Oklahoma recently began a new way to parole inmates in its prison system. In 2018, the Legislature approved House Bill 2286 among a host of criminal justice reform measures, reported the Oklahoma Watch. They established it as what they called administrative parole, rather than the traditional way of paroling, according to the article. “If you meet the five statutory requirements, we skip that part,” said Justin Wolfe, general counsel for the Pardon and Parole Board. Wolfe is referring to the process where inmates have had to appear … [Read more...] about Oklahoma initiates new parole reforms
prison reform
Popularity for capital punishment is on the decline in the US
The popularity for and sentencing for the death penalty is declining in America, a research paper reports. “The recent history of capital punishment in the U.S. has been marked by declining popularity and usage ... Within the past 15 years, eight states have abandoned the death penalty through legislative repeal or judicial invalidation,” according to theconversation.com website. “Capital punishment has been and continues to be controversial. ... More than 2,700 men and women are under death sentence,” the website … [Read more...] about Popularity for capital punishment is on the decline in the US
Texas warden demoted after instituting quotas
A Texas warden was demoted and transferred following the discovery of a disciplinary quota scheme used in the Ramsey Unit of the Texas prison system, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice terminated more than 500 disciplinary cases after an investigation revealed that four state facilities implemented a disciplinary quota in which officers were required to write up a certain number of inmates or potentially face punishment themselves. The discovery of these quotas has led to a statewide audit and … [Read more...] about Texas warden demoted after instituting quotas
INMATES BILLED FOR SERVICES
Men who received treatment from hospitals outside the prison were surprised to receive medical bills along with a notice that they had to pay for those services. A 2006 federal court order put California prisoners’ medical care in the hands of the California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS). CCHCS’s budget includes more than $350 million for services inmates cannot get in prison hospitals. By mistake, the bills went via the U.S. Postal service directly to the inmates. Stephan Wilson received an ECG Recording and Review bill … [Read more...] about INMATES BILLED FOR SERVICES
America’s aging prison population
America is facing problems as its prison population is aging, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts report. “Nearly every state is seeing that upward tick in elderly state prisoners,” Pew reports. “For state prisons, the consequence of that aging is money, more and more of it every year.” Many state prisons are forced to make choices between housing elderly prisoners or letting them go due to huge medical expenses, according to Pew. Healthcare Health care for the elderly prisoner costs between four and eight times what it costs younger … [Read more...] about America’s aging prison population
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