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Milwaukee Jail Under Fire for Deaths, Civil Rights Abuses

At least four people, including a newborn, have died in Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County Jail since April 2016. The facility, run by Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr., houses about 950 detainees daily. The string of deaths has raised concerns about conditions at the jail, including whether adequate medical care is being provided. The deaths have also

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Is There Really Gender Bias in the Justice System?

FEBRUARY STATISTICS SHOW THAT 93.3.% OF THE U.S. FEDERAL PRISON POPULATION IS MALE. Have you ever watched Investigation Discovery? It’s a television network owned by Discovery Communications. Investigation Discovery, or ID, as it is commonly called, shows documentary-style programs and re-enactments focusing on violent crimes, complete with expert commentary from journalists, law enforcement officers and those

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DOJ Report Slams Housing of Mentally Ill Inmates

In a sharply critical report, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz takes issue with how the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) houses mentally ill inmates in the federal prison system. The report, “Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Use of Restrictive Housing for Inmates with Mental Illness,” issued July 12, concludes

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Close-up of hand writing in notebook using a blue pen, focus on creativity.

U.S. Counter-Terrorism Unit Targets Virginia Prisoner for Writing About Prison

Petersburg, VA – A Virginia prisoner, prisoner advocate, and author was recently targeted by the U.S. Counter-Terrorism Unit for his writing activities. “I’m a U.S.-born citizen with no ties to any terrorist organization, I don’t understand why I’m being targeted like this,” says Christopher Zoukis, a current inmate at FCI Petersburg Medium serving time for

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DOJ Backs Away from New Prison Planned for Eastern Kentucky

For more than a decade, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has planned to build a new prison in mountainous Letcher County in eastern Kentucky. But when the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent in its proposed fiscal year 2018 budget to Congress, funding for the project was no longer included, and DOJ proposed rescinding the

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Prisons Under Trump: Going Forward, Backward or Standing Still?

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEMS DETERMINED TO UNDO PRISON REFORMS LAUNCHED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA. America has a reputation for dehumanizing rather than rehabilitating its prisoners. Jails are crowded beyond manageable levels. Privatization and for-profit measures have pushed more people into incarceration than ever before; for example, those with minor fines and misdemeanors. The prison population has a

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Security Levels in the Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates 125 stand-alone prisons, 68 satellite prison camps, and has contracts with 13 private prisons. In total, the federal prison system houses 188,722 inmates within five different security levels: minimum, low, medium, high and administrative. BOP institutions are further divided into five regions, which span the United States: Mid-Atlantic Region,

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Federal Bureau of Prisons Censors Incarcerated Writer

Counter-Terrorism Unit Tasked with Prison Censorship The life of an incarcerated writer is anything but ordinary. While my fellow prisoners are working out on the yard, playing cards, or watching television, I am often at the desk in my cell or in the law library working on my next project. It’s long and hard work,

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Censorship in the Federal Bureau of Prisons

BOP Attacks Incarcerated Writer Christopher Zoukis, Again By Kamea Zelisko Christopher Zoukis is no stranger to censorship by Federal Bureau of Prisons officials. Those who write from prison often have to contend with interference and retaliation at the hands of prison officials. They are thrown into solitary confinement, transferred to more violent prisons, and have

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Prison Writer Slammed with Another Stint in Solitary

By Jean Trounstine and Christopher Zoukis It shouldn’t be surprising to hear federal prisoner and prisoner rights advocate Christopher Zoukis, who has written four books and produced countless articles for outlets such as the New York Daily News, Prison Legal News, and the Huffington Post, is under fire once again for his writing activities. Accused

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