Family of deceased raise questions about cause of death in legal action against prison administrators Everett Palmer Jr. died in custody from injuries that York County Prison in Pennsylvania deemed were self-inflicted, reported The Washington … [Read more...]
Accidental overdoses prosecuted as felony-murder under new laws
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]