145 Search results for "prisoners"

According to a new study, white people support harsher criminal laws as long as blacks are the ones getting arrested. The findings come after whites were presented with evidence that our criminal justice system disproportionately targets black people. 

By: Associated Press In one case, a mentally ill New York City inmate hanged himself from a shower pipe on his third try in three days. During that stretch, orders to put him on 24-hour watch were apparently ignored, along with a screening form that said he was “thinking about killing himself.”

A 16-year-old Utah teen was sentenced to up to 15 years in a maximum security prison after a judge changed to terms of his plea agreement. Cooper Van Huizen pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree felony robbery for his role in a home invasion last year. 

Convicted rapist and murderer Clayton Lockett’s execution was botched to say the least. The death row inmate ended up struggling for 43 minutes against his straps before finally succumbing to a heart attack. Authorities decided to take a closer look at the cocktail of drugs used for execution of inmates. What they found was startling. 

I remember sitting in the courtroom for my cousins hearing.  It was him and 4 other young men, who were all sitting in khaki colored prison jumpsuits with handcuffs and chains shackled from their hands all the way down to their feet.  The scene became all too reminiscent of the images of young enslaved Africans […]

According to a study released by the researchers In Michigan and Pennsylvania, more than 4 percent of inmates sentenced to death row in the U.S. are innocent. The article, “Rate of False Conviction of Criminal Defendants Who Are Sentenced to Death” — was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States […]

As part of a new initiative, President Obama plans to dramatically increase the number of drug offenders he considers for clemency.  According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, the president has requested that the Justice Department set up a process to ensure that anyone who has a good case for commutation has their application evaluated.

The Brennan Center for Justice has created 15 executive actions that President Obama can carry out without Congress to reduce mass incarceration. The report, “15 Executive Actions” consists of the following recommendations. 

  Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who is currently serving a 30-month prison sentence for fraud, conspiracy, and other charges, was recently relocated from a North Carolina prison to a prison in Alabama. This moves comes right after news broke that Jackson had been placed in solitary confinement for several days for giving prisoners advice on their rights.

A Texas death row inmate who pinned a letter to a member of Gawker media declaring his innocence has been executed. Ray Jasper, 33, was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday. He was convicted fourteen years ago for the murder and robbery of a San Antonio recording studio owner. 

The following letter was written by Texas death row inmate Ray Jasper, who was sentenced to death at age 19 for the murder and robbery of recording studio owner David Alejandro. It originally was published on Gawker, and is addressed to Hamilton Nolan a member of the publication’s staff. Jasper describes the letter as one […]

Nevada may be the first state in the country to charge inmates for food and medical care. The Elko County Commission approved Sheriff Jim Pitts’ proposal to charge inmates $6 a day for meals, $10 for each doctor visit and $5 for initial booking into the jail.