Famous author J.K. Rowling once quipped, “When in doubt, go to the library.” Ray Bradbury was also a library fan, exclaiming, “Without libraries, what do we have? No past and no future.” Why do we hold libraries in such high regard, especially in this age of digital innovation where reams and reams of paper can be
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and Director of Corrections Joe Allbaugh on March 14 jointly announced the state plans to adopt an execution method never before used in the United States: asphyxiation by nitrogen gas. In 1977, Oklahoma’s medical examiner devised a multi-drug lethal injection protocol, as an alternative to electrocution or hanging. The state
Michael Bosse killed Katrina Griffin and her two children in 2010. The Supreme Court has thrown out his death sentence based on testimony it deemed “unconstitutional.” In a brief, unsigned opinion handed down October 11, the U.S. Supreme Court has thrown out the death sentence an Oklahoma jury gave Shaun Michael Bosse after convicting him
Only two of the nearly 1,500 prisoners granted early release by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) from March to October 2014 have returned to prison, notwithstanding news reports indicating that lawmakers and “several” corrections officials have not been supportive of the releases. The approximately 1,500 prisoners were granted early release due to the DOC’s
A shortage of skilled laborers in the craft of welding is poised to seriously hinder America’s production capacity in the coming years. With education policies emphasizing that all students should pursue “traditional” college upon high school graduation, there’s been a serious drop in the number of individuals pursuing vocational training in the last decade or
For several minutes on Wednesday afternoon, the world slowed down for those of us who act as advocates of prisoners’ rights. As each second crawled by, we waited with bated breath to hear the news as to whether Richard Glossip, convicted of the killing of Barry Van Treese in 1997, would take his final breaths
Oklahoma teachers would receive a $2,500 across-the-board pay raise under a budget proposal approved Thursday by the State Board of Education, but they shouldn’t plan to spend the money any time soon. “It is time we as a state offer better compensation to these dedicated and talented individuals who give so much of themselves in
This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Oklahoma through Tennessee and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News. Oklahoma Prison News Darren “Veneno” Padron, 22, is one of six prisoners accused of planning and carrying out the June 13, 2012, stabbing death of fellow prisoner Sonny J. Limpy,
By Prison Legal News
This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from New York through Oklahoma and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.
New York Prison News
The wife of a Rikers Island mental health worker was arrested on May 8, 2013 for making death threats to her husband’s alleged mistress, another Rikers Island employee. Victoria Beltran, a transsexual actress, suspected an affair after finding unusual credit card charges made by her husband, Brett Bergmann. Furious, Beltran began to pepper the suspected mistress, Katarzyna Sakowicz, with voicemails and text messages, which Sakowicz reported to authorities. The two women also argued about whether Bergmann knew that Beltran was born a man. Beltran, who was charged with aggravated harassment, said her husband was aware of her sex change operation from the beginning of their relationship. Bergmann is reportedly filing for divorce.
New York Prison News
Former Erie County sheriff’s deputy Cutolo Buffalo, 54, was charged with pepper spraying a prisoner who was handcuffed and being escorted by two other deputies. The August 2012 incident led to an FBI investigation and Cutolo’s termination from the sheriff’s department. Cutolo pleaded guilty and was sentenced on August 2, 2013 to six months’ home confinement on electronic monitoring plus one year of probation.
New York Prison News
Nancy Gonzalez, 29, a former guard at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, was impregnated by a prisoner at the jail. Gonzalez was arrested in March 2013 and pleaded guilty on July 3, 2013 to having sex with MDC prisoner Ronell Wilson, resulting in the birth of her son, Justus Liam Gonzalez. Defense attorney Anthony Ricco compared the pair’s relationship to that of Romeo and Juliet — although unlike the Shakespearean play, Wilson was facing the death penalty for killing NYPD undercover officers Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin during a gun purchase sting in 2003. Gonzalez refused to testify at Wilson’s death penalty hearing and he was sentenced to death on July 24, 2013. She lost her parental rights to Justus on November 15, 2013 after drinking alcohol during meetings with Wilson’s relatives, which violated a condition of her bail.
Dianne Frazee-Walker Oklahoma has a women’s problem, but not the kind of problem one may contemplate. The problem is more women in Oklahoma are incarcerated than any other state in the country. In fact, the number of women incarcerated in Oklahoma is almost double the national average. For a state that has an overflowing correctional
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