News: 5/15/2007

• State proposes new lethal injection procedures (California)
• Medical Contracting Company Loses Suit In Death Of Inmate (Florida)
• Youth prisons targeted (California)
• Sex scandal between deputies, prisoners prompted review (Utah)
• Overcrowding impedes prison health care reforms, receiver says (California)
• Prison population holding around 98% (Oklahoma)
• 'Purgatory' well-managed, audit finds (Utah)
• Responding to ACLU Demands, California Prisons Allow Same-Sex Access to Family Visitation
• Kept in the dark (India)
• CCA finishing 3rd prison in Eloy (Arizona)
• Victim Notification System in Indiana
• Group looking for new uses for closed prison (Ohio)
• New state program aims at slowing prison system's revolving door (Arizona)
• Corrections officials to accept bid for state prison land (Alabama)

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News: 5/14/2007 (AM)

• Prison crisis looming (Nevada)
• Pak children in jails vulnerable to sexual abuse (India)
• Australian Indigenous people over-represented in prisons: report (Australia)
• Make halfway house a priority: residents (Canada)
• Judges seek to retain sentencing powers in prisons crisis (UK)
• Double the prison population – MP (UK)
• Outrage Against Gay Partners–In–Crime Kept Together (India)
• York County may follow Hall's lead for jail reimbursements (New York)
• Berlin prison could be a boon for North Country (Vermont)

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News 5/11/2007 (AM)

• Commissioners inspect jail (Michigan)
• More than 400 immigrants fill state prisons (Oklahoma)
• Two instructors assaulted at youth center (Illinois)
• 27 lifers released (India)
• Prison Health Care Plan Looking Strong (Canada)
• New ministry is hit by jails crisis on its first day (UK)
• Prison worker gets cancer care award (UK)
• Prisoner Custody Officers will escort prisoners to and from courts (UK)
• DA: Don't free violent inmates (South Africa)
• Manufacturing firm saves itself £500000 by employing prisoners (UK)
• Brooklyn House of Detention Two Parts Jail, One Part Residential (New York)

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News: 5/6/2007 (Weekend)

• Former TYC official faced allegations of misconduct years earlier (Texas)
• Judge Denies Health Plan for Inmates (Michigan)
• Jury Awards Family Of Dead Inmate $2.75 Million (Michigan)
• County jails seen as dangerously crowded (Massachusetts)
• Ways and Means approves emergency prison funding (Nevada)
• Mentally ill filling the jails (New Hampshire)
• Wyoming struggles with understaffed prison
• E. Idaho women inmates disciplined for drug plot
• I know what ails jails, says CM (India)
• Portfolio committee to visit West Cape prisons (South Africa)
• Britain mulls early release for prisoners
• Falconer denies reports of early release for thousands of prisoners (UK)
• TT prisons in bad state (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Bihar’s old, ailing jailbirds to be set free (India)
• BuCor sends more security men to Davao penal farm (Phillipines)
• Jail inmates to perform Tagore’s Tasher Desh (India)
• Corrections officials eye new location for proposed prison (Virginia)
• Idaho Prison Workers Recognized

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'Mother Teresa of Prisons' Passes Away

Sister Carmelita of St. Anne's Congregation of Chennai, also known as the Mother Teresa of Prisons for her work among the prisoners, died May 1, aged 73 years after a prolonged battle with cancer. The funeral service will take place May 3.

Having served as headmistress in schools run by her congregation in different states across the country, Sister Carmelita had taken up prison ministry in Bangalore after her retirement. An indefatigable champion for prisoners' rights, the Catholic nun arranged lawyers to fight cases of under-trials and help them get parole. She was also involved in the rehabilitation and counseling of prisoners.

Her work included "just listening to the prisoners problems", counseling them, informing the family members about the progress and status of various cases, arranging for lawyers and providing stationeries and toiletries to the jail inmates.In an interview to SAR News last year, Sister Carmelita had said: "When we started my prison mission work, we used to visit the prison daily between 3p.m. and 5p.m. I felt the duration was very short to do anything. It's then that I decided to spend a full day in the prison. The silent pangs of the prisoners made me to take up this ministry."

"Some prisoners tell me that if people like me don't visit them, they would go mad," Sister Carmelita had told SAR News. During her ministry, the nun helped arrange the release of nearly 1200 prisoners.

(SAR News)

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News:5/1/2007 (PM)

• Prison inmate found hanged (Pennsylvania)
• Senator Tries To Halt Execution (Nebraska)
• Tennessee Governor Resumes Executions Following Review
• TYC abuse lingered after revelation (Texas)
• Patrick aide says state jails overcrowded, conditions a 'travesty' (Massachusetts)
• State prison reform urged (Pennsylvania)
• Ex-warden wins lawsuit against Corrections Department officials (South Carolina)
• Overflowing prisons set to explode (New Zealand)
• Punjab CM wants jails to be schools for reform (India)
• Nigerian Prisons Service and an NGO set up After Care Centre
• La Tuna Celebrates 75th Year (US Federal)
• Jail aims to eliminate ‘blind spots’ (Pennsylvania)
• Home Sweet Home (Florida)
• Former Fayette County prison official must repay $6000 (Pennsylvania)
• Collier sheriff requests 6 percent budget increase (Florida)

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News: 4/30/2007 (AM)

• New Castle riot participants are segregated (Indiana)
• California to expand its packed prisons
• Jailers break up 'disturbance' at Sullivan County Jail (Tennessee)
• Salem priest to face accusers at trial (Oregon)
• Newspaper reports TYC supervisor rebuffed multiple abuse warnings (Texas)
• OMH and DOCS support settlement of prison mental health care lawsuit (New York)
• Oregon State Penitentiary inmate dies
• Corrections workers in stalking law (Washington)
• A prison confession: The rot inside Kenya’s prison walls
• Jails in state to house more inmates (India)
• Judges to rule on justice ministry (UK)
• Sex and drugs rife in UK prisons
• Thousands await executions in US prisons
• Find more savings in prisons (Michigan)
• Palm Bay Killer Far From Execution 20 Years Later (Florida)
• Despite repairs, crowded Downeast Correctional Facility is showing its years (Maine)

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News: 4/28/2007 (Weekend)

• Inmates Sent To Other Prisons After Riot (Indiana)
• Prisons to stop accepting inmates soon (Oklahoma)
• Details of the prison reform plan approved by lawmakers (California)
• Corrections officer faces drug charge (Vermont)
• Activists fight jails' solitary cell rules (Florida)
• Corrections Officer Disciplined After Letting Wrong Man out of Jail (Illinois)
• County renews re-entry efforts (Pennsylvania)
• Survivors (not victims) of crime share struggles at special forum (Canada)
• Lack of funding blamed for prison shortfall (UK)
• Prison authorities discover cocaine in prison (Ghana)
• Rohee outlines areas for improvement at Mazaruni Prisons (Guyana)
• Jail inmates can now study to become Degree holder (India)
• Internet voice for inmates (Australia)
• Tax fraud rife in jails (Australia)
• Bill would reduce jail crush (Colorado)
• Yalies join national movement to pass Books through Bars (Connecticut)

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News: 4/18/2007 (AM)

• Prison overcrowding poses safety problems (Maine)
• New Standards for City’s Jails Are Debated (New York)
• Bill ending life without parole for young killers advances (California)
• Missouri Department of Corrections disputes sex harassment claims
• Only nets can prevent escapes (Belgium)
• Punjab prisons 171 percent overcrowded (India)
• New law to protect kids against adults (South Africa)
• Russian Women Serving Sentence in Prisons of United Arab Emirates learning Quran (Russia)
• Pike Co. voters say no to prison (Tennesee)
• Navajo council approves emergency appropriation for Chinle jail (New Mexico)
• Justice: Prison reform needs urgent (Nevada)
• Jeffco weighs another jail expansion (Colorado)
• Deal to help mentally ill prisoners (New York)
• Court rules in favor of inmates (Missouri)
• Sex offender policy targeted (California)

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News: 4/16/2007 (PM)

• House Bill Would Permit Fewer Inmates At TYC Facilities (Texas)
• Prison Escapee on The Run in Reno and Sparks Area (Nevada)
• Prison guard convicted of smuggling phone to inmate (Georgia)
• Prison employee charged with having sex with inmate (Alabama)
• Warders appear for Krugersdorp inmate deaths (South Africa)
• Rainer warns it could drop backing for Offender Management Bill (UK)
• Ministers plan to let private prisons discipline inmates (UK)
• Telephones in Bangalore Central Jail (India)
• Criminal class (UK)
• Prison considers polygraph tests for new hires (Pennsylvania)
• Hale County residents oppose DOC land sale, call it a 'sham' (Alabama)

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News: 4/15/2007 (Weekend)

• Accusers Recant, but Hopes Still Fade in Sing Sing (New York) registration required
• Woman Held Despite Release Order, Dies (Missouri)
• In the South Bronx, Unlikely Allies Fight a Proposed Jail (New York) registration required
• Solutions sought for sex offenders living under bridge (Florida)
• Bill to Allow Early Release of Nevada Inmates Doomed by Amendment (Nevada)
• Texas prison guard shortage raises alarm
• Crowded prisons spawn debates over reforms, housing options (Oklahoma)
• Prison plan recommends new classification system (Iowa)
• Last of Wyoming's women inmates back in state (Wyoming)
• Maine eyes out-of-state prison (Maine)
• G'bad prison turns into battlefield (India)
• No Need To Isolate Hep B Inmate: Hepatitis Foundation (New Zealand)
• Overcrowding crisis to rock Ulster prisons as sex beasts lose remission (UK)
• Ghanaian Prisons now 'Crime factories'
• New South Wales blames prison population on tougher laws, longer sentences (Australia)
• Jail rocks for high-profile inmates (India)
• Driving is ex-inmates' key to jobs (Wisconsin)
• Inmates' menu critique: Too light, send it back (Georgia)

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News: 4/13/2007 (AM)

• Prison plan takes a beating (California) - registration required
• Bronx Protests Against Proposed Jail (New York)
• Brooklyn House of Detention Could be Much Bigger (New York)
• Oregon bill would limit early release program
• Committee passes bill speeding inmate paroles (Nevada)
• Police hunt arsonist let out of prison by accident (UK)
• Corrections Officer Dismissed (New Zealand)
• Youth prison getting better, says report (UK)
• PIL seeks facilities for male prisoners (India)
• Corrections board to take up draft prison recommendations (Iowa)
• Disenfranchisement News - 4/12/2007
• Oshkosh begins researching sex offender ordinance (Wisconsin)
• "Prison City" reflects on Death Penalty (Texas) - new book
• Surviving family violence (Texas)

Hat tip to Corrections Connection on a couple of these stories.

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News: 4/12/2007 (PM)

• 11 Jail Guards Are Indicted in 2 Beatings in Brooklyn (New York)
• TYC officials update lawmakers (Texas)
• Corrections officer sentenced for trying to smuggle heroin into prison (New York)
• 'Tactics backfiring' as jails try to curb radical Islam (UK)
• Court Cannot Interfere in Decision By Prisons Tribunal (Fiji)
• Prison officers angered at brawl claims (New Zealand)
• Eye to Eye - Corruption in our prisons (New Zealand)
• Indian prisoners in France may now serve term in India
• Old methods make criminals out of victims (Indonesia)
• Wall reconfirmed as corrections head (Rhode Island)
• Probation and Corrections Officials Tout Benefits of GPS (Missouri)
• County seeks expert advice on increasing jail's capacity (Missouri)

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Easter prison Mass prevented, rights commission issues notice

Union of Catholic Asia News (UCAN) is reports (via catholic.org) that the human rights commission of Kerala state (India) is investigating why Catholic priests were prevented from celebrating Easter Mass at Thiruvananthapuram jail:

Father Mathew Kulathinal, who went to the prison with two other priests to
conduct the Mass on April 8, said jail officials refused to let them inside,
objecting that the Mass wine the Catholic team carried was liquor.

The priest said he explained to the security guards at the main gate
that he had come to conduct Mass, 'but they told me that I could not enter the
prison with Mass wine and hosts.'

Father Kulathinal said he quickly informed his superior, Father Jacob
Korackel, who contacted state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to explain the
gravity of the situation. The minister assured the priest he would direct the
prison officials to allow Mass inside the prison, but the jail officials stuck
to their position.

Balakrishnan told UCA News he has ordered an inquiry into the matter. Those
responsible will be punished, he added.

Hat tip to Religion Clause.

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News: 4/11/2007 (2)

• Report on prison reforms recommends drastic changes (India)
• Hundreds turn out to funeral of prison death father (UK)
• Ex-prison boss packs his bags (South Africa)
• Indonesian Govt To Open Six More Prisons In 2007 (Indonesia)
• Council sponsors prison employment (Italy)
• Jails committee will make recommendation to supervisors (Arizona)
• Fillmore struggles with decision about new jail (Minnesota)
• 6W Community Corrections program seeks funding increase (Minnesota)
• Inmates speak to students (Louisiana)
• 'Reverend Shredder' dies in Sutherlin (Oregon)
• Wardens gather in Pittsburgh for training conference (Pennsylvania)
• Essex County Jail in Lewis to open June 1, maybe (New York)
• Jail delay cost Ulster County nearly $6 million (New York)
• Reduce roadblocks for prisoners (New York) - editorial
• Without drug treatment programs, prisons are just inmate warehouses (Wisconsin) - opinion
• Sentencing is linchpin on prisons (California) - opinion
• Austria’s Five-Star Prison - blog post

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News: 4/2/2007

• Escaped Ohio Prisoner Arrested
• Hundreds to move to open prisons to ease crowding (UK)
• Former Las Cruces, Grants corrections officer convicted (New Mexico)
• TYC to release 400 youths this week (Texas)
• State Senate rejects White's nomination for top prisons job (Hawaii)
• Judge dismisses wrongful death suit by inmate (Louisiana)
• Clark reveals desperation in justice review (New Zealand)
• A Silk Route taking shape in prison (India)
• Expanding the Grayson County Jail Discussed at Commissioners Meeting (Texas)

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News: 4/1/2007

• Criminal Justice Under Eliot Spitzer (New York)
• Profit puts inmates in hard spot (Colorado)
• 13 of 38 Texas county jails fail inspections
• California prisons dept. discloses billions in contracts
• Lansing State Journal: Michigan prisons aim to cut $14.4 million annual electric bill
• Serious offenders at 'open jails' (UK)
• More elbow room for prisoners soon?: (India)
• PS3 banned from UK jails

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