All posts tagged: prison

Free Prison Tablets Aren’t Actually Free

Free Prison Tablets Aren’t Actually Free

Published by skeptic

This week, September 15-21, is Prison Banned Books Week. The campaign aims to educate and advocate on behalf of those experiencing incarceration who are simultaneously experiencing the most book banning and censorship while in jail or prison. We are honored to help spread the word about the impact of prison censorship throughout the week. With the help of Prison Banned Books Week partners, on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, you’ll read essays written by a currently incarcerated individual and the vital role books and reading has had in their lives—as well as the realities of what it means to access literature while in the system. Literary Activism Newsletter News you can use plus tips and tools for the fight against censorship and other bookish activism! Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. This essay is part of a series to raise awareness during the second annual Prison Banned Books Week. Each essay, written by a currently incarcerated person, details the author’s experience of reading on prison tablets. Because every one of the 52 carceral …

From prison bars to ‘Dancing with the Stars’: Anna Delvey joins season 33 cast

From prison bars to ‘Dancing with the Stars’: Anna Delvey joins season 33 cast

Published by skeptic

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Anna Delvey is swapping prison for the dance floor as she is set to join the cast of Season 33 of Dancing With The Stars. Delvey was infamously jailed in 2019 after posing as a German heiress, conning businesses, banks, and friends out of more than $250,000. According to Page Six, the 33-year-old con artist turned fashion publicist will now join the reality TV competition’s cast for the next season. This isn’t Delvey’s first brush with TV stardom, with the hit Netflix drama Inventing Anna being based on her life, and a reality show of her own, Delvey’s Dinner Club, also said to be in the works. In 2018, Delvey – whose real name is Anna Sorokin – was charged with two counts of …

Man Who Smuggled Mosaic from Syria Sentenced to Three Months in Prison

Man Who Smuggled Mosaic from Syria Sentenced to Three Months in Prison

Published by skeptic

A California man was sentenced to three months in federal prison today for illegally importing a 2,000-pound ancient floor mosaic from Syria to the US. Judge George W. Hu of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California gave the sentence to 57-year-old Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi. Judge Hu also granted the government’s application for a preliminary order of forfeiture for the 15-foot-long, 8-foot-tall Roman mosaic. The sentence occurs more than a year after a five-day trial in June 2023, in which a jury found Alcharihi guilty of one count of entry of falsely classified goods. The charge carried a statutory maximum sentence of two years in federal prison. Related Articles “It is unusual for smugglers of antiquities from the Middle East to be caught and prosecutions of such smugglers are rare,” United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles spokesman Ciaran McEvoy told ARTnews in an email statement. “We hope today’s sentence will show antiquities dealers, smugglers, the museum community, and the general public that there are consequences—including prison time—for these crimes.” The mosaic, estimated …

Prison is a disaster for women – here’s what would work instead

Prison is a disaster for women – here’s what would work instead

Published by Sam

The early days of the new Labour government have given prison reform advocates reason to be hopeful. Two announcements – the appointment of James Timpson as prisons minister and an expanded early release programme – are promising steps towards repairing a criminal justice system that has been devastated by cuts and neglect. Prison overcrowding is the most pressing issue, with the current population standing at more than 87,000. This significantly exceeds the Ministry of Justice’s “safe and decent” capacity of 79,695 inmates. England and Wales have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in western Europe, almost twice as high as Germany. Approximately 4% of people in prison in England and Wales are women, and in 2020 72% of female prison admissions were for non-violent crimes. As someone who studies women’s prisons, I hope that plans for change will include revising how we punish and rehabilitate women. Timpson has said that prisons, especially for women, are a “disaster”. He has noted correctly that prisons often lead women back into the cycle of offending. Women released …

Trump to escalate blame on trial judge Juan Merchan if sentenced to prison | Donald Trump

Trump to escalate blame on trial judge Juan Merchan if sentenced to prison | Donald Trump

Published by skeptic

Donald Trump is determined to avoid jail, but if he does get handed a prison sentence after his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York last week, the former president’s inner circle is certain he will lay the blame squarely at the judge’s feet, sources familiar with the matter said. The precise way Trump might blame the judge, Juan Merchan, remains unclear because Trump has been avoidant of the issue and the matter was not resolved when he huddled with his top advisers at a Trump Tower meeting immediately after the verdict on Thursday, the sources said. But Trump is likely to double down on his attacks against Merchan, directing his supporters at rallies and in Truth Social posts to take up their grievances with the judge, one of the sources added. The consequences of Trump’s likely rhetoric are difficult to predict. Trump has been railing against Merchan for months as being unfair and in conspiracy cahoots with the Biden administration to prevent him from campaigning – and nothing concrete has happened. Still, Trump’s …

Three inmates taken to hospital after disorder at Welsh prison | Prisons and probation

Three inmates taken to hospital after disorder at Welsh prison | Prisons and probation

Published by skeptic

Three prisoners have been taken to hospital and an air ambulance was dispatched after disorder at a privately-run prison where 10 inmates have died in the past three months. Security firm G4S, which runs HMP Parc in Bridgend, Wales, said there were two short-lived incidents at the prison on Friday, one of which involved 20 prisoners. The second incident, which was unrelated, involved an altercation between three prisoners, who required hospital treatment. None of the injuries sustained by the prisoners were life threatening, G4S said. An air ambulance attended the prison but was not ultimately needed. No staff were injured in either incident. A HMP Parc spokesperson said: “Staff at HMP Parc swiftly resolved two short-lived incidents involving prisoners on Friday, with no officers injured. “Those involved will receive the strongest possible punishments, including criminal prosecution.” On Wednesday, Warren Manners, 38, became the 10th prisoner to die at HMP Parc since 27 Feb. On Monday, before Manners’s death, families of inmates who died at HMP Parc demonstrated outside the prison. In March, the prisons watchdog …

Man who killed 87-year-old mobility scooter rider days after prison release detained in hospital indefinitely | UK News

Man who killed 87-year-old mobility scooter rider days after prison release detained in hospital indefinitely | UK News

Published by skeptic

A man has been detained in hospital indefinitely for stabbing to death an 87-year-old grandfather days after being released from prison. Lee Byer attacked and killed Thomas O’Halloran who was riding a mobility scooter in Greenford, west London, in August 2022. Mr O’Halloran suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen in a “motiveless” attack that took place just five days after Byer was released from prison, the Old Bailey heard. The 45-year-old pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and having an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order by Judge Mark Lucraft KC. Image: Lee Byer. Pic: PA The judge sent the defendant back to Broadmoor Hospital, Berkshire, where he has been receiving treatment since 1 August 2023. Mental health reports found Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, and suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia. A report from one doctor described the ex-prisoner as a “very dangerous man” who attacked Mr O’Halloran with “no provocation”, the court heard during sentencing. Image: Thomas O’Halloran. Pic: PA Before …

Government triggers crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding | Prisons and probation

Government triggers crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding | Prisons and probation

Published by skeptic

The government has formally triggered a crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding by using police cells to house inmates. The confirmation of Operation Safeguard by the Ministry of Justice follows a decision to consider releasing some prisoners 70 days before their sentences were due to end. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Triggering Operation Safeguard is not an unprecedented measure. “It is helping us respond to acute capacity pressures caused in part by barristers’ industrial action and the aftermath of the pandemic, while we press ahead with delivering the biggest expansion of prison places in a century including six new jails.” The MoJ denies that the measure exposes a failure of planning and said the number of police cells needed would be kept under constant review, in part to keep costs down. One source said a police force had cleared 20 cell places this week to house people coming from prisons. The National Police Chiefs’ Council, representing police leaders, were unable to comment. The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “This is just …

Wandsworth prison needs ‘urgent improvement’ eight months on from alleged Daniel Khalife escape, watchdog says | UK News

Wandsworth prison needs ‘urgent improvement’ eight months on from alleged Daniel Khalife escape, watchdog says | UK News

Published by Sam

Wandsworth prison should be put into emergency measures, a watchdog has said, after an inspection raised concerns over ongoing failings in security – eight months after the alleged escape of Daniel Khalife. The “deeply concerning inspection” also found severe overcrowding, vermin, drugs, violence and rising self-harm at the category B jail in southwest London, where seven prisoners have taken their own lives in the past year. Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, has written to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to issue an urgent notification for improvement. The watchdog found that despite the “high-profile” alleged escape of Daniel Khalife, 22, in September, security remained a “serious concern”, noting wings were “chaotic” and “staff across most units could not accurately account for their prisoners during the working day”. Mr Taylor said that given the alleged escape, “it was unfathomable that leaders had not focused their attention on this area”. The inspection found 80% of prisoners shared cells designed for one person, where most men spent more than 22 hours a day, while in one wing they …

Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison | Censorship

Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison | Censorship

Published by skeptic

Most of my manuscripts are locked up in the filing cabinets of the ministry of security, and the agents there study and ponder them repeatedly, more carefully than the creator himself. The guys working this racket have superb memories; a certain chief of the Chengdu public security bureau can still recite the poems I published in an underground magazine in the 1980s. While the literati write nostalgically, hoping to go down in literary history, the real history may be locked in the vaults of the security department. The above is excerpted from my book June 4: My Testimony, published in Taiwan in 2011. I wrote that book three times, the later drafts on paper much better than the paper I used for writing in prison, which was so soft and brittle I had to write very lightly. Paper outside prison is solid and flexible enough that you don’t have to worry about puncturing it with the tip of a pen. Thus, I restrained myself and filled in a page of paper, and then how many thousand – ten …