FORMER INMATE GENE MANIGO PUTS THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON A TABLE HE CREATED AS PART OF THE REFOUNDRY INITIATIVE. IMAGE CREDIT: BROOKLYN BUSINESS NEWS The U.S. may have the worst recidivism rate in the world at 76.6 percent, but that doesn’t mean the system has failed every prisoner. There are a handful of inspiring stories
Inmate employment is a requirement within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Except for those inmates who have been designated medically unable to work by Health Services or Psychology Services, all federal prisoners must maintain some form of employment throughout their incarceration. While most inmates will work within the confines of a federal prison, some minimum
By Christopher Zoukis Blaire Olsen, the former Sheriff of Jefferson County, Idaho, was found guilty of three counts of misuse of public funds after a 2015 jury trial. He was sentenced to three years of probation and fired. On appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho, two of the counts were reversed,
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a district court’s finding that a Missouri prison guard did not use excessive force when he pepper sprayed a prisoner four times, including a shot straight to the genitals. Kevin Ward was imprisoned in administrative segregation at the South Central Correctional Center on
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ordered a lower court to clarify several conditions imposed upon a sex offender as part of his supervised release following a term of imprisonment. Fernando DaSilva pleaded guilty to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 18 U.S.C. § 2250, by failing
A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit, the Atlanta-based federal appeals court, in U.S. v. Eric Jermaine Spivey et al. upheld a police search defendants had challenged as “shocking,” even if police used deception to obtain the residents’ consent to search their home. Eric Spivey and Chenequa Austin lived in Lauderhill, Florida, and ran a
America lays claim to the highest recidivism rate in the world at a staggering 76 percent. It is often said that the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Is that true? Yes. Statistics from sources like the World Prison Brief, an online database providing a look into prison systems around the world, show
Five media companies, including The Associated Press, were denied statutory damages and attorney’s fees in an unsuccessful public records request filed in Cincinnati, Ohio. The suit, filed over a body-camera video from a police shooting, was denied by the trial court. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the denial. The plaintiff media companies requested the video
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in which the American Civil Liberties Union requested documents from several government agencies relating to the use of lethal drone strikes. The requests were initially made by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has refused to remand a case for further fact-finding about the government’s use of cell-site simulators during investigations. Damian Patrick was wanted for violating parole. In an effort to locate him, Milwaukee police obtained a search warrant which authorized the use of cellphone data. The