On February 18, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted a request filed by for-profit prison company GEO Group to exclude a shareholder resolution that sought to reduce the high cost of phone calls made by prisoners at GEO-operated facilities. Ten days later, the SEC granted a request by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)
By Ellen Abbott Research shows a connection between early childhood education and crime. Central New York boosters of universal pre-kindergarten say that should be an important consideration when it comes to funding quality programs. Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler says the statistics logically lead to the conclusion that pre-K prevents crime. “There’s a direct correlation
By John Lorinc State officials have launched a new program that helps people behind bars get back behind the school desk. The Georgia Department of Corrections has joined forces with Mountain Education Charter School. The goal is to get state prisoners a high school diploma or GED. “We believe that we can create better opportunities
The warden and head of security at the Liberty County Jail (LCJ) in Liberty, Texas have been fired in the wake of allegations that the chief of security sexually assaulted a female prisoner at the facility. The 285-bed jail is operated by the New Jersey-based Community Education Centers (CEC), a for-profit company. Warden Timothy New
By Ben Notterman / Huffington Post Video of Henry McCollum’s release shows the exonerated death row inmate making his way through a crowd of excited onlookers and into his family’s car, where he could not figure out how to fasten his seatbelt. In his defense, many states did not begin mandating the use of seatbelts
By Prison Legal News Shrinking state budgets across the country is leading to prison closures that, in turn, have a negative impact on communities that depend on the facilities as a source of jobs and revenue. [See: PLN, June 2013, p.1; April 2009, p.1]. Small towns in Kentucky, Georgia, and New York are among those
By Dianne Frazee-Walker According to educator and author David Chura, advocating for prison reform does not mean being “soft on crime.” What it does mean is people who can see the truth are tired of watching the prison system working against crime and safety. When Chura and other prison reform advocates propose approaches to lower
By Jeri Watson / VOA News Eighteen people in central Kenya are taking the country’s secondary education test, called the KNEC. Even under normal conditions, this examination can make a student nervous. But these 18 students may feel especially fearful. They are serving sentences in a top-security prison. And if they do well on the