by Matt Clarke
On April 20, 2010, an explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, killed 11 workers. The accident resulted in an oil spill that leaked oil into the gulf for three months, damaging both the ecology and economy of coastal states – ...
by Matt Clarke
Municipal bonds have long been considered a safe investment. However, recent defaults on bonds used to pay for the construction of privately-run prisons and jails have investors worried about losing their capital, and towns worried about their ability to raise money through future bond issues.
As far ...
by Matt Clarke
In March 2010, the Texas State Auditor’s Office released a report on a performance audit of the Private Facilities Contract Monitoring and Oversight Division (PFCMOD).
The PFCMOD monitors private prisons and private substance abuse treatment programs under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Texas ...
by Matt Clarke
In 2006, Anita Goodman lost her 31-year-old son Aaron to an overdose of prescription medication as a wave of similar deaths rolled through Harris, Jefferson and Orange Counties in Southeast Texas.
Aaron picked up a prescription drug habit in college and had been fighting his addiction to ...
by Matt Clarke
Former New Mexico Corrections Secretary Joe R. Williams did not pursue contractual penalties against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) or GEO Group despite chronic understaffing by the two private prison companies, which operate four facilities in New Mexico.
GEO and CCA manage prisons for the New Mexico ...
by Matt Clarke
According to a report released by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in June 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) performed illegal non-consensual human medical experiments on high-value terrorism detainees in connection with torturing those detainees. Also see article on p. 8.
The PHR report was released following ...
by Matt Clarke
In the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), geriatric prisoners – those over 55 years old – comprise only 7.3% of TDCJ’s population. However, they account for almost one-third of the prison system’s medical expenses. Geriatric prisoners average $4,700 in annual health care costs compared to an ...
by Matt Clarke
Public officials in Cleveland, Ohio have noticed that some registered sex offenders are dropping out of sight. When the officials attempted to confirm the offenders’ registered addresses, they found they didn’t live there. The reason for this development is Ohio’s sex offender residency restrictions, which prohibit registered ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 16, 2010, New York City agreed to settle a long-standing class-action lawsuit challenging the strip search policy used in the city’s jails. The settlement was for over $33 million, which included an estimated $3 million in attorney fees.
The suit originated as a class-action civil ...
by Matt Clarke
Most people will only have direct contact with a medical examiner, also known as a forensic pathologist, after they are dead. Thus, medical examiners have a certain mystic quality and are perceived as both doctors and sleuths who use scientifically-proven forensics techniques to reconstruct crimes, determine causes ...
