It’s no secret that the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Here’s how it breaks down. There are approximately 323.1 million people living in the U.S. As of 2017, there are more than 2.3 million people incarcerated in American jails. That includes 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 901 juvenile facilities, 3,163 local jails,
Daniel Gristwood was a 29-year-old printer when he was arrested for the attempted murder of his wife on January 12, 1996. He initially confessed to the crime and was convicted in New York state court based on that confession. Gristwood was sentenced to 12.5 years to 25 years in prison. During his prison term, Gristwood
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that an imprisoned mother’s sister was not a suitable placement for the mother’s sheltered child because she was poor. Brittany J. gave birth to A.J. in July 2014 while imprisoned on a five year sentence for robbery. A.J. was declared neglected and in need of
A judge in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the FBI to greatly increase the speed at which it is producing documents responsive to a professor’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The request was made by Professor Nina Gilden Seavey, a documentary filmmaker and professor in the Department
By Christopher Zoukis Kevin O’Loughlin was wrongfully convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl in 1983. He spent almost four years in prison, where he endured multiple assaults – all for a crime he did not commit. Then a convicted rapist confessed that he was “99 percent sure” he had committed the sexual assault for which
Lucky 8 TV is a production company that produces “Behind Bars: Rookie Year” – a reality show about first-time prison guards – and thus requires access to the prison for filming. What better way to gain access than to hire someone from the corrections department to help facilitate such arrangements? A recent report released by
Stung by a series of lawsuits filed across the nation challenging the practice of jailing people unable to pay court fees and fines, Texas legislators passed a law that requires judges to offer community service alternatives to low-income defendants convicted of offenses where the maximum punishment is a fine. The law went into effect on
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has gone on record as supporting efforts by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to block cell phones unlawfully in prisons, calling the devices a threat to public safety and prison security. The late August letter from Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams, head of DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy, also says
The regional jail system in West Virginia receives and screens about 300,000 pieces of mail per year. Some letters contain illegal substances being smuggled into facilities for prisoners, particularly suboxone; in response, the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety has implemented a new rule meant to foil such attempts.The rule, reported by
Two percent of inmates at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women are pregnant, and even though they represent a minority, they are still women in need of specialized services, as Ashely Brown was quick to learn. Incarcerated at 26 for a probation violation after a 2009 robbery conviction, Brown was arrested in Nov. 2016 for