The New York City Board of Correction (BOC), which provides oversight of the city’s jails, has approved the use of controversial “restraint desks” for violent prisoners aged 18 to 21 held at the Rikers Island jail complex. The desks – used in classrooms where programming is provided – allow for free movement of the hands
Christopher Zoukis’s 2017 release, the Federal Prison Handbook, has received a top accolade from IndieReader, making the list of Best-Reviewed Non-Fiction Books of 2017. “‘Federal Prison Handbook‘ is an invaluable resource for those incarcerated or with loved ones behind bars, as well as anyone curious about what life in a federal prison is like,” states
Around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails launched a hunger strike on April 17, 2017, a date also known as Palestinian Prisoners Day. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies, the strike was meant to protest the “difficult humanitarian conditions” inside Israeli prisons. Al Jazeera reported that the prisoners’ demands included bi-monthly family visitation,
A retired Army colonel denied a promotion due to a rape accusation has been awarded $8.4 million in a defamation lawsuit filed against his accuser. Col. David “Wil” Riggins, a highly-decorated veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, was up for promotion to brigadier general in July 2013 when he was accused of raping a fellow
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled against a prisoner who claimed that his serious medical needs were treated with deliberate indifference at an Illinois prison. Nathaniel Harper was imprisoned at Centralia Correctional Center when he became ill with stomach pains, vomiting, and constipation. Harper alleged that nurse Terri Dean
The California Supreme Court has ruled that a statute restricting all registered sex offenders on parole in California from residing in large swaths of the state is unconstitutional as applied to registered sex offenders on parole in San Diego. The challenge, brought by four registered sex offenders on parole in San Diego, alleged that Proposition
Sex offender registries are the norm in all 50 states and are an easy sell, politically. But the actual value of these laws, in terms of public safety, is increasingly being questioned. Do these laws actually provide the protection that the public presumes? Registry laws are designed and sold to the public as a way
In what may be the state’s largest-ever settlement of a civil lawsuit, on Dec. 15 a federal judge approved a settlement agreement between Delaware and survivors of a correctional officer killed last February during an inmate riot and takeover at a state prison, and five other corrections officers held by rioters during an 18-hour siege.
By Christopher Zoukis On August 18, 2016, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issued a memorandum with the subject line “Reducing our use of Private Prisons.” In the memo, Yates points out that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had contracted with privately operated facilities about a decade ago in an effort to curtail the burden of
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has contracted with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) to provide accreditation services at the 122 BOP institutions that provide medical, dental, and mental health services to prisoners. The AAAHC was founded in 1979 and, according to its website, is “the leader in ambulatory health care accreditation with