America's prisons are extremely overcrowded...
According to a new report from The Sentencing Project.
"JusticeHome"
"JusticeHome"
We jail more people than any other country in the world.
[credit provider=”Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images”] Sequestration will hit each and every aspect of the U.S. government, but for the Bureau of Prisons, the impact could be horrifying. According to the Attorney General’s office, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will have to handle a rising number of inmates with a […]
[credit provider=”YouTube Screenshot” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=075ApRAzpak”] SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has begun aggressively challenging federal court oversight of California’s prison system by highlighting what he says is a costly conflict of interest: The private law firms representing inmates and the judges’ own hand-picked authorities benefit financially by keeping the […]
[credit provider=”YouTube” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=_dv-S0M9tak&NR=1″] As someone who writes and speaks frequently on issues of imprisonment, my work is often received with a type of concerned cynicism.Although many readers readily acknowledge the problems associated with mass incarceration, they’re justifiably overwhelmed by the bureaucratic and multi-layered nature of our prison system.
[credit provider=”Jornal Nacional” url=”http://g1.globo.com/jornal-nacional/noticia/2012/06/detentos-pedalam-para-produzir-energia-eletrica-em-presidio-em-mg.html”] Brazilian prisons are rolling out programs aimed at shortening the sentences of prisoners who read books or generate electricity on stationary bikes.The government recently announced that four federal prisons — which house some of Brazil’s most notorious criminals — will begin a “Reading through Redemption” program in which […]
[credit provider=”cecintl.com” url=”http://www.cecintl.com/facilities_rr_nj_006.html”] Overcrowded prisons are placing inmates in dangerous halfway houses, according to an exhaustive New York Times investigation by Sam Dolnick.A New Jersey halfway house called Delaney Hall investigated by the Times has fewer regulations than prisons, meaning violent inmates walk freely. This can lead to violence and […]
[credit provider=”Tim Gruber” url=”http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_0.pdf”] States could save taxpayers more than $66,000 per year each time they released one of the 246,600 elderly prisoners nationwide, according to a new ACLU report.The report, titled At America’s Expense: The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly, calls on lawmakers to implement parole reforms to release ageing prisoners who […]
[credit provider=”YouTube” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=_dv-S0M9tak&NR=1″] There are 1.25 million mentally ill inmates in the U.S. justice system, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. That’s compared to only 40,000 in mental hospitals. “This is a huge problem with an unequipped system serving everyone from the mildly ill to the psychotic,” Jamie Fellner, […]
[credit provider=”GlobalPost”] CARACAS, Venezuela — A cloud of marijuana bounces along with the bass line from a stack of six-foot high speakers in the corner of this large hall, its smell infused with that of urine.Through the darkness, noise and the bustling crowd, it takes a moment before you notice […]
[credit provider=”AP”] Since the war on drugs began in 1971, America’s prison population has surged 700 per cent to 2.4 million.Prisoners have become part of the economy, manufacturing and assembling products for major corporations, while private prisons have emerged as multi-billion dollar operations.
[credit provider=”The Automatic Earth” url=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2aL63KOv7a4/T0Lz61vqcnI/AAAAAAAAIN8/Z0ei3CciOaY/s640/FormerSlaves1916.jpg”] It is almost surprising that the concept of slavery is very foreign to those living in the developed world, especially the U.S., since it was extensively practiced as recently as 70 years ago.What’s more disturbing about this ignorance is the fact that the system of […]
[credit provider=”St. Marys Welcome” url=”http://www.stmaryswelcome.com/”] Officials in St. Marys, Ga. are looking to cut costs by putting county jail inmates to work in the areas firehouses.The Miami Herald reports the program would put two inmates in the Camden County’s three firehouses who would respond to all emergencies along with full […]