Oct 19 Obama administration backs bill to reduce prison time By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press The Obama administration is signaling support for bipartisan Senate legislation that would reduce prison sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders. Continue reading
Oct 16 Watch 9:25 Can a pilot program keep prisoners from going back to jail? By PBS News Hour In the second part of our series looking at how prison recidivism can be reduced, NewsHour follows three inmates, Jordan Taylor, Carlos Colon and Ashley Wilson as they move from prison back to everyday life, in our series “Broken Justice.”… Continue watching
Oct 11 Overhaul prompting early release of thousands of federal drug prisoners By Eric Tucker, Associated Press A push to overhaul criminal sentencing is prompting the early release of thousands of federal drug prisoners, including some whom prosecutors once described as threats to society, according to an Associated Press review of court records. Continue reading
Oct 07 Drug inmates with long line of offenses among those freed early By Eric Tucker, Associated Press Drug criminals once described by prosecutors as unrepentant repeat offenders are among those poised to benefit from new sentencing guidelines that are shrinking punishments for thousands of federal prisoners. Continue reading
Oct 04 Inmates en route to halfway houses slip away, AP finds By Eric Tucker, Associated Press More than 240 inmates have slipped away from federal custody in the past three years while traveling to halfway houses, including several who committed bank robberies and a carjacking while on the lam, according to documents obtained by The Associated… Continue reading
Aug 15 Defense Department looking at alternatives to Guantanamo Bay By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press The Defense Department is taking another look at the military prison in Kansas and the Navy Brig in South Carolina as it evaluates potential U.S. facilities to house detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, part of the Obama… Continue reading
Jul 31 Obama to extend college aid grants to some prison inmates By Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press Some federal and state prisoners could begin receiving student aid to take college courses — while still behind bars — as early as the 2016-2017 school year. Continue reading
Apr 13 Ex-Blackwater guards receive lengthy prison sentences for Iraq shootings By Sam Hananel, Associated Press WASHINGTON — A federal judge sentenced former Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten to life in prison and three others to 30-year terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others. Continue reading
Feb 25 Painter immortalizes last meals of 600 prisoners put to death By Anya van Wagtendonk While living in Oklahoma, Julie Green learned about the final meals for inmates on death row. Deeply affected, she began painting those meals onto second-hand porcelain plates. To date, Green has completed 600 plates, which will be on display this… Continue reading
Feb 16 Watch How poverty and mental illness are putting more people behind bars By PBS News Hour Continue watching