by Matt Clarke
Of the various kinds of rehabilitative programs offered to prisoners, only education has been shown to unequivocally correlate with a strong reduction in recidivism. The more education a prisoner receives, the greater the decrease in recidivism – right down to the nearly zero recidivism rate of …
by Matt Clarke
In April 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statistical report on the nation’s city and county jail population for the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2010. The report noted this was only the second year in which the …
by Matt Clarke
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed a death sentence imposed on a state prisoner convicted of capital murder, because a prison investigator had falsely described the prisoner classification system in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).
In 2007, a Texas jury convicted Adrian Estrada, 27, …
by Matt Clarke
A Texas psychologist who used questionable methods to examine over a dozen Texas death row prisoners prior to their trials, and found them intellectually competent to face the death penalty, has been fined for using non-standard testing techniques and will no longer perform death penalty evaluations.
Dr. …
by Matt Clarke
After the Indiana General Assembly passed a budget for FY 2012-2013 that eliminated $9 million in financial aid for college programs for prisoners, the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) is shifting such programs away from liberal arts studies and four-year degrees, and instead focusing on vocational courses.
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by Matt Clarke
According to a recent report by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), during fiscal year (FY) 2010, Texas state prisoners served an average of 58% of their sentences before being released. That percentage is down from 60% in FY 2006. The average sentence length was 19.2 …
by Matt Clarke
In May 2011, Oklahoma County approved a $1 million settlement in a civil rights lawsuit involving a prisoner who was first denied his anti-seizure medication and then fatally beaten by guards after he had a seizure at the Oklahoma County jail. Correctional Health Care Management of Oklahoma, …
by Matt Clarke
On March 14, 2011, a federal court in Missouri temporarily enjoined the Housing Authority of St. Louis County (HASLC) from denying housing assistance to a seriously ill man who had been convicted of sex offenses and was required to register as a sex offender for life.
Alton …
by Matt Clarke
Douglas County, Nebraska District Court Judge Peter Bataillon has dismissed official misconduct charges against jailers who allegedly let a prisoner bleed to death while he begged for his life. Bataillon interpreted Jail Standards Board regulations as putting the burden of ensuring that prisoners receive medical care solely …
by Matt Clarke
In 2005, Washington Department of Corrections Secretary Harold Clarke reprimanded DOC employee Belinda D. Stewart for selling Avon products to her co-workers at the Purdy women’s prison after she was ordered not to conduct private business with DOC staff.
Instead of learning a lesson about co-mingling her …