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Controversy Surrounds Shackling of Dying and Comatose Prisoners in UK

Article • August 1, 2015 • from PLN August, 2015

Filed under: Restraints

Controversy Surrounds Shackling of Dying and Comatose Prisoners in UK by Matthew Clarke Controversy Surrounds Shackling of Dying and Comatose Prisoners in UK by Matt Clarke Authorities at Great Britain’s HM Prison Frankland pledged to change the way ill and dying prisoners are shackled in the aftermath of a scathing …

UK Prison Cook Awarded $160,000 for Back Injury

Article • July 31, 2015 • from PLN August, 2015

Filed under: Prison Labor, Workplace Injury

UK Prison Cook Awarded $160,000 for Back Injury by Derek Gilna UK Prison Cook Awarded $160,000 for Back Injury by Derek Gilna HM Swansea Prison catering manager Susan Cox, 46, was awarded over £100,000 (about $160,000) following an incident in which a sack of rice accidentally fell on her back. …

Brits Alarmed to Learn Prisoners Work as Insurance Telemarketers

Article • July 7, 2015 • from PLN July, 2015

Filed under: Prison Labor

Brits Alarmed to Learn Prisoners Work as Insurance Telemarketers by Joe Watson Brits Alarmed to Learn Prisoners Work as Insurance Telemarketers by Joe Watson Some knickers are in a bunch over revelations that prisoners in Great Britain are working as telemarketers for an insurance company. Prisoners at two facilities – …

U.K. Ministry of Justice Announces Finding Pork DNA in Halal Prison Foods

Article • June 11, 2015

Filed under: Religious Diet

U.K. Ministry of Justice Announces Finding Pork DNA in Halal Prison Foods by Matthew Clarke U.K. Ministry of Justice Announces Finding Pork DNA in Halal Prison Foods By Matt Clarke In February 2013, the U.K.’s Department of Justice issued an apology and suspended a prison meat supplier after traces of …

United States, Britain Offer Training to “Improve” Prison Conditions in Afghanistan

Article • February 4, 2015 • from PLN February, 2015

Filed under: Prisoners-International, Political Prisoners (International)

United States, Britain Offer Training to “Improve” Prison Conditions in Afghanistan by United States, Britain Offer Training to “Improve” Prison Conditions in Afghanistan While attempting to liberate Afghanistan from the tyranny of the Taliban, the U.S. and Great Britain have given the Afghans incarceration-related tools and training, ostensibly to improve …

News in Brief

Article • September 12, 2014 • from PLN September, 2014

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Brazil: Brazilian authorities announced on January 15, 2014 that an investigation would be initiated into atrocities at the infamous Pedrinhas penitentiary. Bloody battles between rival prison gangs resulted in complaints of mass rapes of women visitors and the posting of a video depicting …

The Death Penalty in the United States and the Force of Regional Human Rights Law

Article • July 30, 2014

Filed under: Eighth Amendment, International Law, Death Penalty

The Death Penalty in the United States and the Force of Regional Human Rights Law by Saira Mohamed The Death Penalty in the United States and the Force of Regional Human Rights Law by Saira Mohamed The botched execution last month of Oklahoma prisoner Clayton Lockett has focused attention on …

England, Increasing Number of States Allow Same-Sex Prisoner Marriages or Civil Unions

Article • July 9, 2014 • from PLN July, 2014

Filed under: Prisoner Privileges, International, Marriage

England, Increasing Number of States Allow Same-Sex Prisoner Marriages or Civil Unions by England, Increasing Number of States Allow Same-Sex Prisoner Marriages or Civil Unions Prisoners in England, including those in the highest security classification, are being allowed to enter into same-sex civil partnerships due to a policy change that …

News in Brief

Article • July 4, 2014 • from PLN July, 2014

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Arizona: A prisoner serving time for gang- and drug-related offenses, as well as his attorney-wife, mother, sister, ex-wife and another woman have been indicted on more than 250 charges following a two-year investigation into the New Mexican Mafia prison gang. Angel Lopez Garcia …

European Court of Human Rights Ruling Rebukes U.S. Prison System

Article • June 6, 2014 • from PLN June, 2014

Filed under: International Law, Prisoners-International, Transfers-International, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

European Court of Human Rights Ruling Rebukes U.S. Prison System by Derek Gilna European Court of Human Rights Ruling Rebukes U.S. Prison System by Derek Gilna A suspected terrorist diagnosed as mentally ill will not be extradited from Britain to the United States to face charges that he conspired to …

Security Giant Admits $38 Million Fraud

Article • May 7, 2014

Filed under: Private Prisons, G4S/Group 4, Contractor Misconduct, Staffing, Excessive Force

Security Giant Admits $38 Million Fraud by James Kilgore G4S, which bills itself as “the world’s largest security company,” has encountered rough going in the carceral marketplace in recent weeks. The latest episode in the troubles of this British-Danish security giant came with its public admission on November 18 that …

British Court Blocks Sex Offender’s Extradition to U.S. Due to “Draconian” Civil Commitment Policies

Article • December 15, 2013 • from PLN December, 2013

Filed under: International, Prisoners-International

British Court Blocks Sex Offender’s Extradition to U.S. Due to “Draconian” Civil Commitment Policies by In June 2012, Britain’s High Court of Justice blocked the extradition of a defendant wanted in Minnesota for sex crimes, stating a “flagrant denial” of his human rights would result if he were subjected to …

Analysis of Sex Offender Requirements and Civil Committment in U.S. and U.K. Kate Hynes Penn St. J. of Law & Int. Affairs 2013

Publication • November 1, 2013

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offender Residence, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Civil Commitment

Analysis of Sex Offender Requirements and Civil Committment in U.S. and U.K. Kate Hynes Penn St. J. of Law & Int. Affairs 2013 Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs Volume 2 | Issue 2 November 2013 The Cost of Fear: An Analysis of Sex Offender Registration, Community Notification, …

British Call Center Fires Employees to Hire Prison Slave Labor

Article • March 15, 2013 • from PLN March, 2013

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor

British Call Center Fires Employees to Hire Prison Slave Labor by A British company in Wales reportedly fired 17 of its call center employees to make room for prisoners that it pays just £3 a day—or less than $5.00. Beginning in December 2011, at least 23 prisoners were bussed in …

Sixties Singer Torches Debt Collector's Car; Mocks Court

Article • July 15, 2012

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Sixties Singer Torches Debt Collector's Car; Mocks Court by The former lead singer of the Sixties band, the Mindbenders, found himself on the wrong end of the law when he poured gasoline on a debt collector's car and set it on fire. On May 25, 2007, Wayne Fontana, also known …

Business is Booming for Prison Profiteers

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Cornell Corrections, Political Prisoners, Commentary/Reviews, Private Contractors, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Probation, Prisoners-International, Immigration, Political Prisoners (International), Civil Commitment

Business is Booming for Prison Profiteers by James Kilgore Private corrections company The GEO Group celebrated the holiday season by opening a new 1,500-bed prison in Milledgeville, Georgia on December 12, 2011. The $80 million facility is expected to generate approximately $28 million in annual revenues. Though GEO (formerly Wackenhut …

U.K. Terrorism Suspects May Challenge Extradition Based on U.S. Prison Conditions

Article • April 15, 2011 • from PLN April, 2011

Filed under: International, International Law, Political Prisoners (International), Terrorism, Transfers-International

U.K. Terrorism Suspects May Challenge Extradition Based on U.S. Prison Conditions by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On July 8, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France held that four suspects being detained in the United Kingdom pending extradition to the United States on terrorism charges …

Child Porn Investigations May Snare the Innocent

Article • November 15, 2010 • from PLN November, 2010

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Malicious Prosecution, Computers, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Internet

Child Porn Investigations May Snare the Innocent by Michael Rigby by Mike Rigby A new threat looms in the Internet age – the threat of improper prosecutions and wrongful convictions for the unwitting receipt, possession or attempted possession of child pornography. Everyone is at risk, as these offenses can be …

Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions

Article • October 15, 2010 • from PLN October, 2010

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Evidence, DNA Testing/Samples, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Crime, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Conspiracy, Staffing, Jury Instructions, Expert Witnesses, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Failure to Train/Supervise

Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions by Matthew Clarke To millions of people whose knowledge of crime labs comes from television shows such as CSI, Bones, Crossing Jordan and the venerable Quincy M.E., the forensic experts who work at such labs seem to be infallible scientists …

Methadone Vending Machines Installed in British Prisons

Article • May 15, 2010 • from PLN May, 2010

Filed under: Medication, International, Prisoners-International, Drug Treatment/Rehab

Methadone Vending Machines Installed in British Prisons by Fifty-seven methadone vending machines have been installed in British prisons in an effort to help opiate-addicted prisoners manage their drug addictions without resorting to illegal heroin supplies available behind bars. The machines dispense individualized doses of methadone to registered prisoners after a …