Search | Prison Legal News

Prison Needle Exchanges Around the World

Article • January 15, 2005 • from PLN January, 2005

Filed under: Reviews, Medical, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Prisoners-International

Prison Needle Exchanges Around the World by Julie Falk Did you know the first prison needle exchange program was started in Switzerland in 1992? Would you guess that the five other countries maintaining needle exchange programs in their criminal justice systems are Germany, Spain, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus? In the …

Latest Honduran Prison Massacre: "Homies Were Burning Alive"

Article • January 15, 2005 • from PLN January, 2005

Filed under: Gang Policies, Crime, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prisoners-International, Immigration, Wrongful Death, Accidents

Latest Honduran Prison Massacre: "Homies Were Burning Alive" by Tom Hayden In first-ever interviews, representatives of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) gang in Tegucigalpa, Honduras this May described how security forces were to blame for the May 17, 2004 prison fire that killed 105 of those they call their homeboys. In …

Iraqi Dungeons and Torture Chambers Under New, American Trained Management

Article • September 15, 2004 • from PLN September, 2004

Filed under: Private Prisons, Management and Training Corporation, Contractor Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Political Prisoners, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prisoners-International, Military Prisons

Iraqi Dungeons and Torture Chambers Under New, American Trained Management by Leah Caldwell Just a year ago, Attorney General John Ashcroft pointed to the Iraqi prison system as a shining example of the freedoms that the U.S. would bring to Iraq. He said, "Now, all Iraqis can taste liberty in …

Exporting the American Way of Crime

Article • August 15, 2004 • from PLN August, 2004

Filed under: Gang Policies, Crime/Demographics, Crime, Prisoners-International, Immigration

Exporting the American Way of Crime by by Matthew T. Clarke For well over two hundred years fol-lowing the founding of the United States, foreigners who committed crimes faced imprisonment, execution, fines, parole, and/or probation. Few were deported. Those that were deported were generally infamous criminals or political dissidents. The …

Abu Ghraib, USA

Article • July 15, 2004 • from PLN July, 2004

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, International Law, Prisoners-International, Military Prisons

Abu Ghraib, USA by Anne-Marie Cusac When I first saw the photo, taken at the Abu Ghraib prison, of a hooded and robed figure strung with electrical wiring, I thought of the Sacramento, California, city jail. When I heard that dogs had been used to intimidate and bite at least …

Performance Work Statement, Migrant Operations Center, 2004-2008

Publication • 2004

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prisoners-International, Immigration

Performance Work Statement, Migrant Operations Center, 2004-2008 Company Name: Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, GEO Group Contract Number: ACB-3-C-0008, ACL-4-C-0001, ODT-6-C-0002, ACL-2-C-0004, ACD-03-C-0008 (ACB3C0008, ACL4C0001, ODT6C0002, ACL2C0004, ACD03C0008) Order Number: ACL-5-D-0002, HSCEOP-06-J-00180, HSCEOP-06-J-00405, HSCEOP-07-J-00215, HSCEOP-05F-00304, HSCEOP-06-F-00774, HSCEOP-07-F-00255, HSCEOP-06-J-00198, HSCEOP-07-J00452, FDN5D0038, HSCEOP-05-J-00009, HSCEOP-07-J-00271 (ACL5D0002, HSCEOP06J00180, HSCEOP06J00405, HSCEOP07J00215, HSCEOP05F00304, HSCEOP06F00774, HSCEOP07F00255, HSCEOP06J00198, HSCEOP07J00452, FDN5D0038, …

100+ Canadian Prisoners Attempt to Escape From Private Superjail

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Management and Training Corporation, Prison Rebellion, Protests, Escapes, International, Prisoners-International

100+ Canadian Prisoners Attempt to Escape From Private Superjail by According to the Toronto Star, on September 20, 2002, more than a hundred prisoners at the privately-run Superjail in Penetanguishene, Ontario, attempted to escape using a battering ram. According to Ontario Provincial Police, the prisoners, who were armed with homemade …

Japanese Man Awarded $500,000 For Being Held In Bahamas Prison For 8 Years Without A Court Hearing

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Prisoners-International

Japanese Man Awarded $500,000 For Being Held In Bahamas Prison For 8 Years Without A Court Hearing by Japanese Man Awarded $500,000 For Being Held In Bahamas Prison For 8 Years Without A Court Hearing In August 1992, Atain Takitota traveled from his home in Osaka, Japan to Paradise Island, …

100+ Canadian Prisoners Attempt to Escape from Private Superjail; Racial Profiling Alleged

Article • November 15, 2003 • from PLN November, 2003

Filed under: Private Prisons, Management and Training Corporation, Racial Discrimination, Escapes, Prisoners-International

100+ Canadian Prisoners Attempt to Escape from Private Superjail; Racial Profiling Alleged by According to the Toronto Star, on September 20, 2002, more than a hundred prisoners at the privately-run Superjail in Penetanguishene, Ontario, used a battering ram to attempt an escape. According to the Ontario Provincial Police, the prisoners, …

Honduras Prison Massacre: What Really Happened

Article • October 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2003

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Gang Policies, Overcrowding, Excessive Force, Prisoners-International, Wrongful Death

Honduras Prison Massacre: What Really Happened by On April 5, 2003, 68 people were murdered inside the walls of the El Porvenir prison in Honduras. The story that initially came out of that country said that 59 of the dead were gang members who shot at other prisoners, then barricaded …

Canadian Supreme Court Grants Prisoners Right to Vote

Article • September 15, 2003 • from PLN September, 2003

Filed under: Organizing, Voting, Prisoners-International

Canadian Supreme Court Grants Prisoners Right to Vote by Lonnie Burton On November 3, 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a law that barred prisoners serving sentences of two years or more from voting in federal elections. In a sharply divided 5-4 decision, the Canadian high court held …

900 British Prisoners Freed Following Court Ruling

Article • August 15, 2003 • from PLN August, 2003

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Counsel, International Law, Prisoners-International

900 British Prisoners Freed Following Court Ruling by On July 26, 2002, nine hundred prisoners in England and Wales had to be set free after the European Court of Human rights unanimously ruled that extending prisoners' imprisonment for disciplinary violations without allowing them legal representation violated Article 6 of the …

Mexican Sweatshops Go Behind Bars

Article • October 15, 2002 • from PLN October, 2002

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Prisoners-International

Mexican Sweatshops Go Behind Bars by Michael Rigby For years U.S. citizens have screamed about losing jobs to cheap overseas labor. Now it seems that U.S. prisoners are in danger of losing jobs to even cheaper prison labor in Mexico. In an effort to stimulate its economy, Mexico is allowing …

Dominican Women Prisoners Strike for Conjugal Visits

Article • June 15, 2002 • from PLN June, 2002

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Prison Rebellion, Prisoners-International, Visiting, Extended Family Visiting

Dominican Women Prisoners Strike for Conjugal Visits by Julia Lutsky In November of 2001, women prisoners in the Najayo public prison in San Cristóbal on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, carried out a protest during which they set fire to and burned all the books, doors and shelving …

23 Escape from Wackenhut Prison in Caribbean

Article • April 15, 2002 • from PLN April, 2002

Filed under: Private Prisons, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Escapes, Prisoners-International

23 Escape from Wackenhut Prison in Caribbean by Gary Hunter 23 Escape From Wackenhut Prison in Caribbean by Gary Hunter A rash of escapes have fueled investigations into negligence and possible corruption at a Wackenhut prison. In less than two months, 23 prisoners have escaped from Curacao's Koraal Specht prison …

Death Toll Hits 87 as Turkish Prison Protest Strike Continues

Article • April 15, 2002 • from PLN April, 2002

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Prison Rebellion, Hunger Strikes, Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prisoners-International

Death Toll Hits 87 as Turkish Prison Protest Strike Continues by Julia Lutsky On November 4, 2001, Turkish police used armored vehicles to batter down the barricades protesters had erected in Kucakarmutlu, an outlying district on the European side of Istanbul. The semi-official news agency Anatolia reported four protesters had …

Colombian Rebels Attack Prisons, 140 Prisoners Flee

Article • November 15, 2001 • from PLN November, 2001

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Escapes, Civil Procedure, Conspiracy (Civil Procedure), Prisoners-International

Colombian Rebels Attack Prisons, 140 Prisoners Flee by Prison escapes are common in Colombia. Prisoners often buy the help of guards and administrators and are often able to outgun their jailers. In the case that follows they had concerted help from the outside. It is not the first time that …

Chinese Company Convicted of Using Forced Prison Labor

Article • October 15, 2001 • from PLN October, 2001

Filed under: Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Prisoners-International

Chinese Company Convicted of Using Forced Prison Labor by On February 28, 2001, Peter Chen, a Taiwanese entrepreneur, pled guilty in a New Jersey federal district court to charges of selling goods in the U.S. which were produced by forced prison labor. Chen will pay a $50,000 fine. Chen owned …

Turkish Prisoners Struggle Against Transfers

Article • August 15, 2001 • from PLN August, 2001

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Hunger Strikes, Prisoners-International, Political Prisoners (International), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Turkish Prisoners Struggle Against Transfers by Julia Lutsky When the Turkish army stormed 20 prisons in December, 2000, a four-day pitched battle ensued during which thirty-two died _ 30 political prisoners and two soldiers. The army claimed that many prisoners set themselves afire rather than surrender; prisoners who survived allege …

Nineteen Killed in Brazilian Prison Rebellion

Article • July 15, 2001 • from PLN July, 2001

Filed under: Gang Policies, Prison Rebellion, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prisoners-International

Nineteen Killed in Brazilian Prison Rebellion by On Feb. 19, 2001, Brazilian authorities said they had regained control of 29 prisons in Sao Paulo state where some 25,000 prisoners had taken some 7,000 hostages in an apparently coordinated rebellion during the Sunday visiting day on Feb. 18. Some of the …