prisoners

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Prison Guards Intercept Drone Drop of Steak, Crab Legs, Pot

'I'm guessing the inmates who were expecting the package are crabby': rep for SC correctional facility

(Newser) - 'Twas just a few weeks before Christmas, and in the prison yard, a drone-dropped package was found by a guard, complete with steak, weed, crab legs, and cigarettes—and to season it all, a tin of Old Bay spice. The illicit meal was dropped into the Lee Correctional Institution...

Utah: Prisoner With Dementia Won't Face Firing Squad
Inmate Who
Was Spared
Firing Squad
Dies
UPDATED
Nov 27, 2025 2:30 AM CST

Inmate Who Was Spared Firing Squad Dies

Lawyers argued Ralph Leroy Menzies couldn't understand why he was facing execution

(Newser) - A Utah man who was spared execution this fall after developing dementia during his 37 years on death row died Wednesday of apparent natural causes, according to the state's Department of Corrections. Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was set to die by firing squad in September, but the Utah Supreme...

Florida Isn't Holding Back on 2025 Executions

Ron DeSantis signs death warrant for Frank Walls, who will be state's 19th execution in 2025

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during a home invasion robbery and later confessing to three other killings is scheduled to be put to death in December under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's setting a record pace for executions....

Inmate Sues for His Right to Eat Vegemite

Andre McKechnie claims ban on iconic spread violates his rights to enjoy his Australian culture

(Newser) - An Australian inmate really wants his Vegemite, and he's taking legal action to get it: Andre McKechnie is challenging a prison ban on the salty spread, arguing that it's a cornerstone of national identity and should be available behind bars. Authorities in Victoria, where the ban has been...

Report: Abuse in Israeli Prisons So Bad One Is Called 'Graveyard'

Nearly 98 Palestinian prisoners have died in custody since the start of the war

(Newser) - The number of Palestinians dying in Israeli custody surged to nearly 100 since the start of the war in Gaza, according to a report published Monday by a human rights group that says systematic violence and denial of medical care at prisons and detention centers contributed to many of the...

After 11th-Hour Death Row Save, Inmate Found Unresponsive

Tremane Wood, 46, is recovering after medical scare in his cell

(Newser) - An Oklahoma inmate whose life was spared by the governor just moments before he was to receive a lethal injection on Thursday was later found unresponsive and rushed to receive medical attention, prison officials said. Wood was stable and alert Thursday evening, and prison officials don't suspect foul play....

Prison Officials Find 4 Bodies—Then 27 More

Rival gangs strike separately at El Oro prison in Machala, Ecuador

(Newser) - At least 31 inmates were found dead Sunday at a prison in southern Ecuador, most of them believed to have been hanged during gang violence, reports the BBC . Officials say a breakaway gang, Sao-Box, initially targeted the powerful Los Lobos group at El Oro prison in Machala, leaving four dead...

Court in Texas Blocks 'Shaken Baby' Execution

Judges send Robert Roberson's case back to trial court for review

(Newser) - The nation's first execution over "shaken baby syndrome" won't take place next week after all. Texas' highest criminal court on Thursday granted an emergency stay in the case of 58-year-old Robert Roberson, reports NBC News . Roberson was set to be executed on Oct. 16 for the...

Death Row Inmate Has Bizarre Take on Execution

Judge overrules Steven Bixby, who believes only treason is punishable by death

(Newser) - A South Carolina judge has ruled that Steven Bixby, a death row inmate convicted of killing two law enforcement officers in 2003, is mentally fit to be executed, despite his unconventional legal and religious beliefs. Judge R. Scott Sprouse's decision opens the way for Bixby, 58, to receive...

State May Be First to Mainly Use Firing Squads in Executions

Idaho is aiming for this method, using remote-control system

(Newser) - Idaho is preparing to make firing squads its main execution method, a first for any US state, as it works to build a new death chamber south of Boise, to be ready by next summer. Under a new state law, firing squad executions will take priority starting in July...

On Alabama's Agenda: a Nitrogen Gas Execution

Gov. Kay Ivey has set an execution date of Oct. 23 for Anthony Boyd

(Newser) - Alabama has scheduled an October execution by nitrogen gas for an inmate who has an ongoing lawsuit challenging the new method as unconstitutionally cruel. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday set an Oct. 23 execution date for Anthony Boyd. Boyd, 53, is one of four men convicted in the 1993...

Fugitive Ditches Cops at Seattle Airport

Authorities are searching for 20-year-old burglary suspect John Nino

(Newser) - Seattle-Tacoma International Airport saw a little criminal action this week, courtesy of a burglary suspect who ditched his handlers during transport. Authorities say that 20-year-old John Nino was being extradited to Washington state on Tuesday evening after being arrested several days ago in New Mexico, when he slipped away from...

Ghislaine Maxwell Gets a Surprise Transfer

Epstein associate has been moved from federal prison in Florida to low-security Texas prison camp

(Newser) - Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislane Maxwell has been transferred from a federal low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a prison camp in Texas, the Bureau of Prisons announced on Friday, though it didn't get into too much detail on the move, reports the Washington Post . Maxwell's lawyer also confirmed...

Harvey Weinstein on Prison: 'This Is a Very Rough Place'

Incarcerated ex-film producer chats with Candace Owens about his kids, prison life

(Newser) - Harvey Weinstein has no shortage of legal quagmire or controversy to contend with, but the 73-year-old said in an interview from prison that "my family is No. 1, because they're the important thing," adding that if he ever gets out from behind bars, "I'd move...

New York Prisons Make Phone Calls Free



New York Inmates
Get Unlimited Talk
Jul 23, 2025 3:13 PM CDT

New York Inmates Get Unlimited Talk

Prisons had previously granted 3 15-minute free calls per week

(Newser) - New York will soon make phone calls free in its state prisons, officials said Tuesday. People who are incarcerated in the state's prisons currently receive three free 15-minute phone calls a week, reports the AP . After that, the calls cost $.024 per minute. The state corrections department will...

Richard Glossip Could Go Free Today
Richard Glossip
Could Go Free Today
Jul 23, 2025 10:15 AM CDT

Richard Glossip Could Go Free Today

Wednesday's bond hearing to be followed by an August hearing on potential plea deal

(Newser) - After nearly three decades on death row and a conviction overturned by the Supreme Court, Richard Glossip could walk free from an Oklahoma prison on Wednesday as questions linger about the case that kept him behind bars. Glossip, now 62, is scheduled for a bond hearing in Oklahoma City,...

Texas Death Row Lets Its Inmates Mingle

Program at Livingston's Polunsky Unit breaks the isolation of solitary, lets some share meals, chats

(Newser) - For the first time in decades, Texas death row inmates are experiencing a change in daily life: no handcuffs, no solitary, and—for a select group—a taste of community. After more than 25 years of near-total isolation sparked by a notorious 1998 escape, the Polunsky Unit in Livingston...

Fugitive Missing for 6 Weeks Found 2 Miles From Jail

Antoine Massey is 9th inmate on the run to be recaptured in New Orleans; one is still out there

(Newser) - On Friday, Louisiana authorities captured one of the 10 men who escaped from a New Orleans jail six weeks ago, and who police say released videos on social media while still on the run. Antoine Massey, 33, was taken into custody at a residence in New Orleans about 2 miles...

R. Kelly: Prison Staff Made Me Overdose

Lawyers claim his 'life is in jeopardy' after forced removal from hospital

(Newser) - R. Kelly was rushed to the hospital last week for an alleged overdose, which his lawyers are blaming on prison staff. The disgraced singer's legal team says Kelly overdosed on medication given to him by prison officials. The claim comes a week after lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking...

Lawyers Hit Indiana Execution as 'Finality Over Fairness'

State puts cop killer Benjamin Ritchie to death by lethal injection, in state's 2nd execution since 2009

(Newser) - In a rare move for Indiana, the state has executed Benjamin Ritchie, marking only its second use of the death penalty since 2009. Ritchie, 45, was executed by lethal injection early Tuesday at Indiana State Prison, after being convicted in 2002 for the 2000 shooting death of Beech Grove...

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