Boston – The arrests of 50 people in the state’s immigrant community by federal agents is part of a nationwide crackdown on people in the country illegally who had also committed crimes, Anthony Brooks of WBUR News reports. Federal agents have arrested nearly 500 people across the country, targeting those who violated U.S. immigration laws and were wanted for assault, domestic violence, burglary, rape, drug and weapons charges.
Arizona – New data from the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) shows hundreds of inmates are harming themselves at an alarmingly increasing rate, according to The Crime Report. Total incidents increased by almost 70 percent. In fiscal year 2017, more than 80 inmates tried to hang themselves, and 138 tried to overdose on illegal drugs.
Little Rock, Ark. – A judge who was barred from considering execution-related cases after blocking the use of a lethal injection drug and participating in an anti-death penalty demonstration is suing the state’s highest court, saying justices violated his constitutional rights. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen filed a lawsuit in federal court against the seven members of the state Supreme Court who disqualified him days after he was protesting capital punishment by laying on a cot outside the governor’s mansion, The Associated Press reports.
Oklahoma – Gov. Mary Fallin “did not endorse” the Department of Correction’s plan to begin the “supervised release” of some prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes, her press secretary told The Frontier. The program was promoted to ease the inmate overpopulated prison system but was immediately met with pushback.
Florida – Michael Lambrix, 57, was executed Oct. 5 for killing two people after a night of drinking decades ago.
Georgetown – Georgetown University will not invest in private prison companies in keeping with the university’s Socially Responsible Investing Policy, The Hoya reports. The university will “encourage” its external investment managers to “avoid investing in the companies,” according to a university news release, which said the decision continues an existing practice.
Alaska – A state investigation details the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners at a state correctional facility. The investigation reveals an incident in which corrections officers forced male inmates to strip naked in front of female guards, placed dog leashes around their necks and paraded them around the prison before forcing them to sleep nude in filthy conditions, Michael Harriot of The Root reports.
Baltimore – Nearly 500 people incarcerated throughout the state may seek sentence reductions under a sweeping package of criminal justice reforms approved by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly last year and signed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Texas – After staying Tilon Carter’s execution in May to consider allegations that his conviction and death sentence were the product of false or misleading forensic testimony, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has now ruled that Carter is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on two of his claims, Death Penalty Information Center reports.
Houston, Texas – The Texas Department of Criminal Justice determined it can operate effectively without using solitary confinement as a punishment, department spokesman Jason Clark told the Houston Chronicle. He said inmates will have other punishments, such as loss of commissary privileges.
