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Articles by Matthew Clarke

Overcrowding Causes Unrest in Oklahoma Jail

By Matt Clarke

Around 43 prisoners in Oklahoma's Bryan County Jail took part in unrest on August 18, 2013. According to Bryan County Sheriff Ken Golden, the prisoners, who had been sentenced to serve time in prison and were awaiting transfer to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC), were being ...

Nevada Jail Guard Works 1,438 Overtime Hours for $84,166 in Overtime Pay

by Matt Clarke

It is not unusual for guards at the short-staffed Henderson Detention Center to earn overtime. In 2012, the 73 guards at the Nevada jail earned a total of $668,000 in overtime pay, an average of $9,000 each. But none could top Michael Karnseyer, who was paid $84,166 ...

Delayed Memo Shows Stint in Segregation Increases Stay in New York Jail

By Matt Clarke

In June 2013, the New York City (NYC) Department of Corrections announced that it would cease using solitary confinement as a punishment for mentally ill prisoners. The reasoning underlying the move was not given much of an explanation at the time. However, the long-delayed release of a ...

Texas State District Judge Sentenced for Corruption

On August 21, 2013, Abel Corral Limas, 60, former judge of the 404th Judicial District Court of Cameron County, Texas, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison on racketeering charges he pleaded guilty to on March 31, 2011. Limas was also ordered to pay $6,777,270.50 in restitution, forfeit another ...

Ohio ACLU Study Shows Pay-to-Stay Programs Don't Generate Much Revenue

A report released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio (ACLU) in June 2013 shows that the pay-to-stay fees charged by Ohio jails do not generate much revenue and damage indigent prisoners and their families. It also showed that the jail with the lowest fees generated the most revenue. ...

Department of Justice Reports Third Year of Prison Population Declines

By Matt Clarke

The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice released a statistical report in July 2013 showing the third straight year of prisoner population declines in the United States.

From year-end 2011 through year-end 2012, the total count of state and federal jurisdiction prisoners declined ...

U.S. Transfers Detention Facilities to Afghans, Retains Custody of Some Prisoners

By Matt Clarke

In March 2013, the U.S. transferred control of the U.S. Detention Facility in Parwan—the main jail in Afghanistan—and the Bagram military prison to the government of Afghanistan. The transfer involved thousands of prisoners, but the U.S. retained jurisdiction over prisoners deemed to be Enduring Security Threats (ESTs) ...

Texas Begins Intercepting and Blocking Cell Phone Calls from Prisons

By Matt Clarke

In April 2013, Texas began intercepting cell phone calls originating in two of its largest prisons. The equipment installed at the Stiles Unit in Beaumont and the McConnell Unit in Beeville is intended to test the concept of detecting, intercepting and preventing the use of cell phones ...

Segregation Rate and Segregated Prisoner Suicide Rate High in Texas

By Matt Clarke

At around 5.5%, the segregation rate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is over twice the national average of 2.7%. Segregating so many prisoners raises questions about the mental health effects of isolation. The urgency underlying those questions is punctuated by the fact that the ...

Denver Wins Sexual Harassment Suit Filed by Former Jail Captain; Tenth Circuit Affirms

by Matt Clarke

On May 29, 2014, a Colorado federal jury found in favor of the City of Denver in a lawsuit brought by a former jail captain who was allegedly sexually harassed by another employee and subjected to daily sexual harassment by prisoners, which her superiors refused to address. ...