MORRISTOWN, Tenn. - The Hamblen County Jail has been described as a dangerously overcrowded "cesspool of a dungeon," with inmates sleeping on mats in the hallways, lawyers forced to meet their clients in a supply closet and the people inside subjected to "horrible conditions" every day. And that's the county sheriff talking. Jail populations used to be concentrated in big cities. But since 2013, the number of people locked up in rural, conservative counties such as Hamblen has skyrocketed, driven by the nation's drug crisis. [continues 1477 words]
Barbara Tillis isn't sure when she'll get to see her son, Corvain Cooper, again. Every few months for the past four years, Tillis, has driven five hours with her husband, daughter and Cooper's oldest daughter, making the trip from Rialto to the federal prison in Atwater, near Merced. They'd spend the day visiting and chatting, and guards would let each family member give Cooper exactly one hug. When the visit was over, they'd reluctantly pile into the car and drive home. [continues 2434 words]
U.S. prosecutors say their evidence against notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman includes killings, torture, kidnappings, prison breaks and even an attempt to smuggle seven tons of cocaine in cans of jalapenos. A government memo filed Tuesday also says there's evidence that Guzman was involved in a 1992 drug-gang shootout at a Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, nightclub that left six people dead. Guzman's lawyer, Eduardo Balarezo, said he was reviewing the memo and would "respond in due course." [continues 154 words]
Deadly fentanyl is tightening its grip on London's jail, with reports of several female inmates overdosing early this week, one needing five doses of naloxone spray to be revived. Twice in the last week, large amounts were found on women trying to smuggle the druginto the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC), sources say. The province confirmed Wednesday four female inmates were found in medical distress Monday night. "Staff acted quickly in attending to the inmates and calling 911. Paramedics arrived and transported three inmates to the hospital, while the other inmate was attended to by staff at the facility," said Andrew Morrison, spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. [continues 354 words]
OTTAWA - Setting up tattoo parlours and needle-exchange programs in penitentiaries would help reduce the spread of hepatitis C, the federal prison service has told the Trudeau government. A Correctional Service memo obtained under the Access to Information Act advises Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to round out existing and planned measures to fight hepatitis and HIV in prison. Prison tattooing and needle-exchange programs for drug users have generated intense controversy over the years, and the March 2017 memo says detailed research should be carried out before embarking on a syringe needle program, in particular, "to avoid unintended and negative consequences for inmates." [continues 459 words]
Florida needs to take advantage of every opportunity to bring awareness and resources to the deadly opioid epidemic that is ravaging communities across the state. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions comes to Tampa today to discuss federal efforts to combat the crisis, but if he sticks to his script of late he will focus on enforcement and punishment instead of where the attention really needs to be: rehabilitation. Without a meaningful commitment at all levels of government to treating addiction, this crisis will continue claiming lives. [continues 489 words]
Corrections officials have antidote available for potential overdoses Fentanyl has been found within all the province's adult correctional centres, a provincial spokesman has confirmed. The drug has made the news repeatedly, blamed for a rash of deaths throughout the country. As with other trends in the illegal drug world, Saskatchewan has been far from immune, having witnessed a number of deaths and non-fatal overdoses related to this and other opioids. Drew Wilby, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, said one other pattern has proved true here - that what's available on the streets is also available in jail. [continues 516 words]
Higher-potency opioids lead to concerns about how to keep inmates and staff safe Alberta correctional facilities have recorded more than 120 overdoses in the past two years, and dozens more in federal prisons in the province, new statistics show. Postmedia obtained the data after a string of overdoses at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Since Nov. 29, at least three inmates at the remand centre have been found unresponsive in their cells after apparent overdoses, one of whom died. Despite efforts to keep contraband out of correctional institutions - including the use of ion scanners, body scanners and detector dogs - the statistics show deadly opioids such as fentanyl are still getting in. [continues 600 words]
Alberta correctional facilities have recorded more than 120 overdoses in the past two years, and dozens more in federal prisons in the province, new statistics show. Postmedia obtained the data after a string of overdoses at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Since Nov. 29, at least three inmates at the remand centre have been found unresponsive in their cells after apparent overdoses, one of whom died. Despite efforts to keep contraband out of correctional institutions - including use of ion scanners, body scanners and detector dogs - the statistics show deadly opioids such as fentanyl are still getting in. [continues 465 words]
Opioids linked to 95% of overdoses in provincial facilities through 2016 Alberta correctional facilities have recorded more than 120 overdoses in the past two years, and dozens more in federal prisons in the province, new statistics show. Postmedia obtained the data after a string of overdoses at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Since Nov. 29, at least three inmates at the remand centre have been found unresponsive in their cells after apparent overdoses, one of whom died. Despite efforts to keep contraband out of correctional institutions - including use of ion scanners, body scanners and detector dogs - the statistics show deadly opioids such as fentanyl are still getting in. [continues 602 words]
Does Trudeau back harm reduction or not, ask Sandra Ka Hon Chu and Richard Elliott Implementing needle and syringe programs in federal prisons could prevent numerous new HIV and Hepatitis C virus infections each year, saving tens of millions of dollars. Five years ago, we started a constitutional court case, because it was clear that, despite the evidence, the previous government would never agree to implement these health services in federal prisons. But the Trudeau government has repeatedly declared its commitment to harm reduction and evidence-based policy, to Charter rights, and to the health and welfare of vulnerable Canadians. Prison-based needle and syringe programs reflect all of these. [continues 585 words]
Anthony Gray expected to be an old man when he got out of prison after serving a 30-year sentence for a relatively minor drug offense. Aron Tuff was certain he would die there, having been sentenced to life without parole after he was convicted in 1995 in Colquitt County for possession of .03 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute. Both men were sentenced during a time when tough on crime drug laws of the 1980s and '90s left many low-level drug offenders serving long sentences. [continues 99 words]
The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously passed legislation eliminating jail time and reducing penalties on possession of small amounts of marijuana, but not before mayoral candidates got into heated debates and backers of the bill became rowdy. The legislation, which was resurrected in September after spending months in committees because of concerns it might send the wrong message, brings Atlanta closer to other large cities across the nation that are either lessening penalties on pot or decriminalizing it altogether as Americans' opinions on the drug evolve. It will reduce the financial penalty for possession of one ounce or less from up to $1,000 to a maximum of $75. Jail time, currently six months for possession, would be eliminated for an ounce or less. [end]
Convicted Chatham man may have qualified for conditional sentence if legislation hadn't changed Steven Wheeler will serve a sixmonth jail sentence for being in possession of 11.2 kilograms - 24 pounds of marijuana - for the purpose of trafficking. However, the support received by his employer along with family and friends may have enabled him to serve a conditional sentence - house arrest - if changes had not been brought in under Bill C-10, in March 2012, to limit when the court can impose conditional sentences. [continues 427 words]
Drug dealers convicted on federal trafficking charges received the stiffest sentences from federal court judges last year in the Midwest and the Southeast. But the longer sentences are more driven by the type of drugs common in different states rather than judges in one region being tougher on drugs than counterparts elsewhere. In many states with longer average sentences, methamphetamines were the most prevalent drugs in these federal cases, according to a USA Today Network analysis of U.S. Sentencing Commission data. [continues 438 words]
The surge of illicit fentanyl endangering lives on Canadian streets has now flooded into the country's prisons, posing a greater threat to those working in an already perilous job. In the past three weeks, at least nine federal correctional officers have been exposed to the lethal drug, according to one union official, putting staff on high alert for a substance they often can't detect until it's too late. There have been no reported fatalities involving correctional officers, but several inmate deaths owing to fentanyl exposure. [continues 599 words]
Two former Kern County Sheriff's deputies avoided prison time Monday for stealing and selling marijuana that was seized during drug busts. Logan August and Derrick Penney were sentenced Monday to three years' probation for the charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, according to the U.S. attorney office in Fresno. August, a 30-year-old Bakersfield resident, was also ordered to serve 1,500 hours of community service and forfeit $16,500 earned in the trafficking operation, federal authorities said. [continues 600 words]
Correctional Service Canada vows to look into resources for inmates with addictions following Vancouver-based group's call to action Canada's prison agency said it will review the way it treats inmates with opioid addictions in light of a series of accusations from B.C.-based prisoners. A letter sent to the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) on Monday - and shared with The Globe and Mail - summarized the experiences of 33 prisoners held in the federal jailer's Pacific region who said they couldn't access basic treatment for the highly addictive class of drugs that includes fentanyl and oxycodone. [continues 598 words]
Man convicted despite evidence being lost by police prior to trial A man convicted of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking despite police losing the drugs will appeal both his conviction and the 30-month sentence he received Monday. "I have already consulted with appeal counsel in Toronto," said Ken Marley, defence lawyer for Miles Patrick Meraw. "I'm hoping the Court of Appeal will have the opportunity to analyze this. A case like this has never been before an appellate court." [continues 350 words]
Auditors uncovered what a prison spokesman called "terrible" and "unacceptable" failures to conduct contraband searches of inmates, cells and staff. The Michigan Department of Corrections said Thursday it may take disciplinary action after auditors uncovered what a prison spokesman called "terrible" and "unacceptable" failures to conduct contraband searches of inmates, cells and staff at a women's prison. Auditor General Doug Ringler said during two five-day periods last year, the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti did not conduct or document nearly a quarter of the required cell searches and prisoner shakedowns. Using surveillance video, auditors also found that 58 of 170 required cell searches were not backed up by the footage -- meaning they were potentially falsified. [continues 272 words]
Incarceration
