Criminal Defense Blog

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 13, 2013 | Prison Life

Prisons are political places. Nothing shows this more than how those in prisons choose to refer to themselves. Some prefer the term prisoner. Others prefer inmate. And still, others favor convict. Since prison is such a political environment, referring to those in the prison context pursuant to their chosen term, whether inmate, prisoner, or convict, is essential. But how to decide which term […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2013 | Prison Life

In another series of court rulings upholding the use of Special Administrative Measures (SAMs), a prisoner at the federal ADX supermax facility in Florence, Colorado was prohibited from receiving certain publications and communicating with his nieces and nephews. The federal Bureau of Prisons’ use of SAMs originated in a regulation promulgated in 1996 – 28 C.F.R. § 501.3 […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2013 | Crime and Justice

Paul Bebeu, Sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, and a former police officer, was a rising Republican star within the state in 2012 – crusading in support of the anti-immigrant legislation SB1070, co-chairing Arizona’s campaign for Mitt Romney’s presidential bid and espousing the so-called family values that appealed to his conservative base. However, his status as a […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | April 22, 2013 | Educational Programs

Prison education, inmate education, and correctional education are, depending on whom you ask, essentially the same concept.  They comprise the field of educating those in prisons or jails.  The difference in nomenclature has to do with which group a person belongs to, based on preference more than substance.  Those incarcerated in a correctional setting tend […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | April 11, 2013 | Prison Life

The vast majority of inmates within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will eventually find themselves the focus of a disciplinary proceeding.  This is because BOP disciplinary policy includes everything from the seemingly inconsequential to the criminal.  In fact, federal inmates are known to receive incident reports for actions that they weren’t even aware were prohibited.  And, […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | January 3, 2013 | Prison Life

One day when I was teaching my Writing and Publishing Adult Continuing Education class here at FCI Petersburg, I had a student lie to me.  It wasn’t a malicious lie, and it didn’t do any real damage.  But it was a lie nonetheless, and, as such, I didn’t like it one bit. The Situation We were discussing […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | September 9, 2012 | Support Groups

Having a loved one, especially a husband, or partner in prison can be a devastating and lonely experience. Loss of financial help, parenting help and societal stigmas can be extremely difficult to deal with. Prisoners’ Wives, Girlfriends and Partners (PWGP) was founded in 2009 by Reesy-Floyd Thompson, a wife of an incarcerated prisoner. Her life was […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 30, 2012 | News

Imagine the love a dog that is on its “last days” at an animal shelter must feel when they are unconditionally loved by a human that at one time abused them. Imagine the love an incarcerated woman feels when she can help earn the trust of an abused dog. This is one of the beautiful […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 9, 2012 | Educational Programs

Prison inmates cuddling and caring for fuzzy felines in a prison cell? That seems an unlikely picture. Yet, through an innovative and brand-new program at the Larch Correctional Facility in Washington State, a few very select inmates and a couple of really lucky cats have the opportunity to help each other learn responsibility, compassion, and […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 6, 2012 | Crime and Justice

It can be hard to imagine that someone who spent most of their youth in prison, is today an award-winning actor. Charles S. Dutton, Tony award-winning stage actor, TV and movie actor is currently on tour to perform a narrative one-man show about his experiences growing up and being in and out of prison, titled, “From Jail […]