Each year, tons of unused pharmaceuticals are flushed by America’s state and federal prisons, hospitals and long-term care facilities, contaminating the nation’s drinking water, according to an Associated Press (AP) investigation.
“We flush it and flush it and flush it – until we can’t see any more pills,” admits nurse ...
BJS Report Finds 53% of Prisoners Are Parents
by Mark Wilson
About 809,800 (53%) of America’s 1,518,535 prisoners in 2007 were parents of minor children, according to a Special Report of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Fifty-two percent of state prisoners and 63 percent of ...
In 2006, nearly 68,000 state employees supervised 660,959 adult parolees – about 83 percent of 798,202 total parolees – according to a Special Report of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Parole officers had an average caseload of 28 active parolees.
Approximately half of the nation’s ...
Felony Disenfranchisement Reforms Restore Voting Rights to 760,000
by Mark Wilson
Since 1997, 19 states have eased felony disenfranchisement laws and policies, resulting in the restoration of voting rights to at least 760,000 people, according to The Sentencing Project (TSP).
TSP “is a national non-profit organization engaged in research and ...
Oregon Jailer Avoids Prosecution for Online Assault Boast; Jail Employees Lose Internet Access
by Mark Wilson
An Oregon jail guard who bragged in an online forum that he beat a prisoner and then had the prisoner charged criminally will not face charges himself, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s ...
The New York State Commission of Correction (SCOC) is failing to fulfill its prison and jail oversight duties, according to an audit released on August 25, 2008 by the State Comptroller.
SCOC is responsible for overseeing New York’s 69 adult prisons, 4 secure juvenile prisons, 77 county jails and 317 ...
On September 25, 2008, a federal court in Utah enjoined the enforcement of an amended statute requiring the state’s 7,000 registered sex offenders to report all of their Internet identifiers, including user names, passwords and website addresses.
In 2005, a Utah man identified as John Doe was convicted of sex ...
Oregon Juvenile Facility Warden Indicted; Youth Authority Director Resigns
by Mark Wilson
From 2000 to 2007, Darrin Humphreys served as warden of the RiverBend Youth Detention Center, a 50-bed Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) facility in LaGrande, Oregon.
Supervisors were so impressed with his performance that they promoted him to head ...
King County, Washington officials violated state law by failing to get competitive bids on a security upgrade project at the King County Correctional Facility, according to a March 12, 2008 state audit. Originally slated at $14.2 million, the cost of the project has skyrocketed to $51.6 million.
A nationally recognized ...
Jail Nurse Guilty of Forging Doctor’s Order; Forged Orders Common Jail Practice
by Mark Wilson
On August 28, 2008, a Multnomah County, Oregon jury convicted a former jail nurse of forging a drug prescription for a prisoner who died hours later.
Jody Gilbert Norman, 43, was arrested on February 19, ...
