A federal judge ordered a re-examination of a private prison in Mississippi after a trial in which inmates alleged unconstitutionally harsh conditions, according to the U.S. News. U.S. District Judge William Barbour is responding to a trial from four months ago concerning conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian. The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center represented the group of inmates who alleged the conditions violated the eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual … [Read more...] about Prisoner alleges constitutional violations in Mississippi private prison
Mississippi
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
Largest private prison population
The United States has the world’s largest private prison population, according to a study by The Sentencing Project. The study compares America’s growing private prison industry to government-run prisons and found that increased profiting from incarceration is tied to prison building, inmate population growth, and lower wages for guards, which resulted in decreased institutional safety. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), In August 2000, 4,535 inmates were listed as housed at a private Community … [Read more...] about Largest private prison population
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