by Matt Clarke
A number of counties in Arkansas have been sending their toxic electronics waste, including broken computers and televisions, to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), the industry program for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
UNICOR uses prisoners at a federal facility in Texarkana, Texas to process the ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 4, 2008, a federal jury in Iowa awarded $750,000 to two political protesters who were arrested at the direction of the Secret Service, taken to jail and unlawfully strip-searched. After the court ordered another trial, a second jury awarded damages in the reduced amount of ...
by Matt Clarke
On February 2, 2009, Stuart W. Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, released a report on the United States’ appropriation of $50 billion for rebuilding efforts in Iraq.
The report, titled Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience, blamed many of the problems encountered in reconstruction projects ...
by Matt Clarke
On December 18, 2008, just a week before Christmas, the U.S. Postal Service abruptly suspended its decades-old Operation Santa Claus, a holiday program in which volunteers sift through children’s letters addressed to Santa, “adopt” one or more letters, and then provide gifts to needy children.
The reason ...
By Matt Clarke
On February 20, 2009, a medic in the U.S. Army was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the 2007 murder of four Iraqi prisoners in Baghdad. The next day, the infamous Abu Ghraib prison reopened under a new name.
Sgt. Michael Leahy, Jr., 28, ...
Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in Connection with Private Prison in Texas
by Matt Clarke
On November 17, 2008, a Texas grand jury returned an indictment against then-Vice President Richard B. Cheney and former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, charging Cheney with contributing to prisoner abuse in privately-run prisons and Gonzales ...
Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group
by Matt Clarke
On April 2, 2009, a Texas Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of $22,000,000 in actual damages and $20,500,000 in punitive damages against Wackenhut Corrections (now known as GEO Group) in a lawsuit ...
New Trial and JNOV Denial Upheld in $15,545,000 Michigan Prisoner Sexual Harassment Case
by Matt Clarke
On January 27, 2009, the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s denial of a motion for judgment nonwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial in a case that resulted in a ...
Nevada Ramps Up Prisoner Deportations – Even Those Ineligible for Early Release
by Matt Clarke
In an attempt to reduce prison overcrowding and save money, Nevada has expanded its efforts to deport incarcerated non-citizens, including those not eligible for early release.
Nevada began its deportation program in 2007 when 100 ...
by Matt Clarke
Texas has 112 prisons and employs 23,700 guards – which is 2,600 shy of the number authorized by the state legislature. The shortage of prison staff is not new and neither is the state’s use of non-citizens as guards. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has ...
