AltWeeklies Wire
What Texas Criminal Justice Reformers Could Teach the Booming Immigrant Detention Systemnew

GOP State Rep. Jerry Madden took the helm of the House corrections committee in 2005, just in time for a deeply distressing projection: booming incarceration in our notoriously tough-on-crime state meant Texas would need eight new prisons by 2012, at a cost of about $1 billion.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
09-20-2012 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: jail, criminal justice
Locked Up

You meet all kinds in jail.
YES! Weekly |
Brian Clarey |
08-22-2012 |
Commentary
Tags: jail
Unforgivennew

After paying their debt to society, millions are still branded by their felony records.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
10-27-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Despite a Long Record of Abuses, GEO is Still Running Texas Prisonsnew

GEO has one of the world’s worst track records in inmate care: The horror stories range from rapes to suicides to murders to deaths due to inadequate medical care. The company once hired a convicted sex offender as a guard in a facility for juvenile females.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Peter Gorman |
03-12-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Will New Mexico Offer Drug Users Treatment Instead of Jail Time?new
There might be some good news on the horizon for those caught in the revolving door of drug addiction. Proposed state legislation would give judges the discretion to offer people with drug-possession charges a treatment program instead of jail time.
Weekly Alibi |
Carolyn Carlson |
02-09-2010 |
Drugs
Go Directly to Jail: The Latest Victim of the Economy Appears to be Bailnew
In Las Vegas, where bond is 15 percent of bail (most states are 10 percent), more are having to make tough choices when faced with having a loved one spend the night in jail. As a result, jails are staying occupied a little longer than they used to.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Ken Miller |
09-18-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Detained in Chinanew
An Orlando native finds himself locked up during the Olympics.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes |
09-04-2008 |
Civil Liberties
New Mexico Jail-Based Charter School is First of its Kind in the USnew
Named for a man who worked to promote literacy and education in the jail (and who wore a Santa suit during Christmas family days there), the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center aims to graduate some of the estimated 40 percent of inmates without diplomas.
Weekly Alibi |
Marisa Demarco |
07-29-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Lou Pearlman Reveals His Get-Out-of-Prison Plannew
When U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp handed Pearlman a 25-year sentence in May, Sharp also handed Pearlman "the keys to your jail cell." For every $1 million Pearlman came up with in restitution to his victims, Pearlman's sentence would be reduced by one month. He's in for 300 months. He's on the hook to the government for $200 million.
Orlando Weekly |
Bob Whitby |
06-12-2008 |
Media
Grant Will Fund Education for Santa Barbara's Inmatesnew
A longtime supporter of Santa Barbara City College donated $278,000 to create a designated classroom at the County Jail so that City College adult education instructors can soon provide educational opportunities for inmates.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Nick Welsh |
06-10-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Suicide and Silence at the D.C. Jailnew
How did the D.C. Jail let two troubled inmates kill themselves in their cells? Don't ask the D.C. Jail.
Washington City Paper |
Brendan Smith |
04-10-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Doing Wrightnew

Vermont journalist and activist Paul Wright gives convicts a voice through his national magazine, Prison Legal News.
Seven Days |
Ken Picard |
03-07-2007 |
Crime & Justice
The Disappearednew
If you've got a missing relative, maybe you should look in the jail -- good luck with that.
Dallas Observer |
Jesse Hyde |
02-07-2006 |
Crime & Justice
Drag Racer Leaves Prison Behind ... at 200 m.p.h.new
Mike Charlton's quest is to become the fastest man alive. His latest attempt involves strapping a jet engine to the back of a semi.
Cleveland Scene |
James Renner |
03-09-2005 |
Sports