The successful San Quentin Kid CAT program for youth offenders is expanding to Lancaster Prison, thanks to help from three former inmates. “It was really the guys inside’s hunger to get the program,” explained Tommy Winfrey, who left San Quentin in 2016. “There was a hunger there to change their lives. I saw the same concern and willingness to change that I witnessed during my time at San Quentin.” Kid CAT alumni Winfrey, Philip Melendez and Anouthinh Pangthong recently visited Lancaster to help them start their own Kid CAT chapter. After … [Read more...] about Former youth offenders start Kid CAT program at Lancaster
Institutions
Incarcerated women bringing #MeToo movement to prisons
Women on the outside are doing their work to bring incarcerated women into the #MeToo movement. According to a piece from The Fire Inside, the newsletter for the California Coalition of Women Prisoners (CCWP), more than 80 percent of incarcerated women are survivors of sexual abuse or violence. The piece asserts that the threat of sexual abuse increases when women are behind bars and usually these women don’t have anyone to whom to report their trauma. Now, a national movement around sexual violence is reaching them. “Fear and shame kept me … [Read more...] about Incarcerated women bringing #MeToo movement to prisons
Colorado Department of Corrections to spend $41 million for hep-C treatment
Colorado has agreed to provide medical treatment to cure hepatitis C among 2,200 prisoners. The action came in the settlement of a lawsuit against the Colorado Department of Corrections. The prison system said it would spend $41 million over the next two years to finance the treatments, according to a Sept. 12 Westword story. The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) and the Fox Rothschild law firm. “The funding and policy changes in the settlement will help solve an immense public health crisis in Colorado’s … [Read more...] about Colorado Department of Corrections to spend $41 million for hep-C treatment
Unfulfilled promises of prison improvement anger inmates in Canada
Renovations at Burnside jail (Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility) in Canada have sparked wide- spread anger among inmates. Inmates were promised programs and new amenities—promises that they said were unfulfilled. In- stead, they spent most of their day in lockdown with poor living conditions, including toilets that didn’t flush, according to the Halifax Examiner. Part of the renovation was the installation of body scanners, which prison officials hope will reduce contraband by 90 percent. The body scanners provide X-ray images, which … [Read more...] about Unfulfilled promises of prison improvement anger inmates in Canada
Prisoner alleges constitutional violations in Mississippi private prison
A federal judge ordered a re-examination of a private prison in Mississippi after a trial in which inmates alleged unconstitutionally harsh conditions, according to the U.S. News. U.S. District Judge William Barbour is responding to a trial from four months ago concerning conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian. The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center represented the group of inmates who alleged the conditions violated the eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual … [Read more...] about Prisoner alleges constitutional violations in Mississippi private prison
Pennsylvania prisons ban printed books
Pennsylvania prisons have banned printed books, turning to electronic books instead, according to an op-ed in The Washington Post. Prisoners must buy a tablet for $147 from a private company to read a limited number of titles, according to the opinion piece by Jodi Lincoln, co-chair of Book ‘Em, a Pittsburgh nonprofit organization that sends books free to incarcerated people and prison libraries. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) eliminated donations from Book ‘Em. The PDOC explained that the change is designed to stop … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania prisons ban printed books
Suit alleges Tennessee neglected diabetic inmates
Tennessee’s largest prison, Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility, now faces three lawsuits filed on behalf of prisoners suffering from diabetes. The inmates were allegedly unable to access insulin during prison lockdowns, the Nashville Tennessean reported. In a prisoner complaint form, inmate Douglas Dodson described several nights during a three-week lockdown during which he and about 60 other diabetic inmates were not called to the prison clinic to receive insulin shots. In his complaint, Dodson said the insulin was either provided … [Read more...] about Suit alleges Tennessee neglected diabetic inmates
Despite FCC Order Securus Profits Jump
Prison pay-phone giant Securus Technologies profits continue to rise in the face of an earlier order by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which capped the price of interstate telephone calls made from correctional facilities, Truth-out.org reports. LIMIT An impending ruling by the FCC that may limit how much the prison pay-phone industry is allowed to charge customers (incarcerated people, their family and friends) has not slowed Securus’ growth, according Truth-out. “In leaked documents from a presentation to investors acquired … [Read more...] about Despite FCC Order Securus Profits Jump