Rights groups urge high court to cut prison population, cite virus

April 7, 2020 Leave a comment

Two men are seen silhouetted behind the screen of their jail cell at the Baltimore City Detention Center. State officials say budget cuts to the public safety department will not permanently eliminate positions, but the union representing corrections employees is skeptical. (File photo)

Citing the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, a coalition of civil rights groups has urged Maryland’s top court to order judges and state agencies to quickly reduce prison and jail populations to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 ...

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U.S. Judge Kevin Duffy dies of COVID-19 complications

April 6, 2020 Leave a comment

In this photo provided by Karen Kaiser, Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy poses for a picture at his retirement party at the Federal Courthouse in New York on Sept. 19, 2016. Duffy, a longtime judge who presided over three major New York terrorism trials in the 1990s, died Wednesday, April 1, 2020, of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He was 87. (Courtesy of Karen Kaiser via AP)

Welcome to Monday, what would have been the 2020 Maryland General Assembly‘s final day if everything had gone according to the original plan. Here are some news items to get the week started: — A tribute to a “no-nonsense” federal ...

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Federal prisons close book on controversial purchasing policy

May 4, 2018 Leave a comment

Tara Libert, co-founder of Free Minds Book Club, leads a group of members in a 2015 reading and writing workshop. ‘You shouldn't have to be rich to read,’ says Libert, who was pleased to learn prison officials reversed a rule requiring inmates in at least four facilities to order books only through a prison-approved vendor and, at three of the prisons, to pay an extra 30 percent markup. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Federal prison officials abruptly reversed a controversial policy Thursday that had made it harder and more expensive for thousands of inmates to receive books by banning direct delivery through the mail from publishers, bookstores and book clubs.

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Van with Maryland inmates crashes in Pennsylvania; none hurt

July 19, 2016 Leave a comment

LEWISBERRY, Pa. — Authorities say no one was injured seriously when a van carrying nine Maryland inmates crashed and hit a median barrier on a southern Pennsylvania interstate. Pennsylvania State Police said a driver from Kentucky clipped the front of ...

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Virginia governor vetoes ‘Beloved’ bill

April 5, 2016 Leave a comment

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (Photo: Office of the Governor)

Virginia governor vetoes bill permitting parents to reject sexually explicit books leads news summary including Panamanian lawyers, a dog of a case and an inmate's death.

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Snack vending machine glitch at Mich. jail pays inmates $500

November 16, 2015 Leave a comment

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Authorities say some jail inmates in western Michigan were essentially paid to get snacks because of a vending machine problem. Kent County Undersheriff Michelle Young tells The Grand Rapids Press that when inmates purchased multiple items ...

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Deportees fly the expensive skies, report says

April 20, 2015 Leave a comment

High cost of deportation flights leads news summary including homeless advocates, $8 million award to inmate's family and women gain in Romania's bench and bar.

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