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June 30, 2009 - Inmates accused of attacking officers appear in court Leavenworth Times Two inmates accused of attacking officers at a Leavenworth detention facility appeared Monday in county district court.
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June 29, 2009 - Private prisons 'performing worse than state-run jails' Independent Figures obtained by More4 show four of Britain's 10 private prisons received the second-lowest rating in Government tests. (Click here for more)

June 28, 2009 - Senator's controversial consulting work finished Brownsville Herald It took about five years, but state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. seems to have phased out his paid consulting jobs for construction and engineering firms. (Click here for more)

June 27, 2009 - Search for 3rd suspect continues Greenwood Commonwealth Police are continuing the search for a third suspect wanted in connection with the freeing of an inmate from a Greenwood eye doctor’s office Thursday. (Click here for more)

June 27, 2009 - Shooting suspect attempts suicide  WZTV Authorities say one of the men charged with shooting Sergeant Mark Chesnut tried to hang himself Friday with some string from a laundry bag. (Click here for more)

June 26, 2009 - How did suspected shooter escape prison?  WSMV The company that operates the Mississippi prison where a man escaped and later was arrested in the shooting of a Metro officer admits there was some sort of breakdown that allowed Joseph Jackson to escape custody. (Click here for more)

June 26, 2009 - Judge slams Florida prison system's secret talks St Petersburg Times An ''appalled'' state judge said Thursday that Florida's prison system ''blatantly violated the public trust'' by secretly negotiating with a new firm to provide for inmates' mental health. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - Security van driver gets 40 months' jail The New Straits Times A former security van driver who ran off with a moneybag containing RM250,000 was sentenced to 40 months' jail and ordered to be given two strokes of the rotan yesterday. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - Mississippi escapee arrested in shooting of Metro officer Nashville City Paper Metro police say two suspects — one an escapee from Mississippi — taken into custody in the shooting of veteran officer Mark Chesnut have lengthy criminal records. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - Suspects in Sgt. shooting taken into custody News Channel 5 Metro police have taken into custody the two suspects in the Metro Sgt. shooting, arresting them at Hermitage Avenue and Fairfield Avenue. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - County asks jail operator to forego 4 % hike Hernando Today County commissioners have asked the private company that runs the jail to forego the 4 percent annual adjustment to its contract. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - Former inmate argues for release of prison corp.'s records The Tennessean Whether Nashville’s Corrections Corporation of America, a private company that runs state prisons, is equivalent to a governmental entity and should turn over records is in the hands of the State’s Court of Appeals. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - Remark by inmate to female guard brings beating and $80G payday New York Daily Times A former inmate at a Queens jail used by the feds testified Wednesday that an innocent remark he made to a female guard - "Hello, baby, you look beautiful today" - led to his brutal beatdown by her enraged supervisor. (Click here for more)

June 25, 2009 - Huerfano prison locked down for four days The Pueblo Chieftain Inmates at the Huerfano County Correctional Center were placed on a four-day lock-down after three homemade weapons were found by corrections officers last week. (Click here for more)

June 24, 2009 - Sheriff says Alabama escapee out of hospital Park Rapids Enterprise Ashton Mink was arrested after a nearly 14-hour standoff June 6, on a ranch south of Gladstone. (Click here for more)

June 23, 2009 - Employees wrongfully fired for peaceful protest Courthouse News Five workers at a New York prison health clinic were unfairly fired for peacefully picketing in their bid to unionize, the 2nd Circuit ruled, overturning a decision by the National Labor Relations Board. (Click here for more)

June 23, 2009 - Security contract under review after Ward’s death The West The West Australian government is reviewing the contract of a security company involved in the death in custody of an Aboriginal elder, Premier Colin Barnett says. (Click here for more)

June 23, 2009 - Ex-guard apologises for WA elder's death Brisbane Times A sacked security guard has offered her apologies to the family of an Aboriginal elder who died in custody, while the West Australian government says it's reviewing her former employer's contract. (Click here for more)

June 22, 2009 - Battle over corrections contract has new allegation News Service of Florida A high-stakes battle over multi-million dollar contracts with the Department of Corrections took an ugly turn on Monday. (Click here for more)

June 22, 2009 - State brings back another batch of inmates AP Another batch of Idaho prisoners has returned to the state after spending time in an Oklahoma prison. (Click here for more)

June 22, 2009 - Outrage over exotic cuisine for foreign criminals in UK detention centre Thaindian The news that foreign criminals, including rapists and terrorists, are being treated to lavish cuisine as they wait to be deported, has not gone down with the taxpayers in Britain. (Click here for more)

June 21, 2009 - John Lynch's halfway house ties The Star-Ledger John Lynch, a former New Jersey state Senate president, was recently released to a halfway house after serving a jail term. (Click here for more)

June 20, 2009 - Silverdale fires gang examiner Chattanooga Times Free-Press The trial in which Christina Young is accused of perjuring herself led to convictions and life prison sentences for two young men accused of a 2006 killing believed to have been in retaliation for other gang violence. (Click here for more)

June 19, 2009 - A dramatic end to a week in Yarl's Wood BBC A couple of days ago in Bedfordshire, uniformed immigration officers surrounded Melchior Singo as his screaming children looked on. (Click here for more)

June 19, 2009 - Appeal likely on valuation of Appleton prison Morris Tribune A $20 million difference of opinion in the market value of a privately owned prison in Appleton could end up in court.  (Click here for more)

June 19, 2009 - Trials set for CCA inmates Leavenworth Times Three inmates accused of battering correctional officers at a Leavenworth detention facility were in court earlier this week. (Click here for more)

June 19, 2009 - Two WA prison van security guards sacked Brisbane Times Two security guards who had charge of a prison van in which an Aboriginal elder died of heat stroke have been sacked, their employer says. (Click here for more)

June 18, 2009 - Hunger strike at Yarl's Wood detention centre Guardian At least 30 detainees at the Yarl's Wood detention centre have been on hunger strike since Monday in protest at poor conditions at the Bedfordshire site. (Click here for more)

June 18, 2009 - Prison officials must testify in mental health contract suit St Petersburg Times A state judge is ordering two prison officials to testify today on their role in a disputed decision to switch vendors for mental health care to inmates in South Florida. (Click here for more)

June 17, 2009 - Dead man's family seeks answers in wake of prison riots Midland Reporter-Telegram The death of a 32-year-old epileptic inmate in solitary confinement at Reeves County Detention Center last Dec. 12 touched off the first of two riots that saw fires set and hostages taken, said an attorney who represents the inmate’s family. (Click here for more)

June 17, 2009 - N.M. ACLU sues private prison company GEO Group for ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ New Mexico Independent The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico is suing a privately-run prison in Clayton for imposing cruel and unusual punishment, charging that in December, 2008, prison guards kept seven nude or semi-nude prisoners locked in a cold shower room for hours after a prison lockdown ended. (Click here for more)

June 17, 2009 - Silverdale probing perjury allegation Times Free Press The trial in which Christina Young is accused of perjuring herself resulted in the convictions of two young men who were sentenced to life in prison for a 2006 murder widely believed to have been in retaliation for other gang violence. (Click here for more)

June 17, 2009 - Suit against workhouse St Louis Post-Dispatch The family of a nurse who worked at the St. Louis Medium Security Institution filed a lawsuit Friday claiming she suffered permanent injury when she was not given prompt medical attention after collapsing at the jail on Hall Street in March. (Click here for more)

June 16, 2009 - Missouri Supreme Court rules private jail must pay sales taxes AP The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that a private jail in western Missouri must pay taxes on food, clothes and other products for inmates. (Click here for more)

June 16, 2009 - Guard jailed for alleged sexual acts with prisoner Tyler Morning Telegraph A prison guard at the Bradshaw State Jail has been arrested after it was alleged she performed sexual acts on a male prisoner and gave him money. (Click here for more)

June 15, 2009 - Death the latest scandal for prison transport firm Four Corners The company linked to the death of Mr Ward was the subject of a damning report in 2005. (Click here for more)

June 14, 2009 - Private-prison plan raises concerns Arizona Republic The prospect of Arizona selling off its state prisons for a cash influx might bode well for the budget, but it comes with "grave concerns" from the director of the Department of Corrections, according to a letter Charles Ryan sent to Gov. Jan Brewer earlier this month. (Click here for more)

June 13, 2009 - Fire at immigration removal unit BBC A fire was started and "disorder" broke out at a wing of an immigration removal centre near Gatwick Airport, Sussex police said. (Click here for more)

June 13, 2009 - Despite his lockup, Kohring still supports private prisons Anchorage Daily-News Former Rep. Vic Kohring says he still supports private prisons even as his enthusiasm clashes with his own observations from inside one, where he said equipment went unrepaired, meals lacked fresh produce and prisoner welfare appeared to take a back seat to saving money. (Click here for more)

June 13, 2009 - Suspended death van guard driver 'gagged' Perth Now ONE of two guards suspended over the death of an Aboriginal elder in a prisoner transport van, says she has been ''gagged'' from talking about the tragedy. (Click here for more)

June 13, 2009 - Pampered lags stay cool The Sun BOSSES at Scotland’s cushiest jail splashed out on hundreds of electric fans — after pampered cons moaned they were too hot. (Click here for more)

June 12, 2009 - Man's death in custody was 'unnecessary and avoidable': coroner WA Today A man died a "terrible death" in the back of a prison van where temperatures reached 50 degrees celsius, the West Australian coroner has found. (Click here for more)

June 12, 2009 - Mental-health aide charged with sex assault Erie Times-News A Cornell Abraxas mental-health aide was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old resident at the center. (Click here for more)

June 11, 2009 - Ballpark may lose an alcohol license Fox 26 News FOX 26 News has learned the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission may be going after at least one of the liquor licenses at Minute Maid Park. (Click here for more)

June 11, 2009 - Presidio County Jail shutting down CBS 7 News/KOSA The Presidio County Jail in Marfa is in the process of shutting down because the county can't afford to run it. (Click here for more)

June 11, 2009 - Suit filed against GEO Group in prison death Delco Times The daughter of a opiate-addicted man who hanged himself while incarcerated has filed a lawsuit against the private, for-profit company that was running the George W. Hill Correctional Facility at the time of his death. (Click here for more)

June 11, 2009 - Naked prisoner flees across primary school grounds This Is Nottingham A SUICIDAL prisoner ran through the grounds of a primary school naked in a violent escape bid. (Click here for more)

June 11, 2009 - Spurned vendor wins suit against Florida prisons Miami Herald A judge in Tallahassee ruled Wednesday that the Florida Department of Corrections improperly withheld public records from a vendor that filed a lawsuit after being ousted from a mental healthcare contract. (Click here for more)

June 11, 2009 - Private prisons for immigrants lack accountability, oversight Atlanta Journal-Constitution On March 11, a 39-year-old man held in detention at the Stewart Detention Center, a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in southwest Georgia, died at a hospital in Columbus. (Click here for more)

June 10, 2009 - New escapee photos released Athens News-Courier Tom Henning, state’s attorney in Stark County, N.D., said it’s possible the four people accused in an escape from an Alabama prison facility will remain imprisoned in North Dakota for some time. (Click here for more)

June 10, 2009 - Recall campaign gets under way Pahrump Valley Times A notice of intent to recall Nye County District 4 Commissioner Butch Borasky and town board members Nicole Shupp and Bill Dolan was filed with the county clerk's office Friday. (Click here for more)

June 10, 2009 - Hamilton County: Prison company settles lawsuit Times Free Press The company that runs Silverdale Detention Center in Hamilton County has settled a national class-action lawsuit that claimed it had a history of not paying employees for certain types of work. (Click here for more)

June 9, 2009 - Vermont removes inmates from Alabama prison Bennington Banner Vermont officials said Monday they made the right decision in March when the state removed about 80 Vermont inmates from a private, for-profit prison in Alabama where two inmates recently escaped. (Click here for more)

June 8, 2009 - Sharp rise in assaults at Parc Prison, Bridgend South Wales Echo A PRISONER assaults another inmate at least once a day at a privately-run jail in South Wales. (Click here for more)

June 8, 2009 - Moving inmates Tuscaloosa News Alabama's prison commissioner says the state will remove about 250 inmates from the private prison where two men recently escaped amid a string of security failures. (Click here for more)

June 6, 2009 - Sex offender who had sex with jail worker sent back to prison Sheboygan Press A two-time convicted sex offender is going back to prison after resuming a sexual relationship with a former Sheboygan County jail worker who was fired for having sex with him in 2007. (Click here for more)

June 6, 2009 - More files erased on former sheriff's computer Charlotte Sun During a recent deposition, former Sarasota County Sheriff Bill Balkwill said he erased public e-mails on his old laptop computer because they were confidential and related to homeland security. (Click here for more)

June 6, 2009 - Police shoot two America's most wanted fugitives, arrest two others KFYR TV Four of America's Most Wanted fugitives were arrested Saturday in western North Dakota. (Click here for more)

June 5, 2009 - Prison officers fired, security changes made after escape WAFF It's been more than week since Joshua Southwick, 26 and Ashton Mink, 22, escaped from a private prison in Perry County. (Click here for more)

June 5, 2009 - Women accused of aiding escape AP A U.S. Marshals Service inspector said two women cut holes through three fences at a private prison in Perry County, enabling a convicted murderer and another prisoner to escape. (Click here for more)

June 3, 2009 - State wants verdict in private prisons case Israel National News State attorneys have filed a request with the Supreme Court asking to hasten the decision-making process regarding private prisons. (Click here for more)

June 3, 2009 - Ex-prison officer remanded on drugs Little Hampton Gazette A former prison worker has been remanded on bail after appearing in court charged with trying to smuggle drugs into a Kent prison. (Click here for more)

June 3, 2009 - Marshals: Relatives helped Uniontown prisoners escape Tuscaloosa News Two women cut holes in the prison fences at Perry County Corrections Center in Uniontown last week, allowing a convicted murder and another prisoner to escape, a U.S. Marshals Service inspector said. (Click here for more)

June 3, 2009 - Killing at alternative jail probed Star-Ledger On a Tuesday evening in Irvington, Derek West Harris saw the colored lights in the rearview mirror of his late-model Mazda Millennium and pulled over. (Click here for more)

June 2, 2009 - Theft investigation of Balkwill could take 2 more months Herald-Tribune Nearly two months after a special prosecutor was assigned to investigate possible theft charges against former Sheriff Bill Balkwill, neither the prosecutor nor state agents have picked up the laptop Balkwill is accused of stealing. (Click here for more)

June 2, 2009 - Ex-Texas guard convicted of contraband smuggling AP A federal jury in Midland convicted a 21-year-old former prison guard of smuggling contraband to inmates. (Click here for more)

June 2, 2009 - Escaped inmates may be driving GMC Jimmy WAFF Officers have confirmed a description of the vehicle that two escapees convicted in North Alabama may be driving, and agencies across the state are on the lookout for it. (Click here for more)

June 2, 2009 - Judge rules in favor of CCA, Bay County in hostage case News-Herald Three nurses who were held hostage at the Bay County jail in 2004 are asking Florida's First District Court of Appeals to overturn a local judge and find against Bay County and Corrections Corporation of America. (Click here for more)

June 2, 2009 - Bullying found at immigration centre The Independent Allegations that asylum seekers are being bullied by immigration staff are not being properly investigated, a report into Britain's flagship immigration removal centre has found. (Click here for more)

June 1, 2009 - Prison vendor seeks court order, hires lobbyists St Petersburg Times A vendor on the verge of losing a contract to provide mental health services to 15,000 South Florida prison inmates is fighting back. (Click here for more)
 

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