261335-3"><U><U>04/16/08: Maine: House, Senate OK jail consolidation package</U></U></A></div> <div> The Legislature gave preliminary approval of the jail consolidation bill Tuesday evening. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House despite lengthy debate and was passed in the Senate without comment. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, said he was proud of the final proposal because unlike the school consolidation efforts, stakeholders in the prison system were brought together to craft the legislation. </div> <div> By Rebekah Metzler, Sun Jounral</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/border/82607.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/border/8"><U><U>04/15/08: Arizona: Prison-release, deport for migrants pushed</U></U></A></div> <div> Federal immigration officials want other states to copy an Arizona program that releases nonviolent illegal immigrants from state prisons early and deports them. Arizona has turned over more than 1,400 state prisoners to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since the program began in 2005, saving $18.6 million, said Dora Schriro, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. Eligible inmates typically were convicted of crimes from drunken driving to lower-level drug charges. Inmates were released on average 210 days early.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/15/BAD7105EH6.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg"><U><U>04/15/08: California: Court upholds female guard's harassment award</U></U></A></div> <div> A federal appeals court has upheld $600,000 in damages to a state prison guard who said she was fired after complaining that she was being harassed by naked male inmates. The complaints by Deanna Freitag led to an investigation by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's inspector general, who found in 2000 that maximum-security inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison had regularly subjected female guards to "lewd exhibitionism and exhibitionist masturbation" and that the warden and other officials were doing little to stop it. Freitag, who had worked at the prison in Del Norte County since 1996, was fired by Pelican Bay officials shortly before those findings were issued. Her bosses accused her of fabricating incidents in the reports she had been filing since September 1998.</div> <div> By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Florida/flaSTAT01POLF041608.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJo"><U><U>04/15/08: Florida: Prison workers fear state cuts</U></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> The state could have to close a prison, and some probation officers would see more than a 50 percent increase in the cases they handle if budget cuts proposed by the Legislature are adopted, officials said Tuesday. A group of employees with the Department of Corrections gathered at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to reconsider their cuts. As the Legislature puts together a budget that is about $5 billion less than the previous year, budget bills proposed by both the Senate and House would eliminate more than 600 probation officer positions from the department. That's about a third of all probation officers in the state.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/NEWS01/804150311" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps"><U><U>04/15/08: Ohio: Wardens: Local prison job cuts won't affect safety</U></U></A></div> <div> Prison officials say the elimination of 50 jobs at Mansfield and Richland correctional institutions will not affect safety or security. "In no way will this compromise the safety of our operations," RiCI Warden Julius Wilson said. MANCI Warden Stuart Hudson echoed his colleague's sentiments.</div> <div> By MARK CAUDILL, News Journal</div> <div>  </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/apr/16/n_chas_prison_could_be_closed37414/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/apr/"><U><U>04/15/08: South Carolina: North Charleston prison could be closed</U></U></A></div> <div> A minimum security prison in North Charleston would be closed and inmates moved under a budget proposal debated by the state Senate on Tuesday. The Corrections Department already is running a deficit this year and is facing a $4 million cut in the fiscal year that begins July 1, Sen. Mike Fair said. The current spending plan being debated by the Senate would affect 110 prison jobs and lead to the closing of the Coastal Pre-Release Center in North Charleston, the Palmer Pre-Release Center in Florence and the Lower Savannah Pre-Release Center in Aiken, the Greenville Republican said. </div> <div> The Post and Courier</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6308715&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/pa"><U><U>04/15/08: Wisconsin: Waupun Prison Guard Wants More Protections Against False Allegations</U></U></A></div> <div> A prison guard who faced felony charges based on an inmate's complaint says he's relieved to have the case dropped but also angry it got as far as it did - and that the Legislature failed to approve more protections for state workers. "This has been over my head for the last six months. My wife and I are very relieved that it's over," said Gabe Umentum, 25, a correctional officer at Waupun Correctional Institution.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/POLITICS/804150382" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art"><U><U>04/14/08: Michigan: State seeks ways to control prison costs</U></U></A></div> <div> Michigan's prison crunch will continue until at least 2010, because state policymakers have abandoned plans to revise sentencing policies and free old, sick and nonviolent convicts. And in the meantime, the meter keeps ticking: It costs $5 million a day, or almost $2 billion a year, to run the state prison system whose population stands at 50,200 and is projected to top 56,000 within five years. But there's at least some cause for optimism.</div> <div> By Gary Heinlein and Charlie Cain,  Detroit News</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/apr/14/prison_or_rehabilitation_states_debate_nonviolent_/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/apr/14/pri"><U><U>04/14/08: Prison or Rehabilitation? States debate non-violent drug criminals</U></U></A></div> <div> Three quarters of drug offenders in state prisons nationwide are there for non-violent offenses. Jailing them all is costing states billions of dollars. Mississippi is now considering offering many early parole. Vermont, New Jersey and South Carolina are looking at funneling more into treatment instead of prison. Maryland began increasingly opting for treatment over jail eight years ago. From 2000 to 2005, drug treatment admissions went up 28 percent, while incarceration for drug offenses fell by 7 percent.</div> <div> By Kathleen Koch, CNN</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/13/inmate-sterling-sent-hospital-potentially-active-t/?partner=yahoo_headlines" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/20"><U><U>04/13/08: Colorado: Inmate in Sterling sent to hospital with potentially active TB</U></U></A></div> <div> The Department of Corrections says testing shows an inmate at the Sterling Correctional Facility has a potentially active case of tuberculosis. Department spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti says the inmate was at a hospital Sunday. Access is being limited to the prison, and health officials are identifying who had contact with the inmate to determine who might be at risk.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-13-la-boat-crash_N.htm?csp=34" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008"><U><U>04/13/08: Louisiana: 18 hurt in La. prison boat crash</U></U></A></div> <div> A boat carrying state prison employees collided with a barge on the swollen Mississippi River upstream from Baton Rouge on Sunday, injuring 18 people. The crewboat, with 20 people aboard, was taking workers who had just ended their shifts across the river, said Angie Norwood, spokeswoman for the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. No one went into the water, she said.</div> <div> The Associated Press</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/POLITICS/804140339" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art"><U><U>04/13/08: Michigan: Bulging prisons drain Michigan's budget</U></U></A></div> <div> Michigan runs one of the nation's largest and most costly prison systems, a $2 billion-a-year expense that is crowding out other spending priorities at a rate many officials fear the state can no longer afford. Yet despite near-unanimous agreement that Michigan can't pay ever-rising corrections bills during a period of economic decline, politicians and law enforcement professionals remain hesitant to spend less by changing sentencing guidelines or paroling more prisoners. "Our efforts to grow Michigan's economy and keep our state competitive are threatened by the rising costs in the Department of Corrections," Gov. Jennifer Granholm told The Detroit News.</div> <div> By Charlie Cain and Gary Heinlein, The Detroit News</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/578637.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/57863"><U><U>04/13/08: North Carolina: HIV inmates spark concern</U></U></A></div> <div> Inmates leave prison each year with a weapon potentially more dangerous than the crime that put them there: the virus that causes AIDS. Some have no idea they're sick. Neither will the women they sleep with, nor the addicts with whom they share needles. Black religious leaders, some public health officials and several legislators say prisoners are impeding the state's effort to end the spread of HIV, a sexually transmitted virus that can debilitate the body's immune system.</div> <div> By MANDY LOCKE, News & Observer</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_104235830.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.normantranscript.com/localnew"><U><U>04/13/08: Oklahoma: Prison funds falling short</U></U></A></div> <div> The Oklahoma Public Employees Association is calling for pay raises for correctional officers, but according to Cleveland County legislators, chances are slim the payout will come this session. State Rep. Wallace Collins, D-Norman, said raises are long overdue for correctional officers and other state employees. Collins has authored bills that would provide funding for personnel. The bills died the past two sessions.</div> <div> By Kristin Hale and Hailey R. Branson, The Norman Transcript</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/856685.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/856685.h"><U><U>04/12/08: California: California prison czar seeks $7 billion more for inmate health care</U></U></A></div> <div> California's prison medical czar and the governor's administration announced Friday they are asking the Legislature to approve $7 billion to improve prison medical care. The proposal would pay for 10,500 health care beds and other facilities for inmate patients. It comes less than a year after the Legislature approved and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a $7.9 billion measure to build space for 46,100 prison and jail beds, a package that included $1.14 billion for medical and mental health beds.</div> <div> By Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20080412/NEWS/804120320" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.d"><U><U>04/12/08: Indiana: Indiana prison sends inmates to Arizona</U></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Indiana is sending inmates back to Arizona after two disturbances in nine months involving prisoners from that state at an Indiana prison. The Indiana Department of Correction’s prisoner-housing contract with Arizona has ended and inmates housed at the New Castle Correctional Facility soon will be returned to the western state, DOC spokesman Doug Garrison said Friday. George Zoley, chairman and chief executive of the private company that operates the prison, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Geo Group Inc., first revealed the impending departure of the Arizona prisoners in a teleconference with stock analysts on Feb. 13</div> <div> By Ken Kusmer of The Associated Press </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.guards12apr12,0,7775816.story?track=rss" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/b"><U><U>04/12/08: Maryland: Two fired guards are reinstated</U></U></A></div> <div> The state prison system has reinstated two correctional officers fired as part of a crackdown stemming from abuse allegations, officials said yesterday. The probe, one of the most extensive in years of Maryland's penal system, has about two dozen officers fired or on leave as investigators attempt to determine whether they beat inmates at two Western Maryland prisons. The reversal of two of the firings prompted a labor union to describe the terminations as "a rush to judgment."</div> <div> By Bradley Olson, Baltimore Sun</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>