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News in Brief
News in Brief:
Alabama: On March 2, 2005, Ellis Hudson, 40, was arrested on trespassing charges for breaking into the Bullock County jail in Union Springs. Hudson was apparently trying to smuggle tobacco to jail prisoners, which is banned.
Arizona: On March 8, 2006, an unidentified Maricopa county sheriffs deputy was stabbed by a prisoner in the county courthouse while escorting the prisoner to court. The deputy was not seriously injured.
Arkansas: On May 6, 2005, Xavier Livingston, a guard at the federal prison in Forrest City was arrested by FBI agents and charged with attempting to smuggle unspecified contraband into the prison and accepting bribes.
California: On February 10, 2005, Lloyd Wiatt, 61, a Los Angeles county superior court judge shot and killed himself at a park in Valencia after being questioned by police on allegations that he had molested a child.
California: On July 10, 2005, Nicholas Rodriguez, 27, a prisoner awaiting execution on death row in San Quentin accidentally overdosed on heroin and died. Michael Camacho, the Los Angeles deputy prosecutor who prosecuted Rodriguez for three homicides said the overdose did not surprise him. The accessibility of narcotics is rampant in the Department of Corrections, even though they would prefer not to admit it, he said.
Georgia: On August 30, 2005, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a full and unconditional pardon to Lena Baker, 44, a black maid who was executed in 1945 after being convicted of killing E.B. Knight, 67, a white man who had hired her to care for him and who held her against her will and threatened to shoot her if she tried to leave. The push for the pardon was organized by John Cole Vodicka of the Georgia Prison and Jail Project.
Illinois: On March 2, 2006, Gerald Donaldson, 64, a prisoner convicted of rape and kidnapping, was killed by another prisoner, means unspecified in media reports, at Muddy River Correctional Center in Ina. Prison guard union leaders blamed a lack of staffing for the death and also the fact that the duty warden at the prison when Donaldson was killed, Julie Wilkerson, is a former music teacher with no prison or jail experience who apparently got the number three job at the prison after making campaign donations to governor Rod Blagojevich.
Massachusetts: On March 2, 2006, prisoners at the Massachusetts Corrections Institution in Shirley refused to return to their cells upon learning that their out of cell time was being cut in half. A week later an unidentified prison guard was suspended with pay for allegedly encouraging the prisoners to protest.
Mississippi: On October 29, 2004, Jessie Wilson, 22, a prisoner at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, stabbed three unidentified guards who suffered minor injuries. The incident occurred while Wilson was being escorted from an exercise yard. He was later charged with aggravated assault and destroying state property.
Missouri: On March 6, 2006, an unidentified guard at the Pulaski county jail was arrested on misdemeanor charges of sexually assaulting a female prisoner.
New Hampshire: On January 26, 2005, judge Franklin Jones, 56, resigned from the bench, a day after the Judicial Conduct Committee recommended his removal from the bench. At a conference on sexual assault and domestic violence Jones groped five victims advocates. He pleaded guilty to simple assault charges, reduced from sexual assault, and spent a week in alcohol treatment.
New York: On April 29, 2005, Alton Hutchinson, 36, was arraigned on charges that he beat and attempted to rape a female counselor at the Elmira Correctional Facility during a private counseling session. Hutchinson was already serving a 25-50 year sentence for attempted second degree murder, second degree assault, first degree rape and sodomy convictions. Hutchinson has already been convicted of the charges in a prison disciplinary hearing where he was sentenced to 16.5 years in disciplinary segregation and the loss of 30 months good time credits.
Ohio: On June 20, 2005, Tanya Serrell, 40, a guard at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility in Delaware, pleaded guilty to assaulting a 13 year old prisoner at the facility.
Oklahoma: On May 5, 2005, Charles Wilson, 19, a guard at the then Corrections Corporation of America run Tulsa jail, was arrested on charges of stealing a womans purse at gunpoint at a local mall. He was captured by police shortly afterwards.
Oregon: On April 21, 2005, Robert Stamper, 28, a former Bureau of Prisons guard employed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan was sentenced to 61 years in state prison after being convicted by a jury on 17 charges related to raping an 18 year old woman, kidnapping her at gunpoint, choking her into unconsciousness and leaving her for dead.
Pennsylvania: On February 23, 2005, James Morgan, a sergeant at the State Correctional Institution in Camp Hill, was arrested at his prison work place and charged in Cumberland county court with raping two girls, now aged 17 and 21, when they were 7 and five years old, respectively.
Texas: On June 3, 2005, Joey Janice, 24, a former Tarrant county jail guard in Ft. Worth was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years probation after pleading guilty to attempting to smuggle five grams of marijuana into the jail after taking money from a jail visitor. He also agreed to testify against another jail guard, Ollie King, who was also charged with drug smuggling at the jail.
Texas: On May 5, 2005, Francisco Marsical, 26, a guard at the Webb County jail in Laredo was arrested and charged with attempting to smuggle heroin, marijuana, syringes and lighters into the jail on behalf of the Mexican Mafia.
Vermont: On March 29, 2005, Lynn Forcier, 42, an employee at the Northern State Correctional Facility embezzled $77,116 from prisoners commissary accounts at the prison, according to prosecutors who have charged her with theft.
Washington: On January 14, 2005, Kenneth Ray, 46, resigned as director of the King County adult and juvenile jail systems. The resignation came a day after a report was issued that Ray was under investigation for unspecified workplace concerns.
Washington: On October 2, 2004, Michael Tibbetts, 49, hanged himself in his cell at the McNeil Island Corrections Center. He was serving a 61 month sentence for drug possession.
Washington: On October 3, 2004, Clyde Hall, 51, a guard at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla was arrested on heroin possession charges and possessing a sawed off shotgun. Police claim Hall delivered drugs to prisoners. He had been employed as a guard since 1991.
Washington: Ralph Blakely, 69, the defendant whose case was used by the U.S. supreme court to dramatically change sentencing procedures across the country and which invalidated Washington states sentencing scheme for imposing exceptional sentences, was sentenced in Spokane county superior court on March 23, 2005, to 35 years in prison for soliciting the murder of his ex wife and daughter. Prisoner Robbie Juarez testified that Blakely had offered him $40,000.00 to kill each of the women. The murder solicitation occurred while Blakely was serving the 7 ½ year sentence for kidnapping the ex wife at knifepoint, which was vacated by the supreme court. The latest charges were filed after Juarez was released from prison and was facing burglary charges when he went to police with his claim and a detective assisted him in soliciting Blakely for the murder scheme. Juarez testified that in exchange for his testimony the burglary charges were reduced to trespassing charges.
Alabama: On March 2, 2005, Ellis Hudson, 40, was arrested on trespassing charges for breaking into the Bullock County jail in Union Springs. Hudson was apparently trying to smuggle tobacco to jail prisoners, which is banned.
Arizona: On March 8, 2006, an unidentified Maricopa county sheriffs deputy was stabbed by a prisoner in the county courthouse while escorting the prisoner to court. The deputy was not seriously injured.
Arkansas: On May 6, 2005, Xavier Livingston, a guard at the federal prison in Forrest City was arrested by FBI agents and charged with attempting to smuggle unspecified contraband into the prison and accepting bribes.
California: On February 10, 2005, Lloyd Wiatt, 61, a Los Angeles county superior court judge shot and killed himself at a park in Valencia after being questioned by police on allegations that he had molested a child.
California: On July 10, 2005, Nicholas Rodriguez, 27, a prisoner awaiting execution on death row in San Quentin accidentally overdosed on heroin and died. Michael Camacho, the Los Angeles deputy prosecutor who prosecuted Rodriguez for three homicides said the overdose did not surprise him. The accessibility of narcotics is rampant in the Department of Corrections, even though they would prefer not to admit it, he said.
Georgia: On August 30, 2005, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a full and unconditional pardon to Lena Baker, 44, a black maid who was executed in 1945 after being convicted of killing E.B. Knight, 67, a white man who had hired her to care for him and who held her against her will and threatened to shoot her if she tried to leave. The push for the pardon was organized by John Cole Vodicka of the Georgia Prison and Jail Project.
Illinois: On March 2, 2006, Gerald Donaldson, 64, a prisoner convicted of rape and kidnapping, was killed by another prisoner, means unspecified in media reports, at Muddy River Correctional Center in Ina. Prison guard union leaders blamed a lack of staffing for the death and also the fact that the duty warden at the prison when Donaldson was killed, Julie Wilkerson, is a former music teacher with no prison or jail experience who apparently got the number three job at the prison after making campaign donations to governor Rod Blagojevich.
Massachusetts: On March 2, 2006, prisoners at the Massachusetts Corrections Institution in Shirley refused to return to their cells upon learning that their out of cell time was being cut in half. A week later an unidentified prison guard was suspended with pay for allegedly encouraging the prisoners to protest.
Mississippi: On October 29, 2004, Jessie Wilson, 22, a prisoner at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, stabbed three unidentified guards who suffered minor injuries. The incident occurred while Wilson was being escorted from an exercise yard. He was later charged with aggravated assault and destroying state property.
Missouri: On March 6, 2006, an unidentified guard at the Pulaski county jail was arrested on misdemeanor charges of sexually assaulting a female prisoner.
New Hampshire: On January 26, 2005, judge Franklin Jones, 56, resigned from the bench, a day after the Judicial Conduct Committee recommended his removal from the bench. At a conference on sexual assault and domestic violence Jones groped five victims advocates. He pleaded guilty to simple assault charges, reduced from sexual assault, and spent a week in alcohol treatment.
New York: On April 29, 2005, Alton Hutchinson, 36, was arraigned on charges that he beat and attempted to rape a female counselor at the Elmira Correctional Facility during a private counseling session. Hutchinson was already serving a 25-50 year sentence for attempted second degree murder, second degree assault, first degree rape and sodomy convictions. Hutchinson has already been convicted of the charges in a prison disciplinary hearing where he was sentenced to 16.5 years in disciplinary segregation and the loss of 30 months good time credits.
Ohio: On June 20, 2005, Tanya Serrell, 40, a guard at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility in Delaware, pleaded guilty to assaulting a 13 year old prisoner at the facility.
Oklahoma: On May 5, 2005, Charles Wilson, 19, a guard at the then Corrections Corporation of America run Tulsa jail, was arrested on charges of stealing a womans purse at gunpoint at a local mall. He was captured by police shortly afterwards.
Oregon: On April 21, 2005, Robert Stamper, 28, a former Bureau of Prisons guard employed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan was sentenced to 61 years in state prison after being convicted by a jury on 17 charges related to raping an 18 year old woman, kidnapping her at gunpoint, choking her into unconsciousness and leaving her for dead.
Pennsylvania: On February 23, 2005, James Morgan, a sergeant at the State Correctional Institution in Camp Hill, was arrested at his prison work place and charged in Cumberland county court with raping two girls, now aged 17 and 21, when they were 7 and five years old, respectively.
Texas: On June 3, 2005, Joey Janice, 24, a former Tarrant county jail guard in Ft. Worth was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years probation after pleading guilty to attempting to smuggle five grams of marijuana into the jail after taking money from a jail visitor. He also agreed to testify against another jail guard, Ollie King, who was also charged with drug smuggling at the jail.
Texas: On May 5, 2005, Francisco Marsical, 26, a guard at the Webb County jail in Laredo was arrested and charged with attempting to smuggle heroin, marijuana, syringes and lighters into the jail on behalf of the Mexican Mafia.
Vermont: On March 29, 2005, Lynn Forcier, 42, an employee at the Northern State Correctional Facility embezzled $77,116 from prisoners commissary accounts at the prison, according to prosecutors who have charged her with theft.
Washington: On January 14, 2005, Kenneth Ray, 46, resigned as director of the King County adult and juvenile jail systems. The resignation came a day after a report was issued that Ray was under investigation for unspecified workplace concerns.
Washington: On October 2, 2004, Michael Tibbetts, 49, hanged himself in his cell at the McNeil Island Corrections Center. He was serving a 61 month sentence for drug possession.
Washington: On October 3, 2004, Clyde Hall, 51, a guard at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla was arrested on heroin possession charges and possessing a sawed off shotgun. Police claim Hall delivered drugs to prisoners. He had been employed as a guard since 1991.
Washington: Ralph Blakely, 69, the defendant whose case was used by the U.S. supreme court to dramatically change sentencing procedures across the country and which invalidated Washington states sentencing scheme for imposing exceptional sentences, was sentenced in Spokane county superior court on March 23, 2005, to 35 years in prison for soliciting the murder of his ex wife and daughter. Prisoner Robbie Juarez testified that Blakely had offered him $40,000.00 to kill each of the women. The murder solicitation occurred while Blakely was serving the 7 ½ year sentence for kidnapping the ex wife at knifepoint, which was vacated by the supreme court. The latest charges were filed after Juarez was released from prison and was facing burglary charges when he went to police with his claim and a detective assisted him in soliciting Blakely for the murder scheme. Juarez testified that in exchange for his testimony the burglary charges were reduced to trespassing charges.
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