In June 2013, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed legislation repealing the state’s Racial Justice Act of 2009 (the Act), a controversial law that supporters said was an effort to address racism in death penalty cases. Opponents, however, argued it merely clogged the legal system and denied justice to victims of the state’s 154 prisoners
By Dianne Frazee-Walker Overcrowding, violence, inhumane treatment, along with inadequate mental and physical healthcare are just a few of the problems facing the American prison system. Correctional officer corruption and poor work conditions have prompted the Texas Department of Justice to institute an incentive to recruit correctional officers. This campaign was initiated because of a
By Rebecca Elliott / Houston Chronicle Bags of chips, pairs of tennis shoes, packages of Ramen noodles. Over the years, revenue from purchases made by inmates at the Fort Bend County jail’s commissary has added up. Now, the proceeds are financing an expanded correctional education program, complete with a new vocational training facility. Come January,
Over the past month, Federal Bureau of Prison officials at the Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg have issued incarcerated author Christopher Zoukis a series of incident reports in a seeming attempt to censor his critique of the prison system. All of these disciplinary actions came on the heels of the release of his latest book –
By Rocky Barker and Cynthia Sewell / Idaho Statesman State officials are scrambling to preserve the network that lets Idaho students take distance learning and dual-credit classes now that a judge has voided the state’s contract for the Idaho Education Network. Six days after Gov. Butch Otter was decisively re-elected to a historic third term,
By Leigh Erin Carlson, National Director of Programs While news reports and scientific studies are now touting the benefits of prisoner education, at GOGI, it is considered old news that the education of inmates and prisoners correlates with increased levels of success upon release. We have known this fact because we asked the prisoners. By asking the prisoners what
The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), mandates sentence enhancements for certain federal defendants who commit crimes with firearms; those who have three or more prior “violent felonies” or “serious” drug offenses face a minimum 15-year prison term.In some cases, however, prior state convictions should not qualify as “predicate” offenses for the
By David Reutter The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on August 26, 2013, that a judge may resolve factual disputes relevant to the exhaustion of administrative remedies without the participation of a jury. It also held the district court had erred in finding a failure to exhaust where a prisoner did not receive a
By Samantha Schmieder / Gazette.Net Inmates at Montgomery County Correctional Facility participated in its first-ever educational fair on Wednesday, allowing them to see the many options available once released. Participating vendors included the University of Maryland University College, the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, the Aesthetics Institute of Cosmetology, and many other colleges, GED programs,
On July 19, 2013, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment to three defendants, holding there was sufficient evidence for a jury to find they acted with deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious dental needs. Richard M. Smego, a civil detainee at Illinois’ Rushville Treatment and Detention Center, filed suit