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Articles by Jo Ellen Nott

“Master Jo,” Florida Prison Employee, Arrested for Trafficking in Contraband and Soliciting a Hit from Undercover Detective

By Jo Ellen Nott

On April 11, 2022, an academic instructor at a south Florida lockup managed for the state Department of Corrections by private prison contractor GEO Group, Inc., was arrested for allegedly smuggling contraband to prisoners as well as soliciting the murder of his girlfriend’s estranged …

Four Florida Guards Charged in Fatal Beating of Elderly, Mentally Ill State Prisoner

By Jo Ellen Nott

On April 29, 2022, nearly ten weeks after the death in transport of an elderly and mentally ill state prisoner, a fourth guard with the state Department of Corrections (DOC) was arrested and charged with his murder.

The prisoner, Ronald Gene Ingram, 60, …

“Jailhouse Politician” Withdraws from Indiana Race, But Another Wins in DC

By Jo Ellen Nott

On May 18, 2022, an Indiana jail detainee who had advanced in the GOP primary for the Clinton Township Board—while being held in the Boone County Jail without bond—signed to formally withdraw from the race.

Andrew Wilhoite, 40, came in third in the …

Pittsburgh Jail Records 13 Deaths in Two Years, Only One From COVID-19

by Jo Ellen Nott

In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, deaths have more than doubled at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) in downtown Pittsburgh, even as the jail population was cut drastically in an effort to curb the spread of the SARS-COV2 …

Fifth BOP Staffer Arrested in “Rape Club” at California Federal Prison

by Jo Ellen Nott

Once known for famous prisoners from Hollywood, the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Dublin, California, is now in the spotlight for a different reason: As of March 2022, at least five Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees have been charged with sexually abusing women held …

Multiple Florida DOC Guards Convicted of Assault, Smuggling and Child Sex Abuse

by Jo Ellen Nott

On March 6, 2022, a judge in Citrus County, Florida, handed down a prison term to a former state prison guard for child sex abuse, just days after three other former Florida guards were sentenced to federal prison on February 28, 2022, following their …

Absenteeism Skyrockets for New York City Jail Guards, Up 215% Over the Last Two Years

by Jo Ellen Nott

In New York City, 25 jail guards have run up an absentee rate over the last two years which is “breathtaking in its magnitude,” according to local news reports, and “embarrassing,” according to Sarena Townsend, a former high-ranking internal affairs investigator with the city’s …

Oklahoma Prison Guard and Gilbert Postelle’s Brother Among 125 Convicted in Drug Ring

By Jo Ellen Nott

On April 5, 2022, federal prosecutors announced convictions in a massive drug-trafficking conspiracy for 125 associates of an Oklahoma-based prison gang, one of whom was a state prison guard and another the incarcerated brother of recently executed Oklahoma prisoner Gilbert Postelle.

David Postelle, …

Warden Accused of Sexual Misconduct and Forced to Take Leave from Job at Violence-Plagued Alabama Prison

By Jo Ellen Nott

 

The warden was escorted from Alabama’s Limestone Correctional Facility and placed on mandatory leave on March 19, 2022, following allegations of sexual misconduct and the near-fatal stabbing of a minimum-security prisoner there.

The prisoner, who has not been identified, was stabbed …

NYC DOC Internal Affairs Investigator Claims She Was Fired for Not Siding with Guards Union

By Jo Ellen Nott

Sarena Townsend, the attorney heading internal affairs investigations for the New York City Department of Corrections (DOC), was abruptly fired by new DOC Commissioner Louis Molina on January 4, 2022.

One of the first priorities announced by incoming Mayor Eric Adams (D) was …