1. USA—The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in early 2016 that sentencing juveniles to life with no chance for parole is unconstitutional. The states with the highest juvenile lifers were Pennsylvania, Michigan and Louisiana. As of mid-September, The Advocate reports that Pennsylvania had 530 juvenile lifers affected by the decision—375 were resentenced and 150 were paroled. Michigan’s juvenile population was 360. One-hundred- twenty were resentenced. Fifty were paroled. Louisiana had 302 juvenile lifers affected—218 were resentenced and 23 were paroled.2. Santa Fe, NM—The Penitentiary of New Mexico houses approximately 260 inmates in Supermax or The Box, reports the Santa Fe Mexican. Prison officials call isolation units the Predatory Behavioral Management Program. The main purpose of the program, prison officials say, is to isolate predatory inmates who are a danger to staff or other inmates and the public. At least eight lawsuits, since January, were filed against the isolation units. Prison officials claim inmates who show behavioral improvements may get out of their cells to receive drug counseling, anger management and educational programs, however, some in- mates dispute that claim.
3. Birmingham, Ala.—In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted of murdering two fast food employees. It took 30 years to show that he did not commit the murders, according to the Helena Independent Record. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned his sentence after testimony used to convict him was proven false. He was re- leased from prison in 2015. Hinton does public speaking about the US justice system. He is the author of The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Hinton is the 152nd person exonerated from death row since 1973 and the sixth in Alabama.
4. Nebraska—On Aug. 14, Carey Dean Moore was executed by a lethal injection that included fentanyl and three other drugs, Desert News reports. Nearly 40 years ago, he was sentenced to death for the murder of two cab drivers.
5. Huntsville, Tex.—On Sept. 26, Troy Clark was executed by a lethal injection of pentobarbital. He was convicted of the kidnap/ murder of a woman in 1998. Clark’s last statement was that he did not do the killing, The Texas Tribune reports.
6. Houston, Tex.—State prison officials are reviewing grievances denied to inmates seeking dentures. Prison officials plan to clarify when dentures are needed as well as creating a review board to recommend who gets dentures. The change comes after The Houston Chronicle reported that the state prison policy had said chewing isn’t a medical necessity and that inmates could eat pureed food.
5. Huntsville, Tex.—On Sept. 26, Troy Clark was executed by a lethal injection of pentobarbital. He was convicted of the kidnap/ murder of a woman in 1998. Clark’s last statement was that he did not do the killing, The Texas Tribune reports.
6. Houston, Tex.—State prison officials are reviewing grievances denied to inmates seeking dentures. Prison officials plan to clarify when dentures are needed as well as creating a review board to recommend who gets dentures. The change comes after The Houston Chronicle reported that the state prison policy had said chewing isn’t a medical necessity and that inmates could eat pureed food.
7. Richmond, Va.—Prison officials have suspended a new policy that would have barred women wearing tampons or menstrual cups from visiting inmates at state prisons. The postponement came a day after media coverage about the plan, scheduled to begin in November. Prison officials say the policy was intended to prevent contraband from getting into prisons.
8. Pennsylvania—A non-profit organization that sends free reading material to incarcerated people and prison libraries wrote in the Washington Post “… books and publications, including legal primers and prison newsletters, cannot be sent directly to incarcerated Pennsylvanians. Instead, if they want access to a book, they must first come up with $147 to purchase a tablet and then pay a private company for electronic versions of their reading material — but only if it’s available among the 8,500 titles offered to them through this new ebook system.”
8. Pennsylvania—A non-profit organization that sends free reading material to incarcerated people and prison libraries wrote in the Washington Post “… books and publications, including legal primers and prison newsletters, cannot be sent directly to incarcerated Pennsylvanians. Instead, if they want access to a book, they must first come up with $147 to purchase a tablet and then pay a private company for electronic versions of their reading material — but only if it’s available among the 8,500 titles offered to them through this new ebook system.”
9. USA—Extensive research shows that putting people with mental health issues in isolation cells for as little as two weeks, worsens their condition or could produce a mental health problem. With this knowledge, The Guardian reports, “more than 4,000 people with serious mental illness are being held in solitary confinement in U.S. prisons.”
10. Seattle—became the 20th state where courts or legislatures have abolished or ended the death penalty, The New York Times reports. The state’s highest court ruled that capital punishment had been “imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner.”
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/san-quentin-news-merchandise/
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/california-supreme-court-multiple-strikes-unconstitutional/
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/class-action-suit-tennessee-diabetic-inmates/
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/californias-next-governor-executions/
10. Seattle—became the 20th state where courts or legislatures have abolished or ended the death penalty, The New York Times reports. The state’s highest court ruled that capital punishment had been “imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner.”
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/san-quentin-news-merchandise/
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/california-supreme-court-multiple-strikes-unconstitutional/
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/class-action-suit-tennessee-diabetic-inmates/
https://sanquentinnew.wpengine.com/californias-next-governor-executions/
