State Auditor: Texas Prisoners Face Retaliation for Airing Grievances
by Matt Clarke
In September 2008, the Texas State Auditor released a report on the investigation and resolution of complaints in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The report found that while grievance administrators filled out investigation forms properly and ...
Caging Kids for Cash: Two Pennsylvania Judges Guilty of Selling Out Juvenile Justice System
by Matt Clarke
Judges are supposed to be the protectors of our constitutional rights. They are expected to be fair and impartial, and to safeguard vulnerable members of society who are unable to protect themselves. Admitting ...
by Matt Clarke
On October 22, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Neil V. Wake issued an 83-page order with findings of facts and conclusions of law in a long-running civil rights lawsuit against Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other county officials. The order held that conditions of confinement ...
Study Shows Treating HCV in Prisons with Pegylated Interferon Is Cost-Effective
by Matt Clarke
A new study published in the November 2008 issue of the medical journal Hepatology found that treating hepatitis C-infected prisoners with the standard therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin was cost-effective. Savings were as high as ...
by Matt Clarke
In July 2008, Louisiana-based private prison company LCS Corrections Services agreed to remove junked cars, appliances and other debris inhibiting the flow of Petronila Creek, which runs close to LCS’s newly-built 1,100-bed Coastal Bend Detention Center near Robstown, Texas.
The company had applied to the Texas Commission ...
Prisons and Jails Preparing for Switch to Digital TV Broadcasting ... or Not
by Matt Clarke
On February 17, 2009, over-the-air television broadcasters were scheduled to complete the switch from analog to digital signals. Following the changeover, analog televisions will no longer receive over-the-air stations without a converter, as all ...
by Matt Clarke
In October 2008, Michigan’s Auditor General released a performance audit on selected personnel and other administrative costs at the Department of Corrections (DOC) for the previous fiscal year. The report revealed that the DOC had overspent millions on overtime pay.
As of December 31, 2007, the DOC ...
by Matt Clarke
On September 29, 2008, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell ordered a moratorium on paroles. Three weeks later he lifted the suspension of paroles for non-violent offenders, and the moratorium was completely withdrawn last December. These are the latest developments in a crisis caused by overcrowding in Pennsylvania’s prison ...
by Matt Clarke
Since 2007, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the largest religious network in the world, has been quietly spreading a faith-based rehabilitative TV program for prisoners.
Following a successful pilot program in South Dakota’s prison system, TBN’s Second Chance program is poised to expand nationwide. South Dakota, Alabama, Pennsylvania, ...
Imprisoned Connecticut Politician Gets Special Privileges
by Matt Clarke
In October 2008, the Hartford Courant reported that former Connecticut State Representative Jesse G. Stratton had received special privileges from Department of Corrections officials. Stratton, a 61-year-old widow with three grown children, was serving a four-month prison sentence at the York ...
