The Michigan Department of Corrections has opened a prison museum — at the still-in-operation State Prison of Southern Michigan in Jackson. Opened June 25, 2014, the Cell Block 7 Prison Museum charges $15.00 for adults, $10.00 for a local museum society’s members, and $8.00 for children ages 5 through 12. The museum is administered by
Criminal Justice reform has been a major focus for Governor Bruce Rauner of Illinois, and a number of changes have already been made toward the ultimate goal of reducing the state’s prison population by 25 percent by 2025. Since launching a commission on criminal justice and sentencing reform, Rauner has implemented initiatives such as providing
Mental health disorders are common for prisoners. In fact, according to a 2012 study by the National Institutes of Health, 26 percent of prisoners identified as having a mental health disorder while only 18 percent of the general population identified as having a mental health disorder. While the numbers may not say much, as one
In a highly controversial decision, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) commutes the sentences of four death-row prisoners to spend the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of parole. An opponent of the death penalty, O’Malley has been fighting to abolish the death penalty for years. “In my judgment, leaving these death sentences
By Christopher Zoukis For the second time in a year, a Hawaii Department of Corrections guard was convicted in federal court after being found guilty on corruption charges. Former Halawa Correctional Facility guard Feso Malufau was found guilty by a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii on October 10,
Paul K. Tanaka, 57, the former second-in-command of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and the elected mayor of Gardena, California, was found guilty on federal charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice in April 2016. Accused of being the “ringleader” of the conspiracy, he was sentenced to five years in
A sharply divided Virginia Supreme Court late last month reversed an executive order from Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s restoring voting rights for about 206,000 ex-felons, saying the April 22 order exceeded his lawful authority under the state’s constitution. The 4-3 decision on July 22 upheld a challenge filed a month earlier by Republican leaders of
One of the most pressing issues with mass incarceration is the school-to-prison pipeline and the current education system. One of the most effective ways at reducing incarceration is ensuring that as many people as possible have access to quality education throughout their lives, beginning as early as possible. Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs have a range of
In May 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that sex offenders released from custody cannot be compelled to answer potentially incriminating polygraph questions as a condition of their supervised release. The ruling came after an earlier emergency stay of a polygraph test was issued by the appellate court. The case
According to a new study by researchers at the federal Department of Education’s Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, over a 33-year span, corrections spending by state and local governments rose by 324%, climbing from $17 billion in 1979-1980 to $71 billion in 2012-2013. That represented more than a threefold increase for state and