Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'inmates'

Washington May Deport Illegal Immigrant Inmates

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST

Washington State governor Christine Gregoire wants to deport illegal immigrants currently serving time in state prisons, convicted of drug or property crimes. She says it would save the state more than $9 million over the next two years.

Wash. State Weighs Releasing Three-Strikes Offender

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

The Washington State Clemency & Pardons Board has recommended clemency to Stevan Dozier, a man convicted 14 years ago of a three-strikes offense and sentenced to life in prison. If Gov. Christine Gregoire approves the clemency, Dozier will be the first inmate sentenced to life under the three -strikes law to be released from Washington prisons. Austin Jenkins

Former Inmate Believes In The Power Of Pardons

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:46:00 EST

Kemba Smith was sentenced to 24 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine — though she never handled the drug — because of mandatory sentencing laws. She was pardoned in 2000, and she urges President Bush to grant clemency to inmates with similar stories.

Inmate Nearly Released After 36 Years In Solitary

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:34:00 EST

After growing doubts about a 1973 murder case, a judge overturned an Angola inmate's conviction and granted him bail three weeks ago. Hours later, the Louisiana attorney general stepped in and halted the release. Now the inmate is back in the isolation cell, where he's spent more than three decades.

Yoga Is The New Rec Yard

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Juvenile detention centers around the country are offering yoga as a form of rehabilitation for inmates. Youth Radio's Ankitha Bharadwaj reports that yoga is the new recreation yard.

Why Did Angola's Key Witness Go To The 'Dog Pen'...

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:04:00 EDT

The conviction of two Louisiana inmates for a correctional officer's death rests largely on the testimony of a single witness. For years people have been saying he never got any favors from the prison. But questions are being raised lately as to how he ended up in the best inmate housing, caring for bloodhounds rather than working in the fields.

Georgia Inmate's Execution Postponed For Third Time

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:08:00 EDT

Troy Davis, a Georgia death row inmate, was scheduled to be put to death yesterday, but received a stay of execution issued by a federal appeals court. It is the third time Davis' execution has been postponed. Virginia Sloan is head of the The Constitution Project. Sloan discusses the high profile case and how it's stirring scrutiny of the judicial system in the U.S.

Doubts Arise About 1972 Angola Prison Murder

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:01:00 EDT

In 1972, a popular young correctional officer was stabbed to death at Angola prison. Two inmates were quickly convicted of the crime and placed in solitary confinement for nearly four decades. Now, all these years later, the murder seems even more elusive than it did then, and there are questions about their guilt.

Supreme Court Rejects Death Row Inmate's Appeal

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:15:00 EDT

Troy Davis, who was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1989, has been on death row for 17 years. Davis has always denied his guilt — and seven of nine prosecution witnesses have since recanted their testimony. The Supreme Court's denial to hear Davis' appeal clears the way for his execution.

Ga. Inmate's Death Sentence Questions Justice

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Troy Davis, a 39-year-old African-American on death row in a Georgia prison for killing a police officer lost his final appeal yesterday after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the matter.

Last-Minute Reprieve For Georgia Inmate

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:00:00 EDT

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution Tuesday for Troy Davis. The Georgia inmate was scheduled to be executed for the 1989 slaying of an off-duty police officer. Linda Wertheimer reports.

Execution Nears For Georgia Inmate

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:54:00 EDT

Though seven witnesses have recanted their testimony and thousands of people — including the pope and former President Jimmy Carter — have protested, the execution of convicted murderer Troy Anthony Davis is moving forward.

San Quentin Integrates Prisoners

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:30:00 EDT

California prisons face a court order to end a decades-long practice of separating inmates by race. At San Quentin, the process has already begun. Inmates and prison officials gathered to air their concerns about how violence may increase.

In Ohio, Inmate Mothers Care For Babies In Prison

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:25:00 EDT

Women are currently the fastest growing segment of the prison population in the United States. The Ohio Reformatory for Women meets this expanding population's unique set of demands with an in-house nursery.

California Prisons Start Desegregating Inmates

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:27:00 EDT

For decades, corrections officials assigned inmates of the same race to bunk together to keep the peace among race-based prison gangs. That's about to change as the prison system prepares to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively deemed the practice unconstitutional.

Does Same-Sex Marriage Law Apply In Prison...

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The legalization of same-sex marriage in California has raised a thorny issue — marriage between convicts. Prison officials are struggling to come up with a policy on the issue. Inmates are now allowed to marry anyone they want — male or female — as long as that person isn't also in prison. What if two inmates want to marry?

Probe Finds Abuses In Ill. Jail

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EDT

A federal investigation has found several abuses at the nation's largest single-site county jail. The investigation found inmates in Illinois' Cook County Jail were not protected from being harmed by other inmates and staff.

Covering San Quentin: A Behind-The-Scenes Look

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EDT

When NPR's Laura Sullivan walked into San Quentin prison, she was greeted by rows of bunk beds along a basketball court. San Quentin currently houses twice the number of inmates that it was built for. Racial tensions run high. On the outside, certain conflicts can be avoided, but in San Quentin, rival gang members sleep right next to each other. Sullivan talks to host Andrea Seabrook about what she saw in one of California's most notorious prisons.

Former Inmates Allege Russian 'Torture Prisons'

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:01:00 EDT

In Russia, the prison population is on the rise and so, too, are allegations of extreme abuse. Human rights groups and former prisoners say treatment of inmates is so bad that it's comparable to the Soviet Gulag.

San Quentin's Gym Becomes One Massive Cell

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:43:00 EDT

More than 360 inmates live in what was once a gymnasium. The prison no longer has room for them — or for sports and rehabilitative programs. With inmates packed so close all day, every day, racial segregation provides one of the few sources of order.

Shop Discusses McCain, Inmate's Suspicious Death

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EDT

The guys in this week's shop — Jimi Izrael, Ruben Navarrette and Nick Charles — are joined by conservative radio talk show host Armstrong Williams. They discuss Gen. Wesley Clark's jab at GOP presidential candidate John McCain's military service record, and the latest contention surrounding the death of an inmate accused of killing a Maryland police officer.

Investigators Focus On Guards In Inmate's Death

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:11:00 EDT

Seven prison guards who had access to an inmate found strangled in a Prince George's County, Md., jail Sunday are now under investigation. County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey said his office would convene a grand jury to review evidence in the case.

Chaplain Discusses 'Death House' Ministry

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Reverend Carroll Pickett was the death-house chaplain at the Walls prison unit in Huntsville, Texas for 13 years. During his tenure, he ministered to 95 inmates executed by lethal injection. He is the subject of a new documentary, At the Death House Door.

Opponents Challenge Death Penalty in Florida

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Florida officials are eager to resume carrying out death penalties following this month's Supreme Court decision, which said found that Kentucky's use of lethal injection does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. State officials say Florida's lethal injection protocols follow what the Supreme Court approved in Kentucky. But attorneys for death row inmates say Kentucky is different from Florida.

Broncos and Boudin: The Angola Prison Rodeo

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:01:00 EDT

Hidden Kitchens travels to the Louisiana State Penitentiary and the world of unexpected, below-the-radar, down-home convict cooking at the Angola Prison Rodeo. The event, which draws thousands of spectators, features traditional dishes prepared and sold by inmates at the prison farm.