Gabriel City

South Carolina Prison Deficit

hcdmedia — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:42:46 +0000

The South Carolina Department of Corrections has run up a $29 million deficit. Legislators are considering the release of nonviolent inmates early to ease budget costs. Governor Mark Sanford has stated that he is opposed to releasing nonviolent offenders.

Blacksoil

hcdmedia — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:35:45 +0000

This Black Soil: A Story of Resistance and Rebirth (2004) – This documentary tells the story of women advocates in a small, rural, and predominately black town in Virginia called Bayview, where the state had plans to build a maximum security prison. The women created a non-profit organization and eventually secured funds to buy the land where the prison was supposed to be built.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Actor Spends Night at Angola

hcdmedia — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:00:30 +0000

Oscar winning actor William Hurt spent a night at Angola Prison in Louisiana to prepare for his role as an ex-convict in the upcoming film The Yellow Handkerchief. According to Hurt, experiencing prison life for himself was crucial to being able to embody his character and tell the story well. Read more here.

Art Behind Bars in Florida Prison

hcdmedia — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:46:09 +0000

The Monroe County Detention Center in Key West Florida has an innovative art program that has been going on for 15 years. Helping inmates by giving them healthy outlets for rehabilitation.

Founded by Lynne Vantriglia in 1994, the program is a nonprofit and claims to “significantly increase the effectiveness of incarceration at reducing the number of re-offenders, saving the tax-payers of Monroe County over $2,000,000 and increasing the availability of revenue producing Federal use units.”

You can find out more information on the website and watch this 1o min video about the project:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Juvenile Prison in California Closes

hcdmedia — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:41:50 +0000

California’s largest juvenile prison has closed and will become an adult facility. Read more here.

North Carolina Innocence Panel

hcdmedia — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:22:47 +0000

The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission is the only special innocence panel in the country. It was established in 2006 to review claims of innocence by prisoners in the state after several wrongful convictions were brought to public attention. Over the last four years, the Commission has reviewed hundreds of cases, but has only passed on three to a three-judge panel hearing. Of those three, only the last case, ruled on February 17, 2010, was overturned. George Taylor, who was convicted and jailed for murdering a prostitute in 1991, was found innocent, and was finally freed from prison.

Beyond Prisons

hcdmedia — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:14:31 +0000

Beyond Prisons: A New Interfaith Paradigm for Our Failed Prison System explores the history of the American penal system and presents a moral and ethical criticism of the state of the current prison system.

Beyond Prisons: A New Interfaith Paradigm for Our Failed Prison System is available for purchase on Amazon.

Parents Behind Bars

hcdmedia — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:27:37 +0000

Central Connecticut State University organizes day-long conference to address and identify the needs of children who are dealing with a parent who is, or has been incarcerated.

Click here to read the article.

Louisiana Sues 84 Death Row Inmates

hcdmedia — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:48:07 +0000

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has sued every inmate on death row, in an effort to block any one of them from challenging the state’s lethal injection procedures.

Click here to read the entire story.

Glimpse into a Troubled Youth Prison

hcdmedia — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:24:54 +0000

Edwin, an 18-year old teenager with emotional and behavioral problems, was recently released from the New York youth prison, Highland Residential Center. Like many of the juveniles who pass through New York youth prisons, Edwin experienced many instances of abuse and mistreatment by the prison staff. He never felt safe at Highland, and when he left, he was no more rehabilitated then when he had entered it. The operations at Highland and other youth prisons in New York have been recently brought to public attention by the media, and a state task force has concluded that the youth prisons need to be fixed.