Two months after her fiancé’s funeral, Kimberly Elkins pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Elkins, now 49, used fentanyl to deal with chronic pain. One day, she shared a fentanyl patch with her fiancé, Aaron Rost, and they overdosed. She woke up that night, but he didn’t. She was sentenced to four years in prison in Minnesota for his death, according to the New York Times. “I struggle really hard with this...trying to find my responsibility in it,” says Elkins as she sits in prison for sharing the fentanyl with him. The cases are more common … [Read more...] about Accidental overdoses prosecuted as felony-murder under new laws
Florida
Amnesty International urges death penalty repeal
“Two wrongs don’t make a right. The death penalty is no way to impart justice,” says Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International. In 2016, the US Supreme Court in Hurst v. Florida ruled that Florida’s capital sentencing law was unconstitutional. Yet, despite the ruling, Florida still has the second-largest death row in the nation and is fourth in the number of executions since 1976. Amnesty International wants Florida to abolish their death penalty but it’s an uphill battle. A new report released by Amnesty … [Read more...] about Amnesty International urges death penalty repeal
Florida hosts prison reform conference – FICPFM
More than 50 social justice organizations led by formerly incarcerated people met in Orlando, Fla., last month. The occasion was the second national gathering of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People & Families Movement ( FICPFM ). The first national gathering took place in Oakland in 2016. By Andrew Beale Contributing Writer The conference’s theme this year was “A Quest for Democracy,” and its location allowed attendees to pursue that quest by getting out the vote for Amendment Four, a ballot item that Floridians will vote on … [Read more...] about Florida hosts prison reform conference – FICPFM
News briefs October 2018 Tennessee, Georgia, Texas…
1. Tennessee –A lawsuit raises inadequate treatment for claims diabetic inmates as well as claims of under-staffing since the private prison firm, CoreCivic Inc., opened Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility in 2015. Last year an audit reported that gangs run rampant in Trousdale because of insufficient security, according to the Nashville Tennessean. Understaffing is also key to the diabetes lawsuit, alleging that Trousdale goes on lockdown for weeks at a time — causing diabetic treatment to become worse. 2. Georgia –A federal court has … [Read more...] about News briefs October 2018 Tennessee, Georgia, Texas…
Kentucky voting rights may change for ex-felons
Kentucky’s practice of permanently stripping away the voting rights of citizens convicted of felonies may soon change, according to Attorney Ben Carter in an opinion-editorial in The Courier-Journal. Currently three states, Florida, Kentucky and Iowa, permanently strip voting rights. Only Vermont and Maine do not strip voting rights at all. All the other states temporarily strip voting rights. Twenty-six percent of voting-age Black Kentuckians cannot vote due to the combination of felony convictions and the state’s racially biased … [Read more...] about Kentucky voting rights may change for ex-felons
Florida Corrections considers replacing visits
The Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) is considering limiting inmates’ visits, claiming that there is not enough funding to cover the amount of staff it takes to oversee jail visiting rooms. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the DOC in Florida is allowing a private contractor to implement a program that will charge inmates and their families a fee to have video phone calls to their families. “In 1935 the Supreme Court declared that a prosecutors job is more than merely winning every case by racking up convictions; it also included … [Read more...] about Florida Corrections considers replacing visits
California aims to restore the right to vote for felons
California is joining the nationwide trend aimed at restoring the right to vote to convicted felons. A nonprofit called Initiate Justice is seeking support for the Restore Democracy Act, which would restore voting rights to everyone incarcerated and on parole in California. If it gets enough signatures to get on the ballot and is passed by the voters in this November’s election, it would restore voting rights to approximately 162,000 Californians, according to Initiate Justice founder Taina Vargas-Edmund. The petition needs to obtain more … [Read more...] about California aims to restore the right to vote for felons
Average inmate pay drops despite billions on prisons
In a billion-dollar prison labor market, wages for incarcerated people nationwide have declined since 2001, a recent report says. The April report by Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) said the average minimum wages paid per day to incarcerated workers for non-industry prison jobs is now 86 cents, down from 93 cents in 2001. This means that the average maximum daily wage also declined from $4.73 in 2001 to $3.45 today. “The vast majority of prison labor is not even cloaked in the idea of rehabilitation,” said Heather Thompson of the University … [Read more...] about Average inmate pay drops despite billions on prisons
Human Rights Watch: Alison Parker Addresses Juvenile Lifer Policies Across America
Back in 2004, when I first started working on the problem of children being sentenced to life without parole (LWOP), a lot of people told me “no.” Lawyers in the juvenile death penalty case Roper v. Simmons told me not to work on juvenile lifers without parole (JLWOP) – they thought drawing attention to the human rights abuse of sentencing kids to life without parole would make it harder to convince the Supreme Court to end the human rights abuse of the juvenile death penalty. The other groups that told me “no” were national and … [Read more...] about Human Rights Watch: Alison Parker Addresses Juvenile Lifer Policies Across America
Eric Holder Pushes to Restore Ex-Felons’ Right to Vote
During a speech at Georgetown University Law Center, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. urged states to restore voting rights of felons after their release from prison. Holder said, “It is time to fundamentally reconsider laws that permanently disenfranchise people who are no longer under federal or state supervision.” According to Adam Goldman of The Washington Post, voting rights activists are trying to push forward an amendment that would make it easier for “returning citizens” to vote in Florida. The push could become a campaign issue … [Read more...] about Eric Holder Pushes to Restore Ex-Felons’ Right to Vote