jail

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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...

NYC Finally Loses Control of Rikers Island

Federal judge says outside manager will be appointed to improve conditions at notorious jail

(Newser) - New York City has been ordered to turn over control of Rikers Island—one of the country's most notorious jails—and other city lockups to an outside manager. A federal judge who issued a scathing ruling on violence in the city's jails last year said the official would...

He Taunted Cops Online to Come Find Him. They Did

Tennessee's Devon Bart has been arrested over domestic assault warrant after online dare

(Newser) - When a Tennessee man brazenly taunted law enforcement on social media to come find him, he might not have anticipated that they'd take the challenge seriously—resulting in an arrest that proves the reach of both digital footprints and the law. Fox News reports that 25-year-old Devon Bart...

SBF Tells Tucker Carlson of 'Dystopian' Prison Life

FTX founder, who shares a cellblock with Diddy, says rapper has 'been kind' to him

(Newser) - "Strange bedfellows" just took on a whole new meaning, thanks to a prison interview with none other than Sam Bankman-Fried. The disgraced founder of the bankrupt FTX crypto exchange popped up Thursday for a video chat with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who questioned the 33-year-old inmate on...

During Prison Stay, Menendez Brothers Made It Beautiful

Erik and Lyle Menendez launched beautification project in 2018 at San Diego detention center

(Newser) - Nearly 30 years after they killed their parents, Erik and Lyle Menendez launched a beautification project in the California prison where they're serving life sentences. Their project was inspired by the Norwegian approach to incarceration that believes rehabilitation in humane prisons surrounded by nature leads to successful reintegration into...

Amid Trump Jail Risk, a Look at How That May Play Out

Secret Service is preparing for the logistics as judge reiterates threat

(Newser) - Donald Trump keeps testing the limits of his gag order, and Judge Juan Merchan keeps threatening serious consequences if he doesn't stop. But might a former president really end up behind bars on contempt charges? A look at the consequences if it comes to that:
  • One option: Merchan could
...

Here's Your 'Ewwww' Crime of the Day
Here's Your
'Ewwww' Crime
of the Day
Mar 14, 2024 12:46 PM CDT

Here's Your 'Ewwww' Crime of the Day

Mississippi cop charged after allegedly making prisoner lick urine-coated floor

(Newser) - Holding cells aren't known for their luxe accommodations, but one prisoner reportedly had an especially gross stay during his temporary detention in a Mississippi jail. Court files show that police officer Michael Christian Green has been charged with one federal count of deprivation of rights under color of law,...

Honk for These New Prison Guards in Brazil

Vigilant geese replace dogs at the Penitentiary Complex near Florianopolis

(Newser) - Who needs guard dogs when you have guard geese? Perhaps not as intimidating as a dog with bared teeth, a gaggle of the vigilant, honking birds have replaced canines as guards at a prison in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, Reuters reports. "We have electronic surveillance, in-person...

Massive Operation Clears Out Prison Run by Inmates

Venezuela's Tocoron prison had its own zoo, nightclub

(Newser) - Venezuela's government has congratulated security forces on clearing out a "center of conspiracy and crime"—the notorious Tocoron prison. The BBC reports that 11,000 security personnel took part in the clearing of the prison, which had been run by inmates for years and functioned more as...

It'll Be the World's Tallest Jail. Will It Ruin Chinatown?

It's a key part of the plan to close Rikers Island, and it's contentious

(Newser) - "This is going to be the beacon of Chinatown." That's one local landlord's take on a new jail that's planned for the neighborhood, and it's not meant as a compliment. At an expected 300 feet in height—about as tall as the Statue of...

Officers Allegedly Jail Son, 3, for Potty Problems

Florida dad reportedly claimed an investigation into the incident was 'insane'

(Newser) - Two Florida police officers reportedly thought the proper way to respond to their toddler's potty-training problems was to handcuff the boy and put him in jail. Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety launched an internal investigation following the October incident involving Lt. Michael Schoenbrod and Det. Sgt. Jessica...

Guards Who Subjected Inmates to 'Baby Shark' Sentenced

Oklahoma pair can't work in law enforcement again

(Newser) - Two former guards whose mistreatment of Oklahoma County jail inmates included forcing them to listen to "Baby Shark" on a loop while handcuffed and chained to a wall have been sentenced. A judge ordered two years' probation for Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles and fined them...

Guard Brutally Attacked by Inmate Rescued by Other Inmates

2 stepped in when fellow prisoner attacked guard at South Carolina max-security site

(Newser) - Two inmates at a maximum-security South Carolina prison are being lauded for helping a guard who was attacked by another inmate. The state's Department of Corrections is now detailing the Monday evening attack, which WCIV notes could've been a deadly one had the rescuing inmates not intervened. "...

Suit: She Gave Birth on Jail Cell Floor as Staff Laughed

Jazmin Valentine alleges she was ignored during her 6-hour labor

(Newser) - A woman who said she was left to give birth to her baby alone on the dirty, concrete floor of her jail cell in Maryland filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that jail nurses ignored her screams and pleas for help for six hours. Jazmin Valentine alleges some nurses working...

It's Time to Push Back Against the 'Inhumanity' in Our Prisons
Don't Ignore the Suffering
in America's Prisons
OPINION
Sep 11, 2022 5:00 PM CDT

Don't Ignore the Suffering in America's Prisons

Writing for 'Philly Inquirer,' Cheryl Smith slams 'soul-chilling inhumanity' toward incarcerated

(Newser) - The Eighth and 14th Amendments are meant to prevent cruel and unusual punishment, as well as discrimination and unequal treatment—including for the incarcerated. But that's not what's being applied in America's prisons, Cheryl Smith writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer , where she lays out the "soul-chilling...

Pregnant Women Jailed Here for Drugs Have Only One Way Out

They're kept behind bars in Etowah County, Ala., unless they go to rehab, pay $10K

(Newser) - Multiple pregnant women or new moms are behind bars in an Alabama prison after being arrested for drug use, and they're being kept there for "weeks or months" on end under "special conditions," per AL.com . The outlet reports that the women involved, accused of exposing...

Harvey Weinstein 'Sincerely Sorry' About Contraband Candy

Jail suspects lawyer slipped him Milk Duds

(Newser) - Harvey Weinstein's attorneys are now having their legal binders and laptop bags searched after an alleged attempt to smuggle contraband candy to their client. According to Los Angeles Country jail records seen by Variety , the convicted rapist was reprimanded by guards after they found Milk Duds on him after...

Suit: Jail Staff Ignored Pleas of Woman in Labor, to Tragic End

Tiana Hill says her infant died 4 days after birth due to sheriff's, prison medical staff's negligence

(Newser) - A Georgia mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clayton County after she gave birth while in jail there and her baby died. The New York Times reports that the federal complaint by Tiana Hill accuses Sheriff Victor Hill (no relation) and the medical staff at the Clayton County...

NY Governor Makes Move on 'Out of Control' Rikers Island

Kathy Hochul signs new legislation, releases 191 prisoners to relieve overcrowding

(Newser) - Update: State lawmakers who'd lobbied New York's governor to address the overcrowding crisis at Rikers Island have seen results. Per CBS , Kathy Hochul on Friday signed the Less Is More Act and ordered 191 inmates, most with technical parole violations, to be released from the beleaguered prison complex....

Lookalike Inmate Mistakenly Released From Jail

Search is on for Ellen Goble in Randolph County, Mo.

(Newser) - Authorities in Missouri are searching for a woman who was mistaken for another inmate and wrongly released from jail over the weekend. Ellen Goble—who was held in Randolph County Jail on charges of resisting arrest, burglary, drug possession, and operating a vehicle without a valid license—looked almost identical...

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