Alaska — In December the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission released recommendations that include re-evaluating pretrial practices, focusing on incarceration for serious and violent offenders, strengthening parole and probation to keep Alaskans from re-offending and prioritizing the needs of crime victims. If adopted, the commission says significant reductions in the state’s prison population would occur and $424 million could be saved over the next decade, Alaska News reports.
Sacramento — Gov. Jerry Brown named Scott Kernan, a former state prison guard and warden, as secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in December. He succeeds Jeffrey Beard, who is leaving after three years in the Cabinet post. Kernan, 55, was hired as a guard in 1983 and served as a prison officer through 2000, except for his work as a budget analyst for the system in 1986 and 1987. He became an administrator in 2001 and served as warden at Mule Creek prison in Amador County 2003-04, then at California State Prison-Sacramento through 2006. He was the prison system’s chief of operations from 2008 to 2011, then ran a private consulting company before returning to the operations post in March. His appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation. The job pays $243,360 a year.
Sacramento — After students protested the University of California system’s investments in companies that operate private prisons, about $30 million of its holdings in those companies were sold, the Los Angeles Times reported. The UC system has a portfolio of nearly $100 billion, but students and alumni say this change is significant, at least symbolically.
Vacaville – An Office of the Inspector General report found health care at California State Prison-Solano inadequate. The report specifically cited either no hand soap or no disposable towels in six inmate patient restrooms. Several clinics did not have easily accessible protective equipment to control exposure to blood-borne pathogens. Annual tuberculosis screenings were also inadequate, according to the report.
Phoenix, Ariz. — State administrators awarded Corrections Corporation of America a contract for 1,000 private prison beds. The new contract doubles the number of beds under the company’s control at Red Rock Correctional Center.
Omaha, Neb. —When the State Legislature voted to abolish the death penalty and overrode Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto, the Associated Press called it the top Nebraska news story for 2015.
Kansas City, Mo. —Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty released their first annual report on capital punishment, according to The Missouri Times. Staci Pratt, the state coordinator for the group, said the report showed signs of optimism for opponents to capital punishment. “One of the things to hold onto is that Missouri is evolving,” she said. “While we did see six executions this year, we saw no new death sentences. There is beginning to be a sense of change in Missouri and whether or not the death penalty is appropriate.”
Illinois —The state’s Department of Corrections has agreed to build four new treatment units to house 11,000 mentally ill inmates, the Chicago Times reports. The construction comes after a settlement was reached in a long-running class-action lawsuit that alleged inadequate treatment amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Albany, N.Y. – The use of dietary punishments in New York’s solitary confinement units is ending under a settlement in December, The New York Times reported. According to the settlement, the punishment meals included ingredients that do not usually go together.
Wethersfield, Conn. – Even though the state’s highest court ruled last August that the death penalty is unconstitutional, the 11 prisoners on Death Row have not yet been moved, the Hartford Courant reports. Prosecutors seek to overturn the ruling when they argue another death penalty appeal scheduled for early 2016.
Wethersfield, Conn. — Prison officials are planning to build a prison to exclusively house and deal with issues of inmates between the ages of 18 and 25, the Associated Press reports. Prison staffers will receive special training designed to address the needs of the youngsters. Programs at the prison will be designed to focus on the brain development of young adults, the state’s correction commissioner said.
Concord, N.H. — A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of an inmate whose 3-year-old son sent him a Thanksgiving card that included drawings and the handwritten message: “I (heart) U DADDY,” the Associated Press reports. In an effort to curtail drug smuggling, prison officials banned all greeting cards. The American Civil Liberties Union New Hampshire said the ban went too far and was ineffective.
Boca Raton, Fla. – A senior executive with the for-profit prison company, Geo Group, told investment bankers that despite talk of drug policy and criminal justice reform, the country will continue to “attract crime,” generating new “correctional needs.” “The reality is, we are a very affluent country; we have loose borders, and we have a bad education system,” said Shayn March, Geo’s vice president and treasurer. “And all that adds up to a significant amount of correctional needs, which, thankfully, we’ve been able to help the country out with and states with by providing a lower-cost solution.” The previously unreported remarks were made during a presentation at the Barclays High Yield Bond & Syndicated Loan conference in June.
