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Articles by Gary Hunter

California Prisoner Gets New Heart

In early January 2002, an unidentified California prisoner received a heart transplant at the Stanford Medical Center. It was the first time any state prisoner has received an organ transplant; and it is not without controversy. Inflated prison populations, longer prison sentences, and an aging prison population make prisoner health ...

Two Private Kentucky Youth Facilities Closed for Abuse

It took only six weeks for the Juvenile Justice Department (JJD) to close two Kentucky Youth Academy (KYA) facilities. On Sept. 14th, 2001 the Kentucky Division of Protection and Advocacy (DPA) filed suit in federal court charging the Central KYA in Willisburg with abuse and neglect. Seven days later, on ...

Deaths in Florida and Virginia Jails Spark National Investigations

The badly bloated body of Kathy Kearns was removed from her Virginia Beach jail cell in the early morning hours of April 26, 2001. Testimony from witnesses and evidence from jail and city records show that Kearns desperately tried to get medical attention for six hours just before she died. ...

U.S. Cited for Human Rights Violations

( On May 15, 2001, at a human rights conference in Geneva, the United States was denounced for its inhumane and discriminatory practices. Amnesty International and the U.N. Committee Against Torture cited the U.S. for oppressive tactics by both public law enforcement and prison agencies.
Of particular importance to Amnesty ...

U.S. Cited for Human Rights Violations

On May 15, 2001, at a human rights conference in Geneva, the United States was denounced for its inhumane and discriminatory practices. Amnesty International and the U.N. Committee Against Torture cited the U.S. for oppressive tactics by both public law enforcement and prison agencies.

Of particular importance to Amnesty International ...

Wisconsin Medical Care Substandard, Even for Prisoners

Michelle Greer had asthma, the operative word being had past tense. Her asthma no longer exists because Michelle Greer is dead. On February 29, 2000, at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution, she died of an asthma attack, suffocated by the apathy and neglect of the Wisconsin prison system.

Greer had complained ...

23 Escape from Wackenhut Prison in Caribbean

23 Escape From Wackenhut Prison in Caribbean

by Gary Hunter

A rash of escapes have fueled investigations into negligence and possible corruption at a Wackenhut prison. In less than two months, 23 prisoners have escaped from Curacao's Koraal Specht prison in Netherlands Antilles. On March 24, 2001, six prisoners escaped ...

Staff Shortage in Nation's Prisons

Across the nation, states are plagued by a shortage of prison guards. A decade of building prisons has created an industry that employs more people than General Electric, and costs taxpayers in excess of $40 billion a year. To fill the shortage Kansas recently lowered the age requirements for prison ...

Two Studies Criticize Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Two independent studies, one by the Institute on Crime, Justice, and Corrections, the other by Security Response Technologies, indicate that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) needs stricter guidelines in assigning prisoners to housing areas and work details. Both reports follow in the wake of the escape of seven ...

Rape Rarely Prosecuted in Texas Prisons

According to recent reports, rape in Texas' prisons is the highest in the nation. Based on research from 19952000, of the 660 cases reported barely 4 percent have been prosecuted. Why does the state that prides itself on having the highest per capita prison population in the nation have such ...