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
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania prisons ban printed books
Pennsylvania prisons have banned printed books, turning to electronic books instead, according to an op-ed in The Washington Post. Prisoners must buy a tablet for $147 from a private company to read a limited number of titles, according to the opinion piece by Jodi Lincoln, co-chair of Book ‘Em, a Pittsburgh nonprofit organization that sends books free to incarcerated people and prison libraries. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) eliminated donations from Book ‘Em. The PDOC explained that the change is designed to stop … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania prisons ban printed books
NEWS BRIEFS: November 2018
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 … [Read more...] about NEWS BRIEFS: November 2018
Servicemen sentences overturned
Two servicemen on military Death Row had their sentences overturned this summer, reports the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). U.S. Air Force veteran Andrew Witt and Vietnam War veteran Robert Fisher both had attorneys who failed to present mitigating evidence of mental health issues and trauma in their initial trials. Witt was sentenced in 2005 for murdering an airman and his wife. After a three-week capital resentencing trial, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces imposed a life sentence, according to DPIC, which cited the … [Read more...] about Servicemen sentences overturned
One member of Black liberation group paroles
Black activist Debbie Sims Africa overcame a decade of parole denials and finally received her freedom after serving nearly 40 years within Pennsylvania’s prison system. Africa and eight other MOVE members were all jointly convicted of a policeman’s murder in 1978. MOVE is a political organization founded in 1970s Philadelphia to protest rampant police brutality. The officer died during a raid on MOVE’s residential headquarters, detailed in a recent workers.org article. Africa, now 61, is the first of the “MOVE 9” to be … [Read more...] about One member of Black liberation group paroles
NEWS BRIEFS September 2018 USA, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania & Arizona
1. USA - The stocks of two of the world’s biggest private prison companies are outperforming the market amid the current immigration crisis. Both the GEO Group and CoreCivic sup- ported Donald J. Trump’s presidency. The companies donated $250,000 to Trump’s Inaugural Committee, with GEO hav- ing donated $225,000 to a Trump Super PAC during the 2016 election. 2. USA — There were 56 percent fewer criminal convictions of illegal immigrants than of native- born Americans in Texas in 2015, a new report shows. The report by the Cato Institute … [Read more...] about NEWS BRIEFS September 2018 USA, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania & Arizona
Pennsylvania $325,000 for 37 years in solitary
A Pennsylvania inmate who spent 37 years in solitary confinement has been awarded $325,000 in a settlement, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Arthur Johnson of Philadelphia, who spent more than half his life in solitary confinement, filed a lawsuit claiming that his 37 years spent alone in a small cell amounted to cruel and unusual punishment and violated his right to due process under the United States Constitution. Johnson, who was released back into the general prison over a year ago, after a U.S. district court judge ordered … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania $325,000 for 37 years in solitary
State’s sex offender registry has low recidivism rate
New statistics show a low recidivism rate for some registered sex offenders in the state of Pennsylvania, a newspaper reports. “It’s really clear that all of the evidence and all of the data show that most sex offenses are committed by first-time offenders,” said Emily Horowitz, professor of sociology and criminal justice at Saint Francis University, quoted in the article. Court records for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, revealed 75 cases were charged as sex crimes in 2016, and out of those 75, only two were committed by … [Read more...] about State’s sex offender registry has low recidivism rate