DECEMBER, 2004
December 30, 2004 - Prisoners allege three going into two-man cell, among many problems Newsof DelawareCounty.com With the prisoner population at Delaware County's George W. Hill Correctional Facility on the rise, some inmates are complaining about conditions, including claims of overcrowding, problems accessing attorneys and counselors, and a lack of maintenance or cleanliness. (Click here for more)
December 30, 2004 - Rooted in culture News Herald Like anything else, a jail is as secure as its weakest link. (Click here for more)
December 30, 2004 - Former Bay jail inmate files lawsuit against CCA News Herald A man who says he was in the Bay County Jail in September when four other inmates took hostages on the third floor has sued the jail’s corporate owner in federal court. (Click here for more)
December 30, 2004 - Escapee's holiday brought to an end Houston Chronicle A man who gave himself some yuletide cheer by escaping from the Liberty County Jail early Christmas morning was recaptured Thursday in southeast Houston. (Click here for more)
December 30, 2004 Albuquerque Journal A civil rights attorney says he will file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all individuals who were forced to strip naked under the Santa Fe County Jail's former policy of strip-searching anyone booked into the jail. (Click here for more)
December 30, 2004 - Citizens in uproar over new jail site proposal Dickson Herald A special called meeting scheduled for last night in which the Dickson County Commission was expected to make a decision on a contract to privatize the county jail and consider a possible site for the new facility was suddenly cancelled after residents in the Highway 48 South area raised an uproar with officials. (Click here for more)
December 29, 2004 - County report addresses issues in jail incident News Herald Bay County Jail managers were not regularly reviewing duty and maintenance logs in the weeks before September’s inmate takeover and failed to address issues — including a faulty cell door — that precipitated the standoff, according to a county review obtained by The News Herald. (Click here for more)
December 29, 2004 - Escapee thought to have aid Houston Chronicle A man who is at large after escaping from the Liberty County Jail has probably received help since he fled on Christmas morning. (Click here for more)
December 29, 2004 - Valencia ready to run detention center Albuquerque Journal When the Valencia County Commission decided to take over management of the county's adult detention center on Jan. 1, many people felt it couldn't be done in three months. (Click here for more)
December 24, 2004 - Call for more funds to cut jail suicides Courier Mail QUEENSLAND'S prisons are overcrowded and urgently require more funding to stop the growing number of inmate deaths, a report by a state coroner has found. (Click here for more)
December 23, 2004 - PEER: County pay for state inmates OK Clarion Ledger Counties in Mississippi are being reimbursed plenty for housing state inmates in county jails, the state legislative watchdog committee said in an analysis released Wednesday. (Click here for more)
December 22, 2004 - Jail takes steps to tighten inmate release procedures Hernando Today When Telly Hewitt was released from the Hernando County Jail in April, he walked through the reinforced doors and past barbed-wire fences without a hitch. (Click here for more)
December 21, 2004 - Lawsuit claims ex-inmate was denied medication in Palm Beach County Jail Sun-Sentinel A man who was an inmate at the Palm Beach County Jail in 2001 filed suit Monday against the Sheriff's Office and Prison Health Services, alleging that he suffered permanent injury after jail staff denied him his epilepsy medication. (Click here for more)
December 21, 2004 - 2 cheers for a new prison strategy The Record Others spoke about how it was a "day of promise." (Click here for more)
December 21, 2004 - Former jail guard accused of rape KOBTV A man accused earlier this year of impersonating a law enforcement officer in Valencia County is now facing a federal lawsuit alleging he raped a woman while working as a jail guard. (Click here for more)
December 20, 2004 - Guard charged in bomb reports Cincinnati Enquirer A security guard at a Cinergy power plant in Cleves has been accused of making a false report of a bomb threat and other security breaches. (Click here for more)
December 20, 2004 - 2 women plead in jail escape plot Express-News Two San Antonio women have admitted they helped deliver a car and money for a jailbreak attempt by several inmates, including alleged members of the Texas Mexican Mafia. (Click here for more)
December 20, 2004 - Walk-aways face escape charges Rapid City Journal Four men arrested Friday morning at a North Rapid City mobile home park have been charged with escape under South Dakota statute. However, Scott Schulz, director of Community Alternatives of the Black Hills, or CABH, said three of the men did not escape but rather violated terms of federal supervision. (Click here for more)
December 19, 2004 - Young offenders get lost in shuffle Orlando Sentinel Florida has regularly locked up many underage offenders for months or years longer than they were told, shuffling them from program to program and forcing them to restart their terms. (Click here for more)
December 19, 2004 - Fewer jail workers proposed Tulsa World The sheriff's department estimates its plan will save $2 million over current jail operator CCA. (Click here for more)
December 19, 2004 - CCA fires corrections officer for violations News Herald The Tennessee company that operates the Bay County Jail fired a corrections officer Friday, three months after inmates held him hostage during a 12-hour standoff with police. (Click here for more)
December 18, 2004 - Family joy as raid guard to be freed Manchester On Line A FAMILY is celebrating today after it learned that a security guard who was jailed for 14 years for being 'the inside man' in a £6m robbery is to have his conviction quashed. (Click here for more)
December 17, 2004 - Judge hears testimony in prison petition suit Lamar Daily News District Judge Douglas Tallman yesterday heard testimony in a Prowers County District Court action in which the City of Lamar is seeking a court opinion on whether a petition filed by the Concerned Citizens of Lamar (CCL) violates the state's single subject rule on ballot initiatives. (Click here for more)
December 17, 2004 - Private prison employees' terror claim survived dismissal Corrections Professional Case name: Bullin et al.,v. Correctional Medical Services Inc., No. 2030573 (Ala. Civ. App. 11/19/04). Ruling: Because private prison employees claimed they suffered mental anguish as a result of their employer's failure to properly implement policies to protect them from the prison population, their claim was not covered under the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act. Accordingly, their claim survived dismissal and will proceed. (Click here for more)
December 17, 2004 - County cash may be used to bolster jail budget Tulsa World Tulsa County may have to rely more heavily on its cash funds and other tax streams to free up property tax dollars for the Criminal Justice Authority's lagging jail budget. (Click here for more)
December 17, 2004 - Proposed Lamar prison in hands of district judge Pueblo Chieftain Opponents of a proposed private prison packed a Prowers County courtroom Wednesday to protest the project. (Click here for more)
December 16, 2004 - Security drill at weapons plant raises safety questions New York Times In the predawn hours of Sept. 2, at the plant that stores the nation's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, guards wearing body armor and carrying loaded submachine guns were dispatched to intercept a group of men who had apparently set off an intrusion alarm. (Click here for more)
December 16, 2004 - See you later, Navigator New Times When Tracy McGrady Jr. landed a multimillion-dollar contract by signing with the Orlando Magic, one of the first things the Central Florida basketball prodigy did was buy his dad the car he'd always wanted -- a black, 2002 Lincoln Navigator SUV. (Click here for more)
December 16, 2004 - Durbin out as Bay jail warden News-Herald The Tennessee company that runs the Bay County Jail is "switching out wardens" less than a week after the release of a state report detailing personnel failures and maintenance problems that spurred September’s inmate takeover. (Click here for more)
December 14, 2004 - Reeves county hires Austin firm Odessa American An Austin law firm will represent Reeves County in a lawsuit seeking removal of the county judge and two commissioners from office. (Click here for more)
December 14, 2004 - Commissioners prioritize issues Tallahassee Democrat Improving the county jail. Making health insurance more affordable. Boosting economic development. Those are the top issues for Leon County commissioners, who met Monday for their annual priority-setting session. (Click here for more)
December 14, 2004 - Jail deficit solutions studied Tulsa World The jail trust authority discussed several solutions that may solve its short-term financial troubles by seeking assistance from Tulsa County authorities and the county Budget Board. (Click here for more)
December 14, 2004 - Accuser may sue county Albuquerque Journal A woman who says she was raped by two inmates at the Santa Fe County jail while she was incarcerated there earlier this year has notified the county and the jail's private manager that she intends to sue for damages. (Click here for more)
December 13, 2004 - Department angered at asylum advocates The Age The immigration department today accused refugee advocates of inciting incidents within the Baxter detention centre by exaggerating reports of a detainee hunger strike. (Click here for more)
December 13, 2004 - DeLay: More cash - and more questions Newsweek Faced with mounting lawyers' bills to fend off ethics complaints and a grand-jury probe in Texas, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is increasing efforts to raise money for his legal-defense fund. (Click here for more)
December 12, 2004 - Guards on sex charge Sunday Mail TWO warders at Scotland's only private prison have been suspended after being accused of sex offences against a female colleague. (Click here for more)
December 12, 2004 - Jail could cut costs with off-site duties Tulsa World Corrections Corporation of America could reduce its $48.60 per inmate daily compensation rate at the Tulsa Jail by nearly $12 if it no longer provided booking, transportation, holding and medical services. (Click here for more)
December 12, 2004 - Scott vows to make jail high priority News-Press A Lee County sheriff's deputy arrested Ralph Scheibel on March 7 at Gulf Coast Hospital and took him to jail, where he had a heart attack the same day and died. (Click here for more)
December 11, 2004 - Where it all goes Delco Times Criminal justice expenditures are set to increase by 10.5 percent in 2005 because of $4.6 million in new spending at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, which is managed by The GEO Group Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp. (Click here for more)
December 10, 2004 - Strange system News & Observer We commend your excellent Nov. 30 editorial and the fine investigative report on Nov. 28 on the award of no-bid deals to Alaska Native Corporations such as Alutiiq Security and Technology. (Click here for more)
December 10, 2004 - Missing a step; Fletcher should have known law on prisons Herald Leader One of these days, Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration may come to understand that there's more than one kind of waste in state government. (Click here for more)
December 10, 2004 - Probe after 40 inmates riot at private prison Evening Times PRISON chiefs were today probing a riot at Scotland's only private jail last night when up to 40 inmates went on the rampage. (Click here for more)
December 10, 2004 - Broward jail system switches health management companies Sun-Sentinel A new health management firm has taken over the care of the 5,200 inmates in Broward County's jail system after a dispute between the Sheriff's Office and the previous contractor over medical costs. (Click here for more)
December 10, 2004 - County could save jail budget Tulsa World Tulsa County bears no liability for the jail authority's projected $3.7 million budget deficit, but it could voluntarily transfer general funds to save the authority from indebtedness, according to a district attorney's opinion. (Click here for more)
December 10, 2004 - Woman whose baby died in jail sues Tampa Tribune A former inmate whose baby died after being born over a toilet in Falkenburg Road Jail filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against her caregivers and sheriff's officials. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - Unequal pay irks private
prison employees in Lee Beattyville Enterprise On
Sept. 14, inmates at the
December 9, 2004 - State gets $143,000
refund on prisoner mental health services Rutland Herald
A Burlington-based mental health company will return $143,000 to the
state for contracted services to prison inmates the state claims it did
not provide. (Click
here for more)
December 9, 2004 - Paralyzed seven-year-old's testimony touches jury Star-Ledger Sitting in her wheelchair with a stuffed doll propping her head, unable to move her arms or legs, 7-year-old Antonia Verni told a jury yesterday what she wants to be when she grows up. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - Ontario to tighten controls on security guards The Star Ontario’s nearly 30,000 private security guards and investigators will soon be subject to stringent new provincial standards and regulations to keep them on their side of the thin blue line. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - Driver: I bought beer while drunk NorthJersey.com A drunken driver who rammed his truck into a young family's car in Hasbrouck Heights - paralyzing a 2-year-old girl for life and landing himself in prison for five years - openly admits that he was "beyond drunk" in the 1999 accident. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - King Pharmaceuticals to restate results Porterville Recorder King Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday it was restating its earnings for 2002, 2003 and the first six months of 2004 to recognize expenses related to product returns _ a move that was not a complete surprise but could affect the firm's takeover by Mylan Laboratories Inc. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - CCA considering Tulsa Jail for Kansas prisoners Tulsa World The proposal is being hampered by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority's financial troubles. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - Oversight's broken lock News-Herald So, it all started months before, with a jail cell lock that didn’t work. It ended, of course, when a Sheriff’s Office SWAT team terminated with bullets a tense 12-hour hostage standoff. (Click here for more)
December 9, 2004 - Jail guard admits 'mistake' News-Herald A guard failed to secure cell doors that he allowed inmates to shut themselves the night of a 12-hour siege at the Bay County Jail, according to interview transcripts obtained by The News Herald. (Click here for more)
December 8, 2004 - Jail medical care lawsuit still unresolved in DeKalb Atlanta Journal-Constitution If Adams v. Dorsey were an old movie instead of a lawsuit, calendar pages might blow past the camera, stopping briefly at the turn of the years from 1999 to 2004. (Click here for more)
December 8, 2004 - Irked legislator to grill state officials on juvenile woes Palm Beach Post A key lawmaker says he will have hearings next month to ask state officials why they have failed to prevent violent and incompetent people from working in Florida's programs for teen offenders. (Click here for more)
December 8, 2004 - Privatizing Elliott prison called illegal Courier-Journal Gov. Ernie Fletcher would break Kentucky law by allowing a company to operate a $92million prison that the state is building in Elliott County, the attorney general said yesterday. (Click here for more)
December 8, 2004 - Gunfire justified in standoff News-Herald The use of deadly force by police during a jail uprising and hostage situation in September that left two prisoners and a hostage injured was necessary, State Attorney Jim Appleman has determined. (Click here for more)
December 8, 2004 - Report: Broken lock led to jail takeover News-Herald It was common knowledge, an open secret that everybody — guards, nurses, inmates and supervisors — was in on. (Click here for more)
December 8, 2004 - Appeals court upholds convictions of inmates in prison escape plot Commercial Appeal The convictions of two Leake County prison inmates on charges of plotting an escape were upheld Tuesday by the state Court of Appeals. (Click here for more)
December 7, 2004 - Balog inquiry begins next week for Superjail-related death Midland Free Press An inquest into the death of a Central North Correctional Centre inmate begins Dec. 13 at the Midland courthouse. (Click here for more)
December 7, 2004 - Attorney general's opinion says state can't privatize prison AP Kentucky law prohibits the state from privatizing a new prison in Elliott County, the attorney general's office said in an opinion Tuesday. (Click here for more)
December 7, 2004 - Ninth Circuit: Jailed immigration plaintiff was entitled to appointed counsel Metropolitan News-Enterprise A federal magistrate judge in Arizona should have appointed a lawyer to represent an incarcerated immigrant suing a private jailer over his treatment, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. (Click here for more)
December 7, 2004 - Recent jail deaths in the Midstate Tennessean Metro police continue to investigate the death of Estelle Richardson, 34, who was found July 5 ''unresponsive'' in her cell at the Metro Detention Facility. (Click here for more)
December 7, 2004 - Jail youth unit branded a whitewash The Age Port Phillip Prison's new youth unit was a whitewash that failed to deliver promised training and counselling programs, one of its former "peer educators" said yesterday. (Click here for more)
December 6, 2004 - Man suing jail after his wife dies in custody Athens Banner Herald The denial of medical care to a Clarke County Jail prisoner who later died from a heart attack was tantamount to the woman being "punished by death on a misdemeanor charge," according to a lawsuit filed by her husband in Clarke County Superior Court. (Click here for more)
December 5, 2004 - Juvenile justice records crackdown would reveal problem workers Palm Beach Post Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice could help prevent its private contractors, and itself, from recycling violent and incompetent employees by simply enforcing the state's long-standing open records law. (Click here for more)
December 5, 2004 - Florida's juvenile justice system: Revolving door for fired workers Palm Beach Post Jimmy Haynes lost his job as a "behavioral specialist" at a juvenile drug treatment center for punching a 15-year-old in the face. (Click here for more)
December 5, 2004 - County jail's costs
exceed the average Tulsa World
Tulsa County taxpayers are paying 30 percent more to run the Tulsa Jail
than the average amount that other jurisdictions pay Corrections
Corporation of America at facilities it manages across the nation. (Click
here for more)
December 5, 2004 - Inmate claims jail bias Arizona Republic A Phoenix murder defendant whose father is a political rival to Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he's being housed in isolation as a psychiatric patient at a Maricopa County jail even though he's not mentally ill. (Click here for more)
December 4, 2004 - Jail health firm had no experience Miami Herald Three days after Correctional Health Services was formed, the Broward Sheriff's Office sought bids to provide medical care to 5,000 inmates at the county Jail. (Click here for more)
December 3, 2004 - Baxter hunger strike
worsens The Age
Four Sri Lankan men have been hospitalised after refusing food for up to 10
days in a hunger strike at South Australia's Baxter detention centre.
Two of the men had also been admitted overnight earlier this week, she
said. (Click
here for more)
December 2, 2004 - Projected jail deficit to be discussed Tulsa World Four members of the county Budget Board have called for a special meeting Friday to discuss the use of general funds to compensate for the jail board's projected $3.7 million deficit. (Click here for more)
December 2, 2004 - Reliance performance 'improving' BBC Private security firm Reliance claims its performance is improving despite another prisoner escape last week. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Accused guard was award
winner Hernando Today
Personnel records showed Louis Gregory was an average employee who won
several awards. In February 2003, he was named "Workhouse Employee
of the Month." (Click
here for more)
December 1, 2004 - It's Tom DeLay...again Democrats.org House Republican leader Tom Delay, after being shielded from losing his leadership position upon indictment by a grand jury, is yet again pushing the ethical envelope. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Escapee changes TransCor Daily Mississippian An employee has been fired and equipment has been adjusted following an investigation into how a prisoner escaped in Oxford in October. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Physician pleads guilty to four counts of tax evasion Lundington Daily News A former Oaks Correctional Facility physician pleaded guilty to four counts of tax evasion with a total tax liability of $139,794. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Report: Ambush led to standoff News-Herald It was an ambush. A corrections officer on the third floor of the Bay County Jail was tricked by an inmate "playing possum" and struck in the back of the head with a padlock or bar of soap wrapped in a sock, according to CCA officials who laid bare Tuesday the chronology of events that precipitated September’s standoff at the downtown facility. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Guard charged in sex assault St Petersburg Times A corrections officer at the Hernando County Jail was arrested Tuesday on charges of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old inmate on two occasions. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Baxter detainees refuse medication The Age Eleven Sri Lankan men at the Baxter detention centre have stepped up their hunger strike and are now refusing medication, a refugee advocate said today. (Click here for more)
December 1, 2004 - Prison company gave DeLay $100,000 Star Telegram House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, whose aggressive campaign fund raising is the subject of a Texas grand jury investigation, took a $100,000 check from a private prison company at a Lexington fund-raiser in August for a charity he operates. (Click here for more)
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