California: On August 12, 2006, Tony Padilla, 44, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Complex in Victorville died in a local hospital after an altercation with another prisoner.

Colorado: On September 6, 2006, a federal court in Denver sentenced John Reynolds, 53, to an additional 16 months in prison for escaping from the Federal Prison Camp in Florence on March 14, 1999. Reynolds was then a fugitive for 7 years before being captured in Mexico. Reynolds had entered the federal prison system in 1998 to serve a seven year sentence for making false statements to a financial institution and money laundering.

El Salvador: On September 6, 2006, officials at the maximum security prison in Zacatecoluca discovered cell phones concealed in the rectal cavities of four prisoners. Nine cell phone chips and a charger were also discovered in various anuses. The cell phones were discovered as part of an investigation into organized crime inside the nation's prisons.

Florida: On September 11, 2006, Kathleen Hill, 33, a former guard at the Charlotte county jail, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from shooting and killing her forest ranger husband Shawn Hill, 32, in 2004. Kathleen claimed that Shawn had abused her which is why she killed him. Shawns family dispute that account and note she was fired from her jail job for having inappropriate relations with a prisoner.

Florida: On September 7, 2006, federal immigration officials arrested and detained 15 people who were using false identification papers to do roofing work on the Federal Detention Center in South Miami-Dade. The workers had been employed to do roofing work on the federal jail. 13 were illegal aliens from Mexico, two were from Guatemala.

Georgia: By August 10, 2006, at least 10 prisoners in this former Soviet Republic had died of heat related causes as temperatures reached record highs of 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Prison officials said prisoners had plenty of water and fans.

Georgia: On August 22, 2006, Timothy Jones, 28, a state prisoner who was brought to the Jackson county courthouse to face additional charges, grabbed a pistol from jail deputy Kimsey Gray and shot Gray three times with it after his arraignment while being returned to the jail. Gray is expected to recover. Jones then took the keys to the van and attempted to flee the secure area of the courthouse parking garage when he crashed into a chain link fence. Jones got about 100 yards before he was shot to death by deputies. A preliminary investigation indicates that Gray did not follow jail policy and left his gun in the van and not in a secure lockbox in the courthouse.

Georgia: On August 9, 2006, Jimmy Butler, 30, a Dekalb county jail guard, pleaded guilty to smuggling marijuana and other contraband to jail prisoners. He was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation for bribery, drug possession, contraband charges and violating his oath of office. Adriane Mitchell, 40, who pleaded guilty to giving Butler the drugs and contraband to smuggle into the jail, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 3 years probation after pleading guilty to bribery, smuggling and drug charges.

Kansas: Toby Young, 48, the prison volunteer who ran the Safe Harbor Prison Dog Program at the Lansing Correctional Facility until she helped smuggle convicted murderer John Mannard, 27, out of the prison in a crate, was sentenced to 21 months in state prison for her role in the February 12, 2006, escape. When police captured the duo on February 24, Mannard was armed with two pistols. Federal prosecutors have charged Mannard with being a felon in possession of a firearm and charged Young on August 17, 2006 with supplying a firearm to a felon and a fugitive.

Minnesota: As of August 19, 2006, at least 18 prisoners at the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth had contracted Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Auereus (MRSA), a highly contagious and sometimes fatal skin disease, since June, 2006. The Bureau of Prisons has responded with an education campaign urging prisoners to wash their hands. In a prison environment crowding and poor laundry conditions lead to the spread of MRSA.

Minnesota: On August 11, 2006, Carl Moyle, 28, a motorist who was arrested and jailed for not having proof of his vehicle insurance with him when stopped by police was beaten to death in the Sherburne county jail with a handicap rail by prisoner Bruce Christenson. The insurance papers were in Moyle's home and his brother brought the documents to the police department that same day but was told it was too late and to return the next day.
Christenson was a state prisoner serving a sentence for aggravated assault who was sent to the Sherburne county jail because he had been charged with assaulting a prisoner at the St. Cloud State Prison with a weapon earlier in the year. Sherburne county sheriff Bruce Anderson said his staff were unaware of these facts and if they had been Christenson would not have been in general population at the time he allegedly beat Moyle to death. The more obvious question is why was Moyle jailed for not having insurance papers with him.

Missouri: On September 12, 2006, Daniel Bunton, 35, shot and killed Stacey Davis, 31, then shot and killed himself at the Chillicothe Correctional Center which is the states prison for women. Both had been employed as guards at the prison for less than a month and both were undergoing divorces though they lived together. Bunton was apparently upset that Davis would not speak to him. Missouri prison guards are not required to be searched or go through metal detectors before entering prisons. Missouri does not allow firearms within the secure perimeter of its facilities.

New Jersey: On September 11, 2006, police arrested Sean Chinsoon, 31, a guard at the Monmouth county jail on charges of drunk driving and leading police on an 80 MPH chase in his Hummer.

New Mexico: On August 9, 2006, s Cibola county grand jury indicted Enrique Garcia, 50, the former commander of the New Mexico Womens Correctional Facility in Grants for two charges of sexual penetration while in a position of authority over prisoners. He is accused of sexually assaulting an unidentified 25 year old female prisoner serving a life sentence for murder.

New York: On August 22, 2006, Katrina Bolden, 39, a guard at the Rikers Island jail, was arrested and charged with assault for beating a 41 year old woman and her 12 year old son in a Manhattan apartment complex.

Oklahoma: On August 20, 2006, Creek County superior court judge Donald Thompson, 59, was sentenced to 4 years in prison after being convicted of four felony counts of indecent exposure for using a penis pump to masturbate in court while presiding over criminal trials, including death penalty cases. Thompson denied masturbating during court proceedings but investigators later recovered his semen on his judicial robes, and carpet and chair behind the bench. Thompson was also fined $40,000.00

Pennsylvania: On August 23, 2006, Tina Martinez, 42, a drug and alcohol counselor employed by private prison company Civigenics at Greensburg State Correctional Institute was charged with sexually assaulting a 29 year old male prisoner at the facility by fondling him and engaging in oral sex. When confronted by guards both parties acknowledged having had sex together.

Tennessee: On September 8, 2006, Don Dunaway, the director of the Tennessee Department of Corrections internal affairs division and Joe Vernon, one of his special agents, were both fired for using state computers to pornographic and racist e mails and messages to each other. Ironically, their duties included investigating inappropriate workplace behavior. They were investigated after officials received an anonymous tip alerting them to the malfeasance.

Texas: On August 20, 2006, Colleen Jordan, 44, a former employee of the Arkansas Department of Corrections who had been fired in 1999 and then was employed by private prison company Civigenics at the time of her arrest, was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty in federal court to conspiring to file false tax claims against the federal government. She was a jail guard at the Civigenics run Bi-State Justice Building in Texarkana and with co-defendant Janice Koontz, another jail employee; they stole prisoners' names and social security numbers and used them to file false income tax returns whereby the pair then pocketed the illegal refunds. The two defrauded the federal government of around $50,000 in this manner.

Utah: On March 22, 2006, Dr. Bruce Guernsey, a psychiatrist who treated imprisoned sex offenders, pleaded guilty to Possession and Receipt of Child Pornography. He was released to await sentencing and subsequently disappeared before his July, 2006, sentencing. Guernsey was then found dead of suicide in a Dominican Republic jail on June 10 after FBI agents and local authorities arrested him in a Santo Domingo hotel room the day before.

Utah: On September 1, 2006, William Appawora, 37, and Larry Jensen, 38, employees of the Cornell Community Corrections Center in Salt Lake City, a work release center run by the private prison company Cornell on behalf of the federal government, were indicted on charges of tampering with the urine test results of prisoners by altering the records.

Virginia: On August 20, 2006, William Morva, 24, a prisoner at the Montgomery County jail was taken to the Montgomery County Regional Hospital for treatment to a sprained ankle and wrist. At the hospital Morva overpowered jail guard Eric Sutphin and took his pistol from him shooting and killing Sutphin and shooting and killing Derrick McFarland, 26, an unarmed hospital security guard who tried to help Sutphin. Morva then escaped from the hospital. He was recaptured on August 22, 2006, in the woods near Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg. Morva had been awaiting trial on the attempted robbery of a convenience store when he escaped.
Morva was recaptured without incident, ending a two day manhunt.

Washington: In July, 2006, state Supreme Court justice Tom Chambers, 62, crashed the motorcycle he was riding after hitting a patch of gravel and his friend and passenger, Carrie Brown, 54, required emergency room treatment for a broken collarbone and other injuries. State law requires that all accidents involving death or injury be reported to police within four days which Chambers did not do. Chambers, who is seeking reelection this year, said he did not know he was required to report a single vehicle accident and accused political opponents of spreading the story.

Wisconsin: On September 18, 2006, Christine Roberge, 39, a guard at the Oakhill Correctional Facility was sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a male prisoner at the facility. Another prison guard, Heather Bartosch is expected to plead guilty to sexually assaulting the same prisoner.

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