PRISON NEWS

Several Norteño gang members broke free of their cell and attacked an inmate worker Monday night at the Merced County Jail, officials said, an ordeal that some think is a result of lowered staffing at the jail.

The brutal attack also involved correctional officer Chris Navarro, president of the Merced County Sheriff's Employee Association, who was escorting the 28-year-old inmate worker through the cell block when the attack happened.

As they were delivering sweat shirts to inmates in Cell Block 3 about 10:30 p.m., Navarro heard "the scuffling of feet and movement of bodies" before he turned to see four inmates running toward him and the inmate worker, according to a jail incident report. More

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Inmate accused of triggering fire alarm at Lincoln County Jail

2011-12-27T09:35:00.000-06:00

MERRILL — A 22-year-old Tomahawk man faces criminal charges after he was accused of breaking a fire sprinkler in his Lincoln County Jail cell Saturday and caused the jail’s fire alarm to go off, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

Police were called at about 7:10 p.m. Saturday to a report of a disturbance at a home on Hay Creek Lane in the town of Wilson, according to a news release. Brandon M. Kallerud was found injured at the home, he declined medical treatment and was taken to jail on charges of battery and disorderly conduct, police said.

Kallerud was placed in a holding cell, but he took the sprinkler head off the ceiling of his cell and water flowed from the ceiling, according to the news release. The water triggered the jail’s fire alarm system, police said. More

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Sheriff: Female inmate punched deputies

2011-12-24T09:12:00.000-06:00

LOCKPORT, La. (AP) - Lafourche Parish authorities say a female inmate has been charged with several assaults on jail employees, including one incident in which she allegedly took off her handcuffs and used them as a weapon.

Sheriff Craig Webre said in a news release that 36-year-old Jodie Savoie has attacked numerous people since her arrest Dec. 4 for placing a bogus food order at a restaurant and threatening to "kill everyone" at the eatery if the order wasn't prepared. She's now facing more than a dozen additional charges related to alleged attacks on deputies, jailers and a jail nurse. More

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Arizona inmate dies after jail fight with deputies

2011-12-22T06:42:00.000-06:00

PHOENIX (AP) — A man found unresponsive in a jail cell after fighting with deputies at a Phoenix jail over the weekend has died after being taken off life support, an attorney representing his family said Wednesday.

The family of Ernest Atencio was exploring a possible lawsuit against the embattled Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said Michael Manning, a Phoenix attorney who has won five wrongful death lawsuits against the department.

Manning said Atencio's family took him off life support Tuesday. He said the 44-year-old man had no brain activity from the moment he arrived at the hospital Friday, did not have alcohol or drugs in his system and had marks from a stun gun on his body. More

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Prison worker arrested for smuggling

2011-12-21T06:46:00.000-06:00

An arraignment hearing is set today for a clerical worker at Calipatria State Prison who was arrested on an indictment for allegedly accepting about $33,600 from prisoners in exchange for smuggling cell phones and tobacco into the prison.

The 13-count grand jury indictment in San Diego federal court dated Dec. 15 further alleges that 28-year-old David Santos Zamudio II of El Centro allegedly schemed to defraud the state, as well as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, by instructing inmates and “persons acting on their behalf” to make wire transfer payments to him through MoneyGram and Western Union. More

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Prison changes inmate mail policy after lawsuit

2011-12-19T06:48:00.000-06:00

Inmate William Diaz-Wassmer says prison officials are withholding letters written in Spanish by the Guatemala native's friends and family. The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana filed a lawsuit in June that says the prison's policy violates Diaz-Wassmer's constitutional rights of free speech and equal protection.

State attorneys have previously said that no discriminatory mail policy exists at the Deer Lodge prison. Incoming mail must be screened to maintain safety and security, and if mail is written in code or any language not understood by prison personnel, it is returned to the sender, the prison's original correspondence policy stated. More

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996 Kentucky inmates get out early in new prison plan

2011-12-16T06:55:00.000-06:00

Kentucky is poised to release nearly 1,000 inmates about six months early as part of a mandatory new program aimed at easing their transition back into the community, reducing recidivism and helping trim its corrections budget by about $40 million next year.

By providing support in such areas as finding jobs and homes in their first few months outside prison, the new program — part of a major corrections overhaul passed earlier this year — attempts to lessen the chances that offenders will commit new crimes, Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said. More

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Murders of prison inmates in Sterling, Colo., spur state review

2011-12-15T06:49:00.000-06:00

Department of Corrections officials will meet in Sterling today to try to understand why four inmates have been killed at the prison there in the past two years.

DOC executive director Tom Clements said he is meeting with Sterling Correctional Facility warden Kevin Milyard to be debriefed on each of the cases.

"We're looking at cell assignment protocols," Clements said. "We want to see if there are any common denominators. It's got my attention." More

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Four Attica prison guards accused of gang assault on inmate

2011-12-14T06:56:00.000-06:00

Four Attica prison corrections officers were arrested Tuesday on a host of charges, including the felony charge of gang assault, for an alleged attack on an inmate over the summer.

Conspiracy and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, also were charged in the indictment of Keith Swack, 37, of Corfu, Genesee County; Sean Warner, 37, of Belfast, Allegany County; Matthew Raddemacher, 29, of Wyoming, Wyoming County; and Erik Hibsch, 28, of Gainesville, Wyoming County.

The Wyoming County District Attorney's Office alleges that the four conspired to assault inmate George Williams on Aug. 9 at the Attica Correctional Facility. More

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Illinois youth prisons fail inmates, society, report says

2011-12-13T06:44:00.000-06:00

Illinois' youth prison system is an expensive failure with more than half of young offenders returning within three years of their release, many of them for trivial problems such as skipping school and staying out late, according to a new report.

The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission made the report for Gov. Pat Quinn and the legislature and issued it publicly Tuesday. The report makes recommendations it says could save nearly $80,000 per imprisoned youth annually, without sacrificing public safety. More

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Inmate escapes from Lafayette County Jail

2011-12-12T06:57:00.000-06:00

Authorities are searching for an inmate who escaped from the Lafayette County Jail late Saturday night.

Tommy F. Haubrich, 39, escaped by way of a maintenance room to the roof and was discovered missing this afternoon, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Haubrich, who originally is from Philadelphia, was being held for the United States Marshal’s Service on federal drug-related charges, they said. More

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State starts investigation of prison riot, response in Folsom

2011-12-09T06:38:00.000-06:00

A state prison investigation is looking into the cause of Wednesday's riot at California State Prison, Sacramento.

Correctional officers used pepper spray and rubber projectiles and fired seven rifle rounds to quell the melee involving 150 maximum-security inmates about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Prison officials say two investigation teams are looking into the riot. An investigative services unit is studying the cause of the riot, and a deadly-force investigation team is looking at the use of potentially lethal rounds officers fired in an effort to halt the disturbance. More

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Prison guards shoot two inmates during Folsom riot

2011-12-08T06:56:00.000-06:00

California prison guards Wednesday shot at least two inmates at a maximum-security facility near Sacramento as officers tried to quell a riot involving some 50 prisoners, officials said.

In all, at least nine inmates were taken to Sacramento-area hospitals for treatment of stab wounds, gunshot wounds and blunt-force trauma after the melee erupted at 12:30 p.m. at California State Prison-Sacramento in Folsom, about 20 miles east of the Capitol.

The condition of the injured inmates and the cause of the disturbance were not immediately known, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. More

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Spokane weighs inmate transfers

2011-12-07T06:40:00.000-06:00

The Spokane City Council will consider a proposal Monday to save about $1 million a year by sending inmates to the Benton County Jail in Kennewick.

Spokane County officials are bracing for the loss of 50 or more misdemeanor prisoners to a competitor with a big price advantage.

The average daily cost of keeping an inmate in the Spokane County Jail or the Geiger Corrections Center is about $111, but Benton County will charge Spokane only $56. More

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Lawmakers examine prison mental health treatment

2011-12-06T06:49:00.000-06:00

ALBANY, N.Y. — State lawmakers are looking into mental health treatment in state prisons and a rise in the number of suicides in correctional facilities.

The Assembly is holding a public hearing on the subject Tuesday morning in Albany. Lawmakers will focus on issues related to the implementation of the Special Housing Unit Exclusion Law.

In 2010, 20 inmates committed suicide in state prisons, twice the number in 2009 and the highest suicide rate since 1982. More

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Inmate dies; homicide suspected

2011-12-05T06:37:00.000-06:00

The death of a male inmate at the state prison in Lancaster on Sunday is being investigated as a homicide, and his cellmate is the main suspect, authorities said.

The dead man had been serving a sentence for a second-degree robbery committed in Los Angeles County.

Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the suspect passed a note to guards at breakfast time saying his cellmate appeared to be dead. Guards found the dead man "in his bunk, under the blanket," and emergency efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, Thornton said. More

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Police: No wrongdoing by officials in jail death

2011-12-02T06:35:00.000-06:00

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Michigan State Police say they've found no criminal wrongdoing on behalf of authorities in the death of a 35-year-old man in a mid-Michigan jail cell.

The Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant and The Bay City Times report Bradford Gibson of Midland died of a PCP overdose Sept. 24 at the Isabella County Jail. A stun gun had been used by officers trying to get him to leave a bar in Mount Pleasant. More

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Inmate's 'shank' found before he can escape

2011-12-01T06:47:00.000-06:00

ALBANY, Ore. - Authorities thwarted the potential escape of a Linn County Jail inmate after discovering a handmade weapon during an inspection.

Deputies found the weapon in the jail cell of Josh Shaddon, 33, who has been in the Linn County Jail following the murder of his mother, Arlis 'Gerlene' Thorne, in Brownsville on October 23, 2009. Shaddon is also charged with attempted assault of his stepfather.

Sheriff Tim Mueller of Linn County said Shaddon tried to fashion his ticket to freedom out of a standard inmate hair comb. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Prison to keep execution drug

2011-11-30T06:55:00.001-06:00

LINCOLN — Nebraska prison officials intend to keep a new supply of a lethal injection drug, over the objections of a pharmaceutical executive who says the drug was improperly obtained and sold to the state.

The chief executive officer of Naari, the Swiss company that produced the sodium thiopental — which is now waiting to be used in Nebraska's execution chamber — has asked the state to return the drug, saying it was obtained under false pretenses by a third-party broker. CEO Prithi Kochhar made the request in a Nov. 18 letter to Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican. More

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Prison doctors, barred from seeing patients, collect full pay

2011-11-29T06:50:00.000-06:00

California prisons have paid doctors and mental health professionals accused of malpractice an estimated $8.7 million since 2006 to do no work at all or to perform menial chores like sorting mail, tossing out old medical supplies and reviewing inmate charts for clerical errors.

At least 30 medical professionals have collected their six-figure salaries for a cumulative 37 years in a kind of employment limbo after fellow doctors decided they were too dangerous to treat inmates but before the state's lengthy discipline appeals process made a final decision on whether they should be fired, state records show. More

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Death Row inmate fights for execution

2011-11-28T06:58:00.000-06:00

Haunted by regret for allowing two men to be executed more than a decade ago, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber says it'll never happen again on his watch.

Mr Kitzhaber said he would issue a reprieve to twice-convicted murderer and Death Row inmate Gary Haugen, who was scheduled to die by lethal injection in two weeks in the United States.

He said he would do the same for any other condemned inmates facing execution during his tenure in office.

The decision has prompted Haugen, 49, to label the governor a coward, saying Mr Kitzhaber didn't have the guts to put him to death. More

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Twelve inmates hurt in Georgia prison gang fight

2011-11-26T09:43:00.000-06:00

State prisons were on heightened alert Saturday after a gang fight Friday night at a facility in east Georgia sent 12 inmates to the hospital.

The disturbance broke out around 8 p.m. Friday at Hancock State Prison in Sparta.

There were no injuries to prison guards or other staff members, and there were no escape attempts during what a prison spokeswoman called a “significant” disturbance.

“The fight appears to be gang related,” said Gwendolyn Hogan, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections. “The department believes without a doubt that cell phones were used to organize and coordinate the disturbance.” More

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Fellow inmate says El Reno slaying defendant admitted in jail to killings

2011-11-25T09:18:00.000-06:00

EL RENO — Prosecutors have a new witness — described as a “jailhouse informant” — in the 2009 case against a man accused of killing his girlfriend and her four children.

The witness claims Joshua Steven Durcho admitted to the killings this year as they talked in jail, sources told The Oklahoman.

The witness also claims Durcho, 28, said he is faking a mental retardation claim, the sources said.
The witness, Roy George Kuykendall, 36, is a fellow inmate at the Canadian County jail who has a widely publicized case of his own. He has been put in protective custody. More

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Va death row inmate challenging video visits, says he's no more dangerous than other killers

2011-11-23T06:54:00.000-06:00

Richmond Va. — A Virginia inmate who has killed two prisoners is challenging the state's policy of denying him in-person visitation with his family, arguing he's no more dangerous than some of the other killers on death row who get to talk to their loved ones face to face.

A Circuit Court judge recently sided with death row with inmate Robert Gleason Jr., ruling that the state Department of Corrections must grant him in-person visitation with his child and other family members rather than visitation through closed-circuit video. But the Attorney General's Office challenged that decision in court papers filed last week, saying that requiring prison staff to move Gleason for in-person visitation would put them and other prisoners "at substantially greater risk." More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Texas Murder Suspect Let Out of Jail After DA Forgets to Indict Him

2011-11-22T06:52:00.000-06:00

A Texas man accused of shooting his 17-year-old friend in the head walked out of jail Monday because prosecutors forgot to file proper paperwork after his arrest.

Richard Mendoza Jr., 26, is accused of killing Christopher Daigle in 2002 near Missouri City, Texas, while the pair were on a hunting trip.

But because the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office forgot to get an indictment within the 90-day window of the suspect's arrest, he was let out of jail Monday ahead of his arraignment, KPRC reported. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmates harass victims via Facebook

2011-11-21T06:46:00.000-06:00

Lisa Gesik hesitates to log into her Facebook account nowadays because of unwanted "friend" requests, not from long-ago classmates but from the ex-husband now in prison for kidnapping her and her daughter.

Neither Gesik nor prison officials can prove her ex-husband is sending her the messages, which feature photos of him wearing his prison blues and dark sunglasses, arms crossed as he poses in front of a prison gate. It doesn't matter if he's sending them or someone else is, the Newport, Ore., woman is afraid and, as the days tick down to his January release, is considering going into hiding with her 12-year-old daughter. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

N.C. prison warden steps down after scathing report

2011-11-19T08:16:00.000-06:00

RALEIGH — The warden of North Carolina's Central Prison stepped down this month following a scathing internal review of conditions for inmates with mental illness at the facility.

The Associated Press first reported Monday that a June 2011 review by the N.C. Department of Correction found that inmates with serious mental disorders were often isolated for weeks, sometimes nude, in cells puddled with human waste. Gov. Bev Perdue later called the conditions "unacceptable." More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate moved from prison where his abuser is incarcerated

2011-11-18T06:33:00.000-06:00

The Vermont Corrections Department moved a new inmate out of the correctional center in St. Albans on Thursday after learning he was in the same prison as a former Burlington teacher’s aide convicted in connection with multiple sexual assaults on the inmate when he was a boy. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate accused of plotting to kill DuPage judge who sentenced him

2011-11-17T07:38:00.000-06:00

A Wheaton man serving a lengthy prison term was accused Wednesday of offering a fellow inmate $70,000 to kill his ex-wife, the judge who sentenced him, the prosecutor and a former friend.

Gordon Vanderark, 53, has been charged with four counts each of solicitation of murder and solicitation of murder for hire, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said at a bail hearing.

Vanderark targeted DuPage County Judge Blanche Hill Fawell, who sentenced him in 2010 to 16 years after his 10th conviction for driving under the influence, and Assistant State's Attorney Audrey Anderson, who prosecuted the case, authorities say. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate dies making double obscene gesture at execution

2011-11-16T06:42:00.000-06:00

LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A man who fatally shot his three sons while they slept in 1982, shortly after his wife filed for divorce, was executed Tuesday with each of his hands clenched in an obscene gesture.

Reginald Brooks of East Cleveland died at 2:04 p.m., ending a nearly six-month break in the use of capital punishment in Ohio, which often trails only Texas in the number of annual inmate executions. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate allegedly stabs another inmate during Bible study

2011-11-15T07:11:00.000-06:00

An inmate at the Cascade County Detention Center was in court Monday on an allegation that he stabbed another inmate during a Bible study session.

Jory Russell Strizich, 21, is charged with felony assault with a weapon. According to court documents, Strizich used a homemade weapon to stab Daniel Dahlin late Sunday night.

An affidavit from the Cascade County Sheriff's Office states that five men were having a Bible study session in one of the cells before a 10 p.m. head count. Strizich allegedly walked into the cell and attacked Dahlin, stabbing him several times with a sharp object in the face and neck. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Jail administrator: Officers to face disciplinary action related to escape

2011-11-14T06:49:00.000-06:00

“More than one officer” will face disciplinary action in connection with Sunday morning’s Curry County jail escape, interim administrator Tori Sandoval said Sunday night.

Sandoval said Narcizo Soto Jr., 35, should never have been allowed to participate in the work detail that provided his chance to flee because of his alleged violent history. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

L.A. County jails may be out of room next month

2011-11-12T07:43:00.000-06:00

Los Angeles County's jails could run out of space as early as next month because of an influx of state prisoners, prompting officials to consider releasing potentially thousands of inmates awaiting trial.

The state's new prison law, which establishes a practice known as realignment, is expected to send as many as 8,000 offenders who would normally go to state prisons into the L.A. County Jail system in the next year.

Currently, defendants awaiting trial account for 70% of the jail population, but Sheriff Lee Baca said that might need to drop to 50%. The department is studying a major expansion of its electronic monitoring and home detention programs to keep track of inmates who are released. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Fla. inmate jumps off balcony, dies

2011-11-11T06:44:00.000-06:00

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville inmate under suicide watch has died after jumping headfirst over a balcony.

Authorities said 30-year-old Travis Lamal Fryer was returning from a court appearance Thursday and had just been unshackled when he ran from a corrections officer and up a flight of stairs. He jumped headfirst almost 13-feet and struck his head. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

W. Va. inmates pitch in to help girl with cancer

2011-11-10T06:36:00.000-06:00

(AP) MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The box carried into 6-year-old Mailyn Chandler's hospital room was painted pink on the outside, lined inside with construction paper inside and crammed with treats - crayons, colored pencils, a stuffed rabbit and a paper scroll that unfurled into a handmade check for $1,029.30.

Amy Chandler gazed in shock at the enclosed photograph showing the strangers who cared so much about her daughter's four-year battle with leukemia: Gathered around a fundraising table were inmates at the Mount Olive Correction Complex near Montgomery, West Virginia's only maximum-security state prison. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate, 22, discovered dead in cell

2011-11-09T06:47:00.000-06:00

AUGUSTA -- An inmate at the Kennebec County jail was found dead in his cell just before 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Sheriff Randall Liberty identified the man as Nicholas Michael Powell, 22, whose most recent address is in Lewiston, but who grew up in Clinton and Fairfield.

The death is under investigation, and the state medical examiner was scheduled to do an autopsy today. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Prosecutor: Wife of former Oklahoma prison warden gets year in prison for aiding inmate escape

2011-11-08T06:41:00.000-06:00

OKLAHOMA CITY — The wife of a former Oklahoma prison warden was sentenced Monday to a year in prison for helping a convicted killer escape from the Oklahoma State Reformatory 17 years ago, a prosecutor said.

Bobbi Parker, 49, could have been sentenced to up to 10 years behind bars after a jury found her guilty in September of helping convicted murderer Randolph Franklin Dial escape from the correctional facility in Granite in 1994. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Rookie deputies guard most dangerous at LA jail

2011-11-07T06:34:00.000-06:00

LOS ANGELES—A report says some of the least experienced deputies are tasked with guarding the most dangerous inmates at Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail, including a pair of rookies who racked up some of the highest figures of force incidents at the jail.

A Sunday story in the Los Angeles Times says that while deputies at the jail have an average of 31 months of experience, those on the third floor where the roughest inmates are held average just 20. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

California lethal injections on hold for another year

2011-11-04T06:50:00.000-05:00

Attorneys for the state of California and death row prisoners have agreed to a timetable for reviewing new lethal injection procedures, effectively postponing any such executions for another year.

State attorneys representing prison authorities and lawyers for four of the 12 death row inmates who have exhausted their appeals and are eligible for death warrants filed papers Thursday with the San Francisco federal judge newly assigned to the complex and protracted case. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

TCI inmate on the loose

2011-11-03T06:38:00.000-05:00

A Taycheedah Correctional Institution inmate accused of committing crimes across the country is on the loose again.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) confirmed Wednesday that Lizzette A. Garvin, 42, was transported from TCI to Missouri in October for a court hearing.

In late October, Garvin was transferred from Missouri to the Polk County Sheriff's Department in Iowa for a court hearing, said Linda Eggert, public information director for the Wisconsin DOC. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmates Freed After Crack Penalties Are Eased

2011-11-02T06:43:00.000-05:00

Antwain Black was facing a few more years in Leavenworth for dealing crack. But on Tuesday, he returned home to Illinois, a free man.

Black, 36, was among the first of potentially thousands of inmates who are being released early from federal prison because of an easing of the harsh penalties for crack that were enacted in the 1980s, when the drug was a terrifying new phenomenon in America's cities. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Court Weighs Private Inmates' Rights

2011-11-01T06:43:00.000-05:00

A Supreme Court case could determine whether thousands of inmates in privately run prisons have the same rights to sue in federal court as prisoners in facilities run by the U.S. government.

The case, Minneci v. Pollard, involves a federal inmate who wants to sue his jailers for damages over alleged violations of the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The prisoner claims he was painfully mistreated after an accident at a for-profit prison, operating under contract for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Prison: Pa. inmate dies after guard struggle

2011-10-31T06:48:00.000-05:00

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania prison inmate is dead after officials say he struggled with guards after being restrained in a suicide prevention cell.

Officials say an autopsy will be performed on 25-year-old David Campbell after he died early Sunday morning after being restrained in a chair at Lehigh County Prison.

Authorities say Campbell had been behaving erratically and had to be pepper sprayed and restrained after refusing to change into a smock used to prevent inmates from hanging themselves with their clothes. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate who killed South Dakota penitentiary guard in failed escape attempt sentenced to death

2011-10-28T06:41:00.000-05:00

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A South Dakota inmate was sentenced to death Thursday for killing a prison guard by bashing him with a pipe, covering his mouth with plastic wrap and then wearing the dead man’s uniform during an attempt to escape.

Eric Robert, 49, had pleaded guilty in September to killing Ronald “R.J.” Johnson on April 12 — Johnson’s birthday — as he tried to sneak past other security. Robert waived his right to a jury trial and had asked the judge to sentence him to death, saying his one regret was that he did not kill another officer and that he will kill again. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Calif prison restructuring brings 26,000 layoff warnings; more to come after decades of growth

2011-10-27T06:42:00.000-05:00

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California prison system that has grown over the past several decades to be the nation’s largest and has been criticized and sued for severe inmate crowding is heading for an historic downsizing.
Some 26,000 guards, janitors, cooks, records clerks and correctional counselors are being warned they could be laid off, though far fewer will actually lose their jobs. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

'Very dangerous' inmates break out of Florida prison

2011-10-25T06:36:00.000-05:00

Police are searching for two "very dangerous" inmates of a Florida prison who escaped early Monday morning, police said.

Officials realized that Rondell Reed and Leviticus Taylor were missing from their shared cell during a routine headcount, shortly before 5 a.m.

The prison immediately went into lockdown and officials later found the inmates' red prison jumpsuits during a search of the jail. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Texas death row inmate asking courts to force prosecutor to turn over evidence for DNA tests

2011-10-24T06:53:00.000-05:00

HOUSTON — Just weeks away from execution, a Texas death row inmate is asking the courts to force prosecutors to turn over knives and clothing that were never tested for DNA, claiming that the evidence could show he didn’t kill his girlfriend and her sons nearly two decades ago.

But prosecutors say the latest request from Henry Watkins Skinner, who came within an hour of lethal injection last year before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in, is an empty tactic to again delay his death. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Woman claims sexual attack, sues county jail

2011-10-21T06:45:00.000-05:00

A woman who was sexually assaulted in the Allegheny County Jail and said she was later beaten as she prepared to testify against her assailant filed suit Thursday, continuing a string of accusations against the jail that critics said reflects a disregard for human rights.

The incident described in the lawsuit reflects "very real human rights violations of sexual violence that women and, we feel, transgender people are subjected to at the Allegheny County Jail," said La'Tasha Mayes, executive director of New Voices Pittsburgh, which has launched a campaign to improve conditions in the lockup. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate released from jail by mistake back in custody

2011-10-20T06:48:00.000-05:00

An Opa-locka man who walked out of the Miami-Dade County Jail after being accidentally released was captured hours later at a local emergency room.

Dexter Davis, 36, was arrested at the University of Miami Medical Center’s emergency psychiatry ward, police spokesman Napier Velazquez said Wednesday. A hospital employee recognized Davis, whose picture had been widely aired on TV news, and called police just after 10 p.m. Tuesday. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Miami-Dade jail accidentally releases man convicted of attempted murder

2011-10-19T06:55:00.000-05:00

On Monday, a jury convicted Dexter Davis of attempted murder for viciously stabbing his ex-girlfriend with a 14-inch butcher knife.

On Tuesday at 9:35 a.m., he walked out of the Miami-Dade County Jail a free man. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

NH women in prison ‘neglected’

2011-10-18T06:36:00.000-05:00

CONCORD – Women housed at the State Prison in Goffstown are victims of “inexcusable neglect” in their treatment compared to male inmates, according to a federal civil rights report.

The lack of adequate job training, mental health and substance abuse treatment or private space for family visits all raise well-founded questions about whether the women are denied equal protection under the federal Constitution, concluded an 11-person group that studied the issue. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

LA sheriff blames self for violence at jails

2011-10-17T06:50:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said he is to blame for deputy misconduct and brutality against inmates in the nation's largest jail network.
He acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times that he was out of touch about problems in the jails and failed to put into place important reforms that could have minimized violence against inmates.
"The truth is, I should've known," Baca said. "So now I do know."
Baca, who is in his third term, said that his subordinates often insulated him from "bad news." More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Prison hunger strike ends

2011-10-14T06:56:00.000-05:00

The latest hunger strike in state prisons has ended, according to prisoner advocates and California corrections officials.
At its peak, more than 4,000 inmates up and down the state were refusing meals in prisons from the Salton Sea to Pelican Bay. The strike, which began Sept. 26, followed one in July over conditions in the system's high-security Security Housing Unit. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

30 jailers punished for inmate beatings

2011-10-13T06:55:00.000-05:00

In the last two years, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials have disciplined more than 30 jail employees for beating inmates or covering up the abuse, according to a report from the agency's watchdog obtained by The Times.

Other deputies "get away" with unnecessary force against inmates because "they craft a story of justification … which may be impossible to disprove," according to the report by the Office of Independent Review, which monitors discipline in the Sheriff's Department. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Oklahoma prison riot quelled, dozens hurt

2011-10-12T07:24:00.000-05:00

(Reuters) - Inmates from California held in a private prison in western Oklahoma rioted on Tuesday in a melee that injured dozens of prisoners, some of them critically, authorities said. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Pressed, Sheriff Agrees to Jails Inquiry

2011-10-11T06:42:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES — Accusations of inmate abuse in the country’s largest jail system have piled up over the last several days and weeks, with tales of volunteers witnessing beatings of prisoners. And when news broke of a federal investigation into the conduct of several guards, the Los Angeles County sheriff, Lee Baca, reacted angrily, saying the inquiry overstepped its authority. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmates brawl at Los Angeles County jail; 20 hurt

2011-10-10T06:47:00.000-05:00

CASTAIC, Calif. -- Brawling erupted among dozens of inmates at a Los Angeles County jail that left about 20 of them with minor injuries.
Sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker says 63 inmates fought for about 10 minutes Sunday afternoon in a dormitory at Pitchess Detention Center.
He says when the prisoners ignored orders to stop, deputies used "clear out" gas and "sting balls" - which deploy rubber pellets - to halt the melee. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Connecticut Prisoners Express Anger Over Porn Ban

2011-10-09T20:01:00.001-05:00

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ A group of prisoners has begun a letter-writing campaign to protest what they see as an unfair ban on pornography inside the state’s correctional institutions.
The Department of Correction announced in July that it would be banning all material that contains “pictorial depictions of sexual activity or nudity” from the prisons beginning next summer. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Cell-Made Hootch Sickens 12 Utah Inmates with Botulism

2011-10-07T06:39:00.000-05:00

A dozen inmates at the Utah State Prison are being treated for potentially deadly botulism after drinking alcohol made in a jail cell, state health officials say.

Eight of the 12 prisoners, including three who are in critical condition, are being treated at a hospital near the state prison at Draper, UT, about 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The four others remain in the prison. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Ohio removes pork from prison meals following Muslim’s lawsuit

2011-10-06T06:48:00.000-05:00

Following a lawsuit by a Muslim death-row inmate who alleged his religious freedom was being violated, Ohio officials have decided to remove pork from meals throughout the state prison system. A spokeswoman for the prison system explained that removing pork ensured that Muslim prisoners would not have to eat food that has come into contact with pork products. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Don Lapre's Mom - Jail Officials Took His Meds Away

2011-10-05T06:47:00.000-05:00

The mother of TV pitchman Don Lapre, who committed suicide in jail Sunday, tells TMZ she blames jail officials for taking his anti-depressants away ... and also blames the FBI and U.S. Attorney General for her son's suicide.

Shirley Cleveland tells us ... her son was being treated for severe depression, just before he was jailed for 41 counts of conspiracy and fraud, in connection with his product -- The Greatest Vitamin in the World. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Prison hunger strikers now number 12,000

2011-10-04T06:50:00.000-05:00

State corrections officials said the number of striking inmates is far lower than reported by advocates. As of Monday, officials said there are 1,245 inmates at four prisons who have missed nine or more consecutive meals since Sept. 26. The number of inmates who had missed nine or more consecutive meals peaked Sept. 29 with 4,252 inmates at eight state prisons.

They began the most recent strike to call attention to conditions, including lengthy stints in solitary confinement. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

L.A. County jail guards aid drug trading, sources say

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles County jail inmates have used corrupt guards to penetrate tight security at lockups, helping fuel a lucrative drug trade behind bars, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Times.

Three sheriff's guards have been convicted and a fourth fired in recent years for smuggling or attempting to smuggle narcotics into jail for inmates. Sheriff's investigators are probing allegations that at least three more deputies took drugs or other contraband into the jails. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

California Prison Pushback

2011-09-30T06:37:00.000-05:00

Starting Saturday, California counties no longer will send many of their nonviolent felons to state prisons, instead keeping thousands in local jails or even in home detention. The move aims to ease prison overcrowding that resulted in a stinging U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May.

But Gov. Jerry Brown is facing unrest among some local law-enforcement chiefs, who worry the state won't adequately compensate them for the added costs. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Killer escapes prison, captured minutes later in downtown Scranton

2011-09-29T06:48:00.000-05:00

Dave Hughes turned to find a shirtless, tattooed man knocking on the window of his Pennsylvania American Water van at Penn Avenue and Larch Street on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr. Hughes didn't know that Michael Simonson was an admitted murderer, just reported as an escapee from the Lackawanna County Prison, where he was awaiting trial for his alleged attempted murder of a fellow inmate at the facility last year.

So he rolled down the window.

"He told me that he broke out of prison and that he needed my van," Mr. Hughes said. "When I told him 'no,' he punched me in my face. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Report Details Wide Abuse in Los Angeles Jail System

2011-09-28T06:45:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES — One inmate said he was forced to walk down a hallway naked after sheriff’s deputies accused him of stealing a piece of mail. They taunted him in Spanish, calling him a derogatory name for homosexuals. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate at Solano County jail dies

2011-09-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

FAIRFIELD, Calif. -- Authorities are investigating the death of an inmate at the Solano County jail.
Sheriff's officials say 51-year-old Dennis Vanbuskirk died on Sunday afternoon after going into medical distress. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Inmate guilty of 1998 murder put to death

2011-09-22T13:42:00.000-05:00

Lawrence Russell Brewer, a member of the white supremacist gang the Confederate Knights of America was executed Wednesday evening for the 1998 dragging murder of James Byrd, Jr., a African American from Jasper in East Texas.
Byrd, 49, was chained to the back of a truck and dragged to death across an asphalt road 13 years ago. The hate crime drew international attention for its viciousness.
Brewer's appeals to the courts dissipated, and no last-day attempts to save his life were made.
Brewer, 44, was transferred to the Walls Unit in Huntsville Wednesday for execution for his role in the crime. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

State court rejects plea to stop Davis execution

2011-09-21T19:12:00.000-05:00

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's top court has refused to halt the execution of inmate Troy Davis, leaving him nearly out of options with less than two hours until he's scheduled to die for the killing of a policeman. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Latinos Form New Majority Of Those Sentenced To Federal Prison

2011-09-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

SAN FRANCISCO -- More than half of all people sent to federal prison for committing felony crimes so far this year were Hispanic, a major demographic shift swollen by immigration offenses, according to a new government report released Tuesday.
Hispanics already outnumber all other ethnic groups sentenced to serve time in prison for federal felonies.
Hispanics reached a new milestone for the first time this year, making up the majority all federal felony offenders sentenced in the first nine months of fiscal year 2011, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Hispanics comprised 50.3 percent of all people sentenced in that time period, blacks 19.7 percent and whites 26.4 percent. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Family questions man's jail cell suicide

2011-09-08T16:48:00.001-05:00

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The Erie County Holding Center in downtown Buffalo is once again at the center of controversy following another inmate suicide. The inmate's family believes it could have been prevented.
There are signs Rakim Scriven's death could have been prevented. Officials at the Erie County Holding Center say Scrivens discussed jail hangings with another inmate, who never passed that information on to authorities. And sources indicate the teenager was often in the custody of child welfare officials to protect him from himself.
Scriven's stepmother, Jessica Scriven, said, "They said they had him on suicide watch. If you had him on suicide watch, how did he commit suicide?" More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Appeals court allows life sentences for juveniles

2011-09-07T16:31:00.000-05:00

ATLANTA -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday held that juveniles convicted of murder can be sentenced to life in prison without parole, seeking to settle a lingering debate over how the courts punish minors who commit serious offenses.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that juveniles cannot be sentenced to death and that they also can't be sentenced to life in prison without parole for rape and other non-homicide offenses. The ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, though, upheld life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder.

The decision came in the case against Kenneth Loggins, who was convicted in Alabama of killing a hitchhiker in 1994 and originally sentenced to die. He was 17 at the time of the killing, so his punishment was reduced to life without parole because the Supreme Court banned such executions in 2005. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Brian David Mitchell transported to federal prison

2011-09-02T09:48:00.000-05:00

Brian David Mitchell has finally left Salt Lake City for his new home: federal prison.

Mitchell, convicted of the 2002 kidnap and rape of then 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, was transferred out of the Salt Lake County jail Wednesday morning, said Lt. Michael Deniro, a spokesman for the jail.

It’s still unclear which federal prison the 57-year-old is heading to, but that information will likely become public Thursday. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not release where inmates are housed until they have been safely transported, said Edmond Ross, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Death row inmate gets another 18 years in prison

2011-08-31T12:15:00.000-05:00

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee death row inmate has been given an additional 18 years in prison on charges connected with the dismemberment death he was convicted in.

James Hawkins was sentenced on Tuesday in Memphis to 12 years for filing a false missing persons report and 6 years for abuse of a corpse, according to The Commercial Appeal (http://bit.ly/ozZTMw).

The 34-year-old Hawkins was convicted in June in the February 2009 stabbing, strangulation and dismemberment of Charlene Gaither. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Texas Inmates Enroll in Prison-Based Seminary

2011-08-30T15:58:00.002-05:00

ROSHARON, Texas - Thirty-nine men in identical white uniforms bowed their heads, sang, laughed, clapped, cheered and prayed as they were formally installed Monday as the state's first class of seminarians studying to become ministers under a new program operating totally behind prison walls.

"Most of us in here haven't done anything good in our lives," Bible student Javier Sanchez, 33, of Houston, said. "It's life changing. It's like there's still hope." More

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Convicted polygamist leader hospitalized in Texas

2011-08-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

HOUSTON (AP) — Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has been hospitalized after not eating or drinking enough since his recent conviction on child sexual assault charges, a prison official said Monday.

The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is in critical but stable condition, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons told The Associated Press. It is uncertain how long he will be hospitalized.

Jeffs attorney Emily Detoto told the AP that he was taken to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler on Sunday night. She says he "hasn't been feeling well" but wouldn't elaborate.

A hospital spokeswoman said she could not release any information about whether Jeffs was a patient. More

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Former inmate gets 23 years in prison for rape attack in Broadmoor

2011-08-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

A former Pelican Bay State Prison inmate who became romantically involved with a psychiatric nurse while locked up there was sentenced Friday to more than 23 years in prison for beating and raping the woman in her Broadmoor home, attorneys said.

After getting out of prison, defendant Francisco Merino moved to the Bay Area to be near the nurse, but when she tried to break up with him on April 28, 2008, he went berserk, said San Mateo County assistant district attorney Karen Guidotti.

He slashed her face and head with a knife, raped her and then held her captive overnight. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

More than 500 inmates evacuated from Cumberland County state prison

2011-08-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

More than 500 inmates have been evacuated from a state prison in preparation for Hurricane Irene, and federal authorities are transferring immigration detainees out of an Elizabeth facility.

Deirdre Fedkenheuer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said 534 inmates were bused out of Southern State Correctional Facility in Cumberland County and dispersed throughout the prison system. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Prison officials says Pelican Bay isolation policies will change

2011-08-24T10:02:00.000-05:00

California prisons have isolated gang bosses in stark conditions for years, sometimes for decades. But last month’s inmate hunger strike at Pelican Bay State Prison near the Oregon border has prompted a review of the way dangerous inmates are housed. And now a top state prison official has told Sacramento lawmakers to expect changes.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation locks up more than 3,000 inmates in Security Housing Units or “SHUs.” They spend nearly 23 hours a day in their cells. Scott Kernan, the corrections undersecretary for operations, told a legislative hearing Wednesday that most of the inmates in the SHU are gang leaders who terrorized other prisoners and staff. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

NY court reinstates prison sex abuse suit

2011-08-22T11:49:00.000-05:00

ALBANY, N.Y. — A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit by women prisoners alleging rape and improper touching by guards in New York's prisons, sending the case back to the lower court.
Among other things, the lower court will try to determine if the case should proceed as a class-action suit.
The Second Circuit panel says the trial judge erred in 2005 and 2007 dismissing the claims of seven prisoners who had been released. The federal panel says they still have status to sue. The trial judge properly dismissed claims by eight others who had not exhausted internal grievance procedures.
The three appeals judges say some women raised questions about prison practices, including passing off allegations to the system's inspector general. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Virginia executes man who raped, killed elderly woman

2011-08-19T11:21:00.002-05:00

Jerry Terrell Jackson, 30, was executed at the Greensville Correctional Center, south of the state capital, Richmond.

"Tonight, the death sentence of Jerry Jackson was carried out by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the brutal rape and murder of Ruth Phillips," Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement.

Jackson, on death row since 2003, entered the Williamsburg apartment of 88-year-old Phillips on August 26, 2001. He told police he did not know Phillips was home.

But she was lying in bed at the time and confronted Jackson. She told him to take what he wanted and leave, but he held a pillow against her face until she stopped screaming, raping her at the same time. More

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Ex-inmate says he saw deadly beating at OC jail

2011-08-18T16:15:00.000-05:00

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A former Orange County jail inmate says he heard a prisoner moaning as others took turns beating him in a deadly attack.
Luis Palacios testified Wednesday at the trial of five inmates charged with killing John Chamberlain in 2006 at Theo Lacy jail. Three others have pleaded guilty and a fourth awaits trial.

According to the Orange County Register, Palacios testified that he tried to get the attention of deputies during the beating but they didn't respond for an hour. More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975

Cameron Defends Tough Jail Terms for Rioters

2011-08-17T12:27:00.000-05:00

LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday defended harsh prison terms for the riots that convulsed Britain this month, praising the magistrates who mete them out just one day after two young men were given four-year jail terms for inciting others to riot via Facebook.

The prime minister’s comments, during a visit to northwest England, played into a sharpening debate that has pitted government officials against lawyers and rights advocates arguing that, in the words of a prominent barrister, John Cooper, courts are under pressure from politicians to appease “angry Britain.” More PrisonerPal.com True Crime Today Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975