In the Netherlands prisoners are given keys to their cells as crime rates fall, prisons close, and inmate populations dwindle. This is all part of a rehabilitation scheme that aims to treat prisoners better and will more humanity. In Dordrecht, Heerhugowaard, Zaandam, and Arnhem inmates have keys to their cells where they can come and go as they please so long as they are back by 9:30pm. Additionally, they have a digital computer that lets them order things like groceries and make appointments with other prisoners and staff. Prison guards are no too keen on the move as they complain that there is too little supervision for the inmates. They also claim that the move fails to vindicate the victims of the crimes these inmates have committed. They are afraid that prisoners are using thei
Private prison stocks up 100% since Trump’s win
Thanks to President Donald Trump, America’s private prisons appear to be entering a golden age. The stocks of the two biggest private prison operators — CoreCivic (formerly know as Corrections Corp. of America) and Geo Group — have doubled since election day. CoreCivic (CXW) is up 140% since Trump won in November; Geo Group (GEO) has risen 98%. For all the talk about how good Trump has been for big banks like Goldman Sachs, he’s been even better for private prison investors. Read more here:
After almost a decade, FCC has yet to rule on high cost of prison phone calls
Almost a decade ago, a petition by the families of inmates tired of paying sky-high rates for prison telephone calls landed at the Federal Communications Commission. Martha Wright-Reed of the District, an 86-year-old former nurse who’s blind, and other petitioners didn’t think it was right for their incarcerated sons and daughters to pay so much more than everyone else to keep in touch. Phone companies that charge high rates say most of their revenue goes to governments in the form of commissions that help pay for their criminal justice systems. Read more here:
Prison Phone Calls: Trump May Cut The Lifeline
The cost of a phone call today is no more of a thought than the air we breathe. The cost of a phone call from prison, however, can take your breath away. For those who must pay such costs, which can easily average as much as a monthly luxury car payment, breathing just got a lot more labored. Phone calls between prisoners and their loved ones on the outside often represent the only contact inmates have with the world beyond prison walls. Recent studies and common sense have shown that maintaining these outside ties is a vital link to successful prisoner reentry, and thus key to reducing recidivism rates. But high prison phone rates have dramatically restricted the amount of meaningful contact that prisoners can have with those who care about them. Read the full story here
Costly prison fees are putting inmates deep in debt
Jeremy Barrett remembers very little of the assault that would change his life. He was at the end of a three-year sentence in a Florida state prison when he was caught stealing potatoes from the prison kitchen. As punishment, he was sent to confinement with a cellmate who, according to court filings, was “severely mentally ill.” The man attacked Barrett in a violent rage, ultimately gouging out one of his eyes. “I went into shock,” Barrett said. When he got out of prison one month later, Barrett, 36, sued the Florida Department of Corrections for negligence. The department responded with a counterclaim or a “cost of incarceration lien” of $54,750 — the total cost of Barrett’s 1,095 day stay in the prison at $50 a day. “They charged me for me being in prison,” Barrett said. “Yeah I was surprised.” Read more here: