Gov. Hogan Issues First Paroles For Juvenile Lifers

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — For the first time in 24 years, individuals sentenced to life in a correctional facility for crimes they committed before turning 18 are being paroled by a Maryland governor. This shift in policy for juvenile lifers by Gov. Larry Hogan, R, is unprecedented in the state’s recent history. “The governor talked about this issue in his original campaign, and it’s something that he gives serious attention to,” Hogan Administration Deputy Legal Counsel Ch

Everyone at this new advertising agency has served time in prison

Vincent Bragg served five years, one month, and 22 days in federal prison on drug charges. In that time, he studied corporate and real estate law and read more than 400 books. He also started a creative ad agency. Here's the official launch of ConCreates, a creative shop staffed entirely by men and women who have been, or are currently, incarcerated, with an overall goal to challenge the stigma society so often applies to people with criminal histories. The agency operates on

New York to shutdown 2 prisons, including Lincoln Correctional Facility that overlooks Central Park

Two New York prisons — including one at the northern edge of Central Park that commands sweeping views of the famous green space — are going to be closed down for good in the next 90 days, the Daily News has learned. Lincoln Correctional Facility, which has been a minimum-security men’s prison at 31–33 West 110th St. since 1976, will cease operations at the end of the summer, according to a statement Friday from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which r

Man who feared feds would finally impose sentence may have deal to avoid more prison

(CNN) Demetrius Anderson walked out of a Connecticut state prison in 2006 thinking he was ready to leave behind his criminal past and build a new life as an upstanding citizen. The Philadelphia native stayed in Connecticut and stayed out of trouble. He has two jobs, lives in a nice apartment and belongs to a church. But last week, eight US Marshals came to his home. He was certain they were after the wrong person. He hadn't committed a crime in more than 13 years. They insist

One of America's harshest isolation units was exposed by a desperate, handwritten account from t

In February 2015, a Georgia prison inmate mailed a handwritten complaint to the federal court in Macon, saying he’d been held in a windowless cell for nearly 24 hours a day for five years. The inmate, a convicted rapist named Timothy Gumm, said he’d been put there after a failed escape attempt in January 2010 and was told he’d remain there indefinitely, even after the escape charge was wiped from his disciplinary record. He lost contact with loved ones, dropped 50 pounds and

A federal judge toured a troubled New York jail. What she found is disturbing

New York (CNN-)Vivianne Guevara's work with the Federal Defenders of New York had taken her to the Metropolitan Detention Center many times, but the incessant pounding sound coming from inside the Brooklyn waterfront jail that day was unsettling. "It sounded like a cry for help, and I don't know Morse code or anything, so I couldn't tell if anybody was trying to send a message, but it sounded desperate, and it sounded like people who wanted to be heard," said Guevara, directo

Viral Photo Of Chicago Inmates Working In Frigid Cold Sparks Anger

A viral photo of inmates shoveling snow outside a Chicago jail sparked social media outrage this week as the city deals with record-breaking low temperatures that have already killed people. “La Villita, Chicago,” a Facebook page for the city’s Little Village neighborhood, posted a photo Monday that appears to have originated from Snapchat. The photo shows several inmates in orange jumpsuits clearing snow in front of the Cook County Jail, the country’s largest single-site jai

Meek Mill Teams Up With PUMA To Make A Shoe For Criminal Justice Reform

PUMA continuing its partnership with Meek Mill has created the Clyde Court #Reform. More than just a sneaker with a powerful message, the pair is connected to the recently established Reform Alliance organization. With a mission statement of improving the American criminal justice system, the Reform Alliance is led by names like Meek, Puma Basketball creative director Jay Z, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The black-based knit on the Clyde Court #Reform features

Family of Kalief Browder, young man who killed himself after jail, wins $3.3M from New York

New York City will pay $3.3 million to the estate of a young man who killed himself after a three-year jail stint over a minor theft case than never went to trial, lawyers said Thursday. Details of the deal between the city and the estate of Kalief Browder are still being hammered out, but they have settled on that dollar figure, according to the New York City Law Department and an attorney for the estate. Browder's highly publicized case drew the attention of celebrities and

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Inmate advocates press Maryland to scrap book restrictions

BALTIMORE (AP) — Advocates for Maryland’s prisoners are pressing the mid-Atlantic state to scrap “senseless and harsh” regulations they say restrict the ability of inmates to access books and violates their constitutional rights. As part of a new effort to block inmate access to Suboxone, a drug sold in thin strips that are easily concealed inside envelopes, prisoners in Maryland can now only order books from two vendors that the American Civil Liberties Union says offers onl

Private prison company moves annual conference to Trump-owned golf resort

A private prison company has moved its annual conference to a golf resort owned by Donald Trump in an apparent bid to show its desire to align with the US President. Until this year, the GEO Group held its conference at venues near its Boca Raton headquarters, a city on the southeastern coast of Florida. But this year the company, which owns and manages about 140 prison and detention centres, gathered for the four-day event at the luxurious Trump National Doral Golf Club in M

Kim Kardashian to visit White House to discuss prison reform

Washington (CNN) Kim Kardashian West will meet with officials, including senior adviser Jared Kushner, at the White House on Wednesday to discuss prison reform, a person familiar with the plans says. During the White House press briefing Wednesday afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed Kardashian West's meeting. Sanders wouldn't provide many more details, only saying, "She is expected to be here at the White House. I can confirm she'll be here. We'll k

Ex-inmate Susan Burton goes back to prison to lead out women she left behind

Susan Burton took the bus home from prison six times, with "a buck-fifty left in my pocket," she said, no ID and her worldly possessions in a box. In the two decades since her last Greyhound lap, Burton and her Watts based group, A New Way of Life Reentry Project, have thrown a lifeline to around 1,000 other women to interrupt the incarceration cycle that held her for 20 years. The project operates homes to help women leaving prison get back on their feet. Her memoir, release

JAY-Z CONVINCES MEEK MILL TO CANCEL TRUMP MEETING

Meek Mill called off a visit to the White House on Friday following a call from JAY-Z. According to TMZ, Meek agreed to travel to D.C. to discuss prison reform at a Prison Reform Summit hosted by President Donald Trump. Participants include members of Congress, various activists, and victims of the system. However, JAY-Z called Meek on Thursday night and convinced him that meeting with Trump could be problematic for his image and movement. He also reportedly received calls fr