Alerts

By ILEANA MORALES
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 17, 2010; 5:54 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Advocates for prison inmates on Tuesday accused Attorney General Eric Holder of "dragging his feet" on adopting national standards for preventing rape in prisons.

Justice Department statistics show that an estimated 4.5 percent, or 60,500 inmates, report being victims of sexual assault in federal prisons, said Pat Nolan, vice president of outreach program Prison Fellowship. It happens to almost 1 in 8 juveniles in custody.

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- The city of Atlanta will pay $4.9 million to the family of Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old woman killed in a botched November 2006 drug raid, Mayor Kasim Reed's office announced Monday.

Johnston was shot to death by narcotics officers conducting a "no-knock" warrant. Investigators later determined the raid was based on falsified paperwork stating that illegal drugs were present in the home.

Margaret Winter, National Prison Project
Jul 29th, 2010

John Horton was held in solitary confinement in the Los Angeles County Men‘s Central Jail following his arrest for drug possession. He committed suicide.

By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/04/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

Ever since a couple of inmates accused of sexual assault sent letters from the Boulder County jail to underage girls, jail officials decided to change their policy on prisoner correspondence.

Since March, inmates may no longer send enveloped letters out of the jail except legal mail to their attorneys or mail that is deemed official business — such as banking or medical correspondence, said Cmdr. Bruce Haas.