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…
Georgia
States struggle to carry out executions
Lethal injections, legal battles and difficulty obtaining drugs have forced a number of states to find alternative ways to carry out the death penalty, reports the New York Times. Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi have authorized the use of inhaling the inert gas nitrogen for executions. “An oxygen-deficient atmosphere” can knock a person unconscious after just one or two breaths and “the exposed person has no warning and cannot sense that the oxygen level is too low,” according to a report from the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard … [Read more...] about States struggle to carry out executions
Prosecutors accepting guilty pleas: no executions
It’s now been four years since a Georgia jury handed down a death sentence. In the majority of the capital punishment cases, prosecutors are allowing the alleged suspect to enter a guilty plea in exchange for a life-without-parole sentence, reported Bill Rankin in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Many of Georgia’s district attorneys still strongly support capital punishment. According to state records, last year prosecutors announced they were seeking the death penalty in 26 cases. But, this year they have filed notices to seek death in … [Read more...] about Prosecutors accepting guilty pleas: no executions
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
New Tool to Analyzing Criminal Justice Policy
Incarceration rates are not the entire story of the criminal justice system. For reformers seeking to rationalize our criminal justice policies, the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) has created a significant new tool for analyzing the complicated issue of developing proposals for reform. PPI’s “Correctional Control: Incarceration and Supervision by State” issued on June 1, is the first report to aggregate data on all types of correctional control nationwide. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/50statepie.html The scope of correction … [Read more...] about New Tool to Analyzing Criminal Justice Policy