Criminal Defense Blog

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Educational Programs

Safe Harbor – the sound of that gives one a feeling of safety after a difficult time. And that is just what Safe Harbor Prison Dogs is all about – providing a safe place for dogs who face euthanasia. The dogs are rescued from high-kill animal shelters throughout the Midwest and brought to Lansing Correctional […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Educational Programs

Princeton University is a very prestigious, well-known, and highly respected learning establishment. An off-shoot from Princeton is the Pace Center for Civic Engagement which supports efforts by undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni to become engaged citizens and to help address issues of public concern. The goal is to build stronger communities and societies […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Prison Life

The Prison Entrepreneur Program (PEP), a Texas-based non-profit formed in 2004, assists inmates convicted of felonies to prepare for life after prison by developing skills and character, finding post-release employment, and eventually making a success with their businesses. The group’s current CEO, Bryan Kelley, is a program graduate. Nearly finished serving a 20-year sentence for murder (for what he describes […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 8, 2025 | Prison News

Several of the defendants in a “widespread scheme and subversion of the Luzerne County juvenile justice system” in Pennsylvania have agreed to a $17.75 million settlement to resolve a class-action federal lawsuit. The scheme involved the building of two private juvenile detention centers and payments to two judges to ensure the facilities were filled with […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

Perhaps the most effective measure of the MAC Program’s success is in statements made by those who have participated in it. On AFOI’s website https://afoi.org/, under the heading “Why I like the Milk and Cookies Program…” statements from the child participants are provided. They read as follows: As you can see, Assisting Families of Inmates’ […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

Allowing supervised access to the internet could help with rehabilitation and reduce recidivism. Internet and computer access dominates most people’s lives to a major degree in many countries around the world. More than 45 percent of the world population has an internet connection at home — that’s fast approaching 4 billion people. In the United […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Advocacy and Reform

No one needs convincing that prison is probably a lonely place, filled with hostile guards and dangerous inmates.  At least from the Hollywood point of view, the only comfort for most convicts is a letter from home or the occasional visit from family or friends.  Sadly, though, a new study indicates that many prisoners do […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Prison Life

The other day a Prison Law Blog reader presented a question.  “My father is preparing to serve a sentence in a federal prison camp. He doesn’t have a lot of money or other resources.  What will the Federal Bureau of Prisons provide him for his basic needs?” Obviously, a good question.  In fact, it’s sad […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Prison Life

The abundance of literature on weight loss inevitably leads one to the understanding that successful weight loss tactics are either very extreme or cumbersomely complicated. Some suggest fasting or a liquid diet; others suggest that primarily lean meats should be eaten and at particular times of the day . . . or night. And still, […]

Christopher Zoukis, JD | May 7, 2025 | Educational Programs

STUDENTS FROM A WHITMAN COLLEGE AND INMATES AT WASHINGTON STATE PENITENTIARYARE LEARNING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS TOGETHER. Anthony Covert made a bad decision. At just 18 years of age, he had a disagreement with a peer over a girl. The two decided to duke it out, but Covert upped the ante by bringing a stolen gun to […]