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Prison Law Blog’s wish list for America in 2016

During my down time over the holiday season, I created a wish list for Santa that would make 2016 a pretty amazing year in many different ways.

 

As a longtime advocate for prison education and related justice issues, I’ve had plenty of time during my nine years of incarceration at FCC Petersburg in Virginia, to explore what topics are most pressing in America today. 

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Sandra Bland case highlights need for stronger oversight at local level

As more troubling details regarding the untimely death of Sandra Bland emerge, it’s clear that being under police custody is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to be. On the heels of the deaths of Freddie Gray and Eric Garner, and following in the tradition of Maricopa County’s trail of deaths, Bland’s experiences both during her

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Opening up a world of reading opportunities for youth offenders

Recently librarian and literacy advocate Amy Cheney recounted an experience of teaching young offenders in a max unit how they could read to their children and/or younger siblings. One of the most poignant moments in her account is her recollection that of the six girls in her group, just one of them had been read

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Mother’s Day at Your Local Prison

This Mother’s Day, like this past Christmas, I won’t be able to speak with my mom and tell her I love her. (And this isn’t because I’m in prison, but because I’ve spoken out about prison conditions and have had my phone privileges rescinded). I say not this to say “poor me,” but to think

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Book Review: The Globalization of Supermax Prisons

The Globalization of Supermax PrisonsEdited by Jeffrey Ian Ross(Rutgers University Press, 2013)240 pages, $28.95 paperback Book review by Gary Hunter “Zero tolerance” is a phrase that has found its way into many facets of our society. But nowhere is it more prevalent than in the vocabulary used by lawmakers when waging our nation’s relentless, ongoing

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News Brief

Arizona: The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced on May 28, 2014, that it would not seek criminal charges against state prison guard Jesse Dorantes for the death of his K9 service dog, Ike, who was left in an unattended vehicle in the summer heat for seven hours. The DA’s office cited a 2007 case in

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Prison Censorship in America: The Ashley Jean Arnold Case

When Americans think of prison censorship, images of prison guards throwing away letters come to mind. So too, do images of books and publications like Prison Legal News being rejected for being a “threat to the good order, orderly operation, and security of the institution,” which covers about any number of theoretical penological objectives. And

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Arizona Counties Vie for $24 Million Prison Deal in New Budget

By Craig Harris Gov. Doug Ducey is opening the door to allow counties to compete against private-prison companies for a lucrative multimillion-dollar contract to house state inmates. The move comes after county sheriffs — including conservatives — complained that the Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature weren’t giving them an opportunity to make money by putting

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Darnell’s Corner: Transformation – Part 2

Four-plus years later, the young man was paroled; his gang grew into one of the largest in their area. Crack was king, low-level dealers easily made a thousand dollars a day without even trying, but the young man had a plan, he wanted to talk to the younger crowd and let them know his story,

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