Free Republic

Calif. Ponders Gay Marriage For Inmates SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 29, 2008(AP) Now that same-sex couples can get married in California, state prison officials are trying to figure out what that means for gay inmates. No prisoners so far have sought to arrange weddings with same-sex partners since the state Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to wed as of mid-June, according to Michele Kane, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Nonetheless, department lawyers are drafting guidelines to bring the state's 33 adult prisons into compliance with the court's ruling that same-sex couples must be treated the...

An estimated 809,800 prisoners of the 1,518,535 held in the nation’s prison at midyear 2007 were parents of minor children, according to a report by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Parents in prison — 52 percent of state inmates and 63 percent of federal inmates — reported having an estimated 1,706,600 minor children. Among state inmates, the percent of parents in prison decreased from 55 percent in 1997 but has remained stable for federal inmates.

"ATWATER, California (CNN) -- Jose Rivera survived two tours of duty in Iraq, but his job as a corrections officer at a high-security federal prison in California cost him his life." "He was alone guarding about 100 inmates at the time of the attack and had a radio to call for backup in case of trouble. He didn't have what many guards in California's state prisons routinely count on: pepper spray, a protective vest and a collapsible baton. Watch how Rivera's death has ignited debate on guard security » Federal officers are not allowed to have those items." "One officer...

ALBANY - Imagine: The man who killed John Lennon has been enjoying conjugal visits with his wife for at least 16 years. Mark David Chapman has been locked up in the Attica Correctional Facility since gunning down the legendary former Beatle on Dec. 8, 1980. Since at least 1992, Chapman, who this week is up for parole for a fifth time, has been a part of the prison's "family reunion" program, the Daily News has learned. Under the program, Chapman gets to spend 44 hours straight with his wife in a special modular "private homelike setting," said Correctional Services Department...

For decades, corrections officials assigned inmates of the same race to bunk together to keep the peace among race-based prison gangs. That's about to change as the prison system prepares to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively deemed the practice unconstitutional. A group of white inmates gathers around a bunk bed in a packed prison dormitory at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, north of Los Angeles. The dorm is integrated. But each double bunk bed is its own racially segregated island. Steve Cecala, 38, is serving time for drug possession. He says he has no problem with...

Tremayne Durham People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking a state prison superintendent to no longer allow "fried chicken" killer Tremayne Durham to eat meat, saying he "should be prevented from contributing to any more suffering and death - including the kind associated with eating meat and dairy products."PETA sent a letter this morning to Nancy Howton, the superintendent of Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, where Durham will be processed over the next several weeks before being assigned to another prison.Durham, who killed Gresham man Adam Calbreath over his frustration with a deal to buy an...

Talk about taking a bite out of crime! For two years, a Brooklyn thug sat in an Oregon jail awaiting trial for a coldblooded murder, and all the fat felon could think about was food - a bucket of greasy chicken, a mouthful of lasagna, a slice of pizza. So when prosecutors offered to buy Tremayne Durham, 36, a fast-food buffet in exchange for a guilty plea that would land him behind bars, likely for the rest of his life, he bit right in. The 275-pound convicted rapist admitted he had shot a man to death over a failed business...

Schools are telling children to change out of uniform to avoid being attacked on their way home, a government adviser revealed today. [ ED: Liberalism at its finest in the UK ]

What can tattoos tell psychiatrists about the mental state of prisoners locked up after being judged unfit to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity? Plenty, according to a Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry study published in the journal Personality and Mental Health. Body art may be a tip-off that inmates are suffering from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), a mental condition characterized by, among other traits, a lack of empathy for others, remorselessness about crimes committed, pathological lying, cheating and stealing as well as physical and emotional aggressiveness. Researchers studied a sample of 36 inmates at a...

Calling from a Tarrant County Jail phone in early June, Adrienne Lemons chatted with her 3-year-old son, Chase, and told her ex-husband in Louisiana that she was not getting antibiotics for an infection. The Dallas woman, 35, was in jail because of unpaid traffic tickets. Ten days after being booked, she was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where she died within hours. Lemons’ relatives said Wednesday that they still don’t know why she didn’t get medical help sooner. "It is a tragic thing that my sister goes in for some traffic tickets and comes out dead," said her brother...

A Prison Service report has expressed concern about problems with the high number of Muslim inmates at one of Britain's high-security jails. A review of Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire found staff were fearful of doing the wrong thing, "shifting the power dynamic towards prisoners". The Howard League for Penal Reform said the report was "extremely disturbing". The Prison Service says it will examine how to manage gangs and terrorist prisoners at the jail. The report, written by the Prison Service's Directorate of High Security, was obtained by the Howard League under the Freedom of Information Act. It found staff at...

The get-out-the-vote effort in Maine broke new ground Wednesday when more than 200 inmates in the Maine State Prison registered to cast ballots. Prison officials said it was the first prisoner education and registration drive held at the facility. Deputy Warden Leida Dardis said the event, which was organized by Maine chapters of the NAACP, allowed representatives from the state Democratic, Republican and Green Independent parties to meet with prisoners in morning and afternoon informational sessions. Maine and Vermont are the only states that give people convicted of felonies the right to vote while in prison. Some states bar felons...

Less than two years ago, Italy's prison system faced a crisis: Built to hold 43,000 inmates, it was straining to contain more than 60,000. So the government crafted an emergency plan. It swung open the prison doors and let more than a third of the inmates go free. Within months, bank robberies jumped by 20%. Kidnappings and fraud also rose, as did computer crime, arson and purse-snatchings. The prison population, however, fell so much that for awhile Italy had more prison guards than prisoners to guard. In Italy, it sometimes seems that no bad deed goes unpardoned. The nation's legal...

A new tool has found a home at the White County Jail for those inmates who “misbehave and cause problems,” said Sheriff Oddie Shoupe - a restraint chair. While the restraint chair has not been used as of yet because the entire staff must complete an instructional seminar on the proper use of the device, Shoupe said he hopes it deters some of the vandalism to jail property and alleviates some of the needless costs to the county. According to Shoupe, inmates have broken numerous windows, attempted to flush towels down the commode and caused destruction to a variety of...

UTAH STATE PRISON - Buck, a 10-year-old standard poodle, lies at the foot of Francine Chavez, licking her hand as she discusses healthy ways to overcome anger. "He's really reaching out to you," said Rachael Jasperson, a prison intern leading the five-woman therapy group Monday morning. For the past month, Buck has offered his touch - both literal and figurative - to help a group of female prisoners diagnosed with serious mental illnesses become more engaged in therapy. Marcie Remington, who heads women's in-patient treatment at the prison, is encouraged by the changes she sees. The women appear more interested...

Update: Despite efforts from Fox News to facilitate this dying girl's wish to have her father at her bedise when she passes, the imovable, cold-hearted, beauraucratic, red tape of the Jucidiary, Bureau Of Prisons and U.S. Attorney are intransigent in their unwillingness to bend the "rules" to allow this to happen.

Dad Allowed to Take Leave From Prison to See His Dying Little GirlThursday, March 27, 2008 OMAHA, Neb. — A 10-year-old Nebraska girl with terminal brain cancer had a simple last wish: to have her dad by her side as she lay on her death bed. On Wednesday, seemingly against all odds, Jayci Yaeger's wish came true. Her father, Jason Yaeger, who has been locked up in a South Dakota federal prison on methamphetamine charges, was allowed to see his daughter for what may be the last time. He was furloughed after a barrage of letters and phone calls from...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in an abortion case on Monday. The issue at the center of the case was whether deputies should be required to transport female jail inmates for elective abortions. The high court upheld an Arizona Court ruling that said refusing the transport violates the inmates' constitutional rights.

A little girl fights for her life, and her last wish is to see her father. But that wish may not come true. "They didn't expect her to still be here. She's fighting, day by day, minute by minute," said Vonda Yaeger, mother. 10/11 has followed the story of 10-year-old Jayci Yaeger as she battled brain tumors. Now doctors say she is about to lose that fight. Her last wish is to spend what time she has left with her father, but he is in a federal prison for drug charges. Less than six months ago, Jayci was energetic, fun...

When shooting suspect Christopher Williams acted up in prison, he was given nutraloaf — a mixture of cubed whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, raw carrots, spinach, seedless raisins, beans, vegetable oil, tomato paste, powdered milk and dehydrated potato flakes. Prison officials call it a complete meal. Inmates say it's so awful they'd rather go hungry. On Monday, the Vermont Supreme Court will hear arguments in a class-action suit brought by inmates who say it's not food but punishment and that anyone subjected to it should get a formal disciplinary process first.

MONTPELIER, Vt. - When shooting suspect Christopher Williams acted up in prison, he was given nutraloaf — a mixture of cubed whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, raw carrots, spinach, seedless raisins, beans, vegetable oil, tomato paste, powdered milk and dehydrated potato flakes...

SEATTLE — The King County Jail had 65...

Michigan Prisons To Be Tobacco-FreePOSTED: 5:09 pm EST March 2, 2008 LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan Department of Corrections plans to ban smoking and the use of other tobacco products by prisoners and staff early next year. State prison officials plan to extend an existing ban on smoking in prison buildings to outdoor property, the Detroit Free Press reported. Smoking cessation programs for inmates and staff are planned. "It won't happen overnight, but we should see healthier inmates long-term ... and that should translate into some health care savings" for taxpayers, Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said. Smoking currently is banned...

Crime: The number of adults imprisoned in the U.S. has hit an all-time high, a new report says, bringing with it fresh concern about "our priorities." Don't know about you, but we think this is a good thing.The 1.5 million people now in U.S. prisons represent nearly 1% of the adult population — an all-time high, according to the Pew Center on the States. This, Pew says, has led to much higher costs. Last year alone, states spent $49 billion on corrections, an outlay that's been growing at a real rate of 6% for 20 years. Over the same period,...

U.S. incarcerates more than any other nation: report Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:20pm EST By James Vicini WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world and for the first time in the nation's history, more than one in every 100 American adults is confined in a prison or jail, according to a report released on Thursday. The report by the Pew Center on the States said the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults at the start of the year. The far more populous nation of China ranked second with...

BOSTON (AP) -- A killer who sued to have a sex change claims her body is becoming more masculine again because she's being denied treatment in prison as she awaits a ruling in her bid for the surgery. Michelle Kosilek, formerly known as Robert, said that for months she has not been allowed to have court-approved hair-removal treatment or access to a specialist to discuss her testosterone levels. "My breasts have shrunk, genitals have regained previous size and function, facial hair is thicker and scalp hair is thinner, all related to an elevated testosterone level," Kosilek said in a handwritten...

New York (AP) -- A man who gained notoriety after wounding six police officers in a 1986 gunfight that led to a nationwide manhunt was killed in prison, corrections officials said Thursday. Larry Davis, serving 25 years to life on a murder conviction in an unrelated case, was stabbed to death around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday during a recreational break at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County, said Erik Kriss, a spokesman for the state Department of Correctional Services. Davis was stabbed repeatedly with a 12-inch long, half-inch wide homemade metal shank in the arms, head, back, upper thigh and chest,...

CORSICANA, TX -- A driver who apparently took her work rules very seriously abandoned a bus full of former prisoners along a highway because her hours for the day were over, police said. The 40 passengers had been paroled or released from the state prison in Huntsville. Some wore ankle bracelet monitors. They were aboard a charter bus that was headed Thursday to a terminal in Dallas but wound up 60 miles short. "In 31 years in law enforcement I've never seen anything like this," Corsicana Police Sgt. Lamoin Lawhon said. ~Snip~

ST. LOUIS - The state of Missouri must provide transportation to clinics for inmates who want to have an abortion, a federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state had to allow a specific inmate, listed as Jane Roe, to have an abortion after the state tried to end the practice of driving prisoners to clinics for elective abortions. The American Civil Liberties Union then sought a federal ruling making the high court's decision a class-action on behalf of all imprisoned pregnant women in the state. U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple ruled in 2006...

If you can not join us, please pray for Ramos and Compean this Sunday Morning* 'The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Join Ramos and Compean supporters this Sunday, January 6th at a rally in front of the Lake Forest, Saddleback Church http://www.saddleback.com/flash/default.htm Featured speaker at Saddleback Church this Sunday will be Chuck Colson, former White House Counsel - a key player during the Watergate scandal. Today, he is a religious talk show host and guest lecturer. The Lake Forest Saddleback Church is one of the largest in Southern California - thousands of church goers will see...

Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he and other players plan to visit quarterback Michael Vick in prison. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal custody after pleading guilty to federal charges related to dogfighting. "Probably in the next week or so," Hall said. "I think a couple guys are going to go up there to Virginia, get a chance to go see him. We all talked about [doing it] when the season was over. The season is over. We'll try to formulate a plan to get up there to see him." Tight end Alge Crumpler and other players said...

COALINGA, Calif. — When any of the 5,300 inmates at Pleasant Valley State Prison begin coughing and running a fever, doctors do not think flu, bronchitis or even the common cold. They think valley fever; and, more often than they would like, they are right. In the past three years, more than 900 inmates at the prison have contracted the fever, a fungal infection that has been both widespread and lethal. At least a dozen inmates here in Central California have died from the disease, which is on the rise in other Western states, including Arizona, where the health department...

WASHINGTON - “Unlocking America: The Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population,” a report by the JFA Institute, found increased incarcerations did little to reduce crime. "In the United States, every year since 1970, when only 196,429 persons were in state and federal prisons, the prison population has grown. Today there are over 1.5 million in state and federal prisons. Another 750,000 are in the nation’s jails,” said the report. “The growth has been constant—in years of rising crime and falling crime, in good economic times and bad, during wartime and while we were at peace. A generation of...

Officials at a prison in Vänersborg (Sweden) have confiscated boxes of chocolates bought by the inmates to celebrate Christmas. As the chocolates contained traces of alcohol, management became concerned that the yuletide celebrations might get a little out of hand. With the festive season approaching, prisoners at the Brinkeberg facility in western Sweden submitted a wish list to the jail authorities. Seeing no harm in it, staff took the inmates' money and went out to buy 25 boxes of Marabou's tasty Aladdin chocolates to help brighten up a Christmas spent behind bars. But management saw the matter differently. "They are...

In what may be the largest early release of inmates in U.S. history, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is proposing to open the prison gates next year for some 22,000 low-risk offenders. According to details of a budget proposal made available to The Bee, the administration will ask the Legislature to authorize the release of certain non-serious, nonviolent, non-sex offenders who are in the final 20 months of their terms. The proposal would cut the prison population by 22,159 inmates and save the cash-strapped state an estimated $256 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1 and more than $780...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing the early release of more than 20,000 low-risk prison inmates as a way to save money amid a worsening budget crisis. The Sacramento Bee reported on its Web site Thursday that the governor will ask California lawmakers to authorize the release of certain non-serious, nonviolent offenders. The prisoners would have less than 20 months to go on their terms. Sex offenders would not be eligible for release under the proposal. The plan would cut the prison population by 22,159 inmates and save the state $256 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, the...

PARIS - A court convicted five former inmates of Guantanamo on terrorism-related charges on Wednesday, but did not send any of them back to prison in France. A sixth man was acquitted, and his lawyer said he would try to win reparations from Washington for his time at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Also on Wednesday, three longtime British residents were released from Guantanamo and flown to Britain. London police arrested two on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, while the third was detained for questioning. The ruling in France capped proceedings that seemed at times like a...

A terrorist conspiracy to attack military sites and synagogues developed among prison Muslims for years, and yet hardly any mention of the conspiracy made the news. The Los Angeles Times picks up the story no one else seems interested in reporting, noting that two of the accused have pled guilty to the conspiracy: Two members of a prison-based Islamic terrorist cell that authorities say was poised to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets across Southern California pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to conspiring to wage war against the United States. The plot, which police stumbled upon during a...

WASHINGTON, November 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Excerpts from a sexually explicit book published for children aged eight to thirteen have been banned from Internet sites and from a Washington state prison for its “inappropriate content”. The book includes graphic depictions of genitalia, different forms of contraception, tampons and menstrual pads, and depicts people engaged in sex. It explains non-vaginal sex such as oral and anal sex. It has little to say about virginity (the word does not appear in the index), abstinence or chastity.  As a tool of the homosexual movement, it has been endorsed for its usefulness in that...

Scores of Muslim inmates at a high security prison are set to launch a multi-million pound claim for compensation after they were offered ham sandwiches during the holy month of Ramadan. They say their human rights were breached when they were given a special nightly menu - drawn up to recognise their specific dietary requirements - by officers at HMP Leeds last month. More than 200 Muslim inmates at the jail are believed to have been offered the meat which is strictly forbidden by Islam. The sandwich was one of three options on the menu card which was created to...

LOWELL, Fla. -- Eight prison guards have been disciplined for their part in a gay wedding ceremony for two female inmates at Lowell Correctional Institution in Marion County. Department of Corrections officials said the discipline was handed out because the officers allowed the inmates to perform, decorate and participate in an unauthorized ceremony in a close-management dormitory. One officer has been fired, another has resigned and six have been suspended. Officials said allowing the inmates to gather for the event placed officers at risk. One of the two inmates who participated in the wedding has been transferred to another prison.

"We couldn't let such a nice prison burn down," Ronny Stenberg said after he and fellow inmates at Arendal Prison in Fyresdal chose to fight flames rather than run. "I don't dare think what would have happened if the prisoners themselves hadn't discovered the fire and helped fight it," prison guard Daniel Trollsås told newspaper Agderposten. When firefighters arrived after about 40 minutes, a prisoner sleeping near the blaze had been pulled out to safety and the fire halted, with damage limited to only one barracks. In appreciation of the effort, the prison threw a party last Wednesday after the...

They'll be joined in matrimony, but different cell blocks will keep them apart and limit their honeymoon options. Two gay prison inmates at the federal penitentiary in Cowansville, Que., 60 kilometres southeast of Montreal, will tie the knot in the institution's first gay marriage on Oct. 29. It will be Canada's third gay wedding in a federal institution, according to Corrections Canada, following a 2006 wedding in Ontario and another in Alberta this year. Gay weddings are legal since July 2005 and the first union between same-sex inmates occurred in November 2006 so it's not frequent," said Jean-Yves Roy, a...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) -- Giving Rick Warren’s best-selling The Purpose Driven Life to prisoners is nothing new for church volunteers. In fact, O.J. Simpson reportedly received a copy of the inspirational book from ministers at Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, where he recently was incarcerated on armed robbery charges. But St. Andrews Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C., is distributing the book on a much broader scale than most groups. On Sept. 25, church members gave a copy of The Purpose Driven Life to every prisoner in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. They gave away some 24,000 copies....

Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, claims he converted from Islam to Christianity, Scott Pelley reports in a story that brings viewers inside the secretive "Supermax" prison where he is being held. Pelley also reports that some 900 force feedings were performed on other al-Qaeda terrorists who went on repeated hunger strikes to protest conditions at the Colorado top-security federal prison. The 60 MINUTES segment will be broadcast Sunday Oct. 14 (7:30-9:00 PM, ET/7:00-9:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network. The prison in Florence, Colo., which the government calls ADX-Florence for...

Inside America's toughest jail  Grim ... Tent City in ArizonaPictures: MARK PETERMAN       From HARRY MACADAM in ArizonaApril 28, 2007           HIGH above the Arizona desert, a pink neon sign flashes the word “vacancy” from a watch tower manned by armed guards.  Surrounded by 25ft barbed wire fences, this is the welcome offered by America’s toughest jail — Tent City in Phoenix.Inside, nearly 1,000 prisoners live in army surplus tents, baking in temperatures of 122°F (50°C) in summer and freezing during winter.No matter how many criminals are locked up here, the vacancy sign is never...

HARDWICK, Ga. - Razor wire topping the fences seems almost a joke at the Men's State Prison, where many inmates are slumped in wheelchairs, or leaning on walkers or canes. It's becoming an increasingly common sight: geriatric inmates spending their waning days behind bars. The soaring number of aging inmates is now outpacing the prison growth as a whole. Tough sentencing laws passed in the crime-busting 1980s and 1990s are largely to blame. It's all fueling an explosion in inmate health costs for cash-strapped states. "It keeps going up and up," said Alan Adams, director of Health Services for the...

WASHINGTON -- More than three times as many black people live in prison cells as in college dorms, the government said in a report to be released today. The ratio is only slightly better for Hispanics, at 2.7 inmates for every Latino in college housing. Among Anglos, more than twice as many live in college housing as in prison or jail. The numbers, driven by men, do not include college students who live off campus. Previously released census data show that black and Hispanic college students -- commuters and those in dorms -- far outnumber black and Hispanic prison inmates....

(Columbia) - On Tuesday, 24,000 copies of Rick Warren's best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life," were made available to every inmate in the state's 29 prisons. St. Andrews Baptist Church in Columbia, in coordination with several other ministries statewide, raised money to pay for price-reduced, paperback versions of the book, which addresses mankind's spiritual journey. St. Andrews started its fund-raising in March with help from the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Columbia Metro Association and Lexington Baptist Association. Purpose Driven Ministries prints a $1 paperback version of the book for use in prisons. "Obviously, purchasing 24,000 books is a daunting task,...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Religious materials are being returned to prison chapel libraries, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said Thursday, confirming plans to modify a program designed to remove religious books and videos that could incite violence. The change follows objections by members of Congress and religious groups. Removal of religious material grew out of congressional inquiries and a 2004 Justice Department Inspector General report suggesting that chapel books and videos should be reviewed to ensure they were allowed under prison security policies. In response, the prison system's religious services branch agreed to provide an automated list of appropriate materials and...