Corrections
NATIONAL CORRECTIONS NEWS
Links to complete articles are on CCJC’s web page at
http://www.ccjc.org
08/10/10: Arizona: Prison escape becomes campaign issue
The escape of three convicts from a prison in Arizona last week has
become an issue in the state’s campaign for governor. Attorney General
Terry Goddard, a Democratic candidate, is accusing incumbent Republican
Gov. Jan Brewer of increasing the risk of jailbreaks by favoring
for-profit prisons over state-run prisons. “The Brewer administration
has consistently promoted private over public prisons, in spite of the
public safety risk,” he said. “The escape of these two violent offenders
makes it clear how dangerous this policy has been.”
By Dougald McConnell, CNN
08/10/10: Illinois: Female corrections officers have become more common
Denise DeMichel has worked as a corrections officer in Cook County Jail
for nearly 15 years and is responsible for dozens of inmates in a place
made famous by the likes of Al Capone and serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
“You can’t treat them like your friend, but you can respect them as
human beings,” said DeMichel. In the last decade, more women like
DeMichel are applying for jobs at county jails, attracted by the pay and
benefits, officials say.
By Amanda Marrazzo, Tribune
08/10/10: Maryland: Despite progress, Cheltenham still too crowded
The Cheltenham Youth Facility was the most overcrowded of Maryland’s
largest secure detention centers between April and July, the state’s
juvenile justice watchdog says in a new report. The Prince George’s
County facility has been under added scrutiny by some Maryland lawmakers
after the February slaying of a 65-year-old employee, whose body was
found outside a campus building. A 14-year-old boy has been charged as a
juvenile in the killing.
Associated Press
08/10/10: Oklahoma: Local parole officer earns national recognition
The State of Oklahoma Department of Corrections and the Southeast
District Community Corrections McAlester have announced that Probation
and Parole Officer Larry Bryant is the winner of the American Probation
and Parole Association 2010 Scotia Knouff Line Officer of the Year
Award. Bryant’s nomination was submitted to APPA on behalf of the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, which recently named him the State
of Oklahoma Probation and Parole Officer of the Year. Bryant is a
19-year veteran of the Department of Corrections, with the last nine
years in the role of a probation and parole officer. He and his family
live in the Battiest area.
McAlaster News
08/10/10: West Virginia: Prisons to gauge drug treatment programs
West Virginia’s prison system wants to know whether it’s making any
headway helping inmates kick their drug and alcohol problems, the
agency’s top officials told lawmakers Tuesday. Corrections Commissioner
Jim Rubenstein said his office hopes to have a plan in place by the fall
for measuring the results from its substance abuse programs. Those
efforts include long-term treatment centers at six of its prisons. Each
has between 32 and 50 beds. All corrections facilities offer some sort
of treatment or education program, he said.
Associated Press
08/09/10: Georgia: Fulton jail was properly staffed when inmate stabbed
guard
Officials said the Fulton County Jail was adequately staffed Sunday
night when an inmate attacked a guard, stabbing him in the side.
Staffing shortages have been an on-going problem at the jail, despite a
federal court order mandating minimum numbers. Officials say in this
case, however, the jail had enough people working.
By Rhonda Cook, Atlanta Journal Constitution
08/09/10: Georgia: Gwinnett revivin´fg inmate work crews, but prison
fate remains uncertain
Gwinnett County will revive a prison inmate labor program that
supporters say has saved the county millions of dollars, even as it
continues to evaluate closing the prison. The county scaled back inmate
work crews last year because many employees who supervised them left
after the Board of Commissioners voted to close the prison. The
commission later reconsidered and now awaits a staff recommendation due
Oct. 30. In the meantime, inmate work crews that provide labor for the
county and other local governments will be restored.
By David Wickert, Atlanta Journal Constitution
08/09/10: Louisiana: BP hires prison labor to clean up spill while
coastal residents struggle
In the first few days after BP’s Deepwater Horizon wellhead exploded,
spewing crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, cleanup workers could be seen
on Louisiana beaches wearing scarlet pants and white t-shirts with the
words “Inmate Labor” printed in large red block letters. Coastal
residents, many of whom had just seen their livelihoods disappear,
expressed outrage at community meetings; why should BP be using cheap or
free prison labor when so many people were desperate for work? The
outfits disappeared overnight.
By Abe Louise Young, Bay View
08/09/10: Tennessee: Stalled CCA prison hurts Trousdale County
By now, Trousdale County had hoped to be generating $1.5 million a year
in new property tax revenues and having 350 people at work in a prison
that Corrections Corporation of America planned to build here. Instead,
concrete cells built in advance of the construction sit dormant not far
from the building site. They’re a reminder that the project remains on
hold as CCA and other private prison companies deal with an oversupply
of beds nationally amid weaker demand from states faced with budget
difficulties.
By Getahn Wart, Tennessean
