MetaFilter posts tagged with corrections

America's 10 Worst Prisons

zarq — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:15:31 -0800

"'If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.' So goes the old saying. Yet conditions in some American facilities are so obscene that they amount to a form of extrajudicial punishment." Mother Jones is profiling "America's 10 Worst Prisons." Facilities were chosen for the list based on "...three years of research, correspondence with prisoners, and interviews with reform advocates." The List 1: ADX (federal supermax: "A federal isolation facility that's "pretty close" to hell.") 2: Allan B. Polunsky Unit (Texas: "'The hardest place to do time in Texas'—and then you die.") 3: Tent City Jail (Phoenix: Feds say notorious facility has a 'pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos.') 4: Orleans Parish (Louisiana: "'A violent and dangerous institution,' says the Justice Department.") 5: LA County Jail (Los Angeles: "And you thought the Rodney King beating was bad?") 6: Pelican Bay (California: "Where a Christmas card might land you in the hole.") 7: Julia Tutwiler (Alabama: "Prisoners fear 'that it's not safe to take a shower, that it's not safe to go to sleep...that you can be manipulated into sexual favors, it's really horrific.'") 8: Reeves Country Detention Complex (Texas: "An overcrowded, understaffed lockup—with health care bad enough to spark riots.") 9: Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (Mississippi: "'A picture of such horror as should be unrealized anywhere in the civilized world.'") 10: Riker's Island (New York City: "New York City lockup has a "deeply entrenched" pattern of violence by guards, lawsuit claims.") The piece will conclude tomorrow with a list of "Dishonorable Mentions." Accompanying Articles (Some are older pieces covering the same topic) * Maps: Solitary Confinement, State by State: "An exclusive review of how state prisons use isolation to discipline inmates and weed out gang members." * God's Own Warden: "If you ever find yourself inside Louisiana's Angola prison, Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus—or regret ever crossing his path." * The Silent Treatment: "Imagine serving decades in prison for a crime your sibling framed you for. Now imagine doing it while profoundly deaf." * Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons: "We throw thousands of men in the hole for the books they read, the company they keep, the beliefs they hold. Here's why." (Previously on Mefi) * Life in the Hole: Inside a Solitary Cell: "A guided tour of the seven-by-eleven-foot space where inmates spend 23 hours a day."

The correct quote is “Hell is other people,” not “Hell is other people at breakfast.”

Chrysostom — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:42:05 -0800

The best (and worst) media errors and corrections of 2012.

"Being in a cage for such an extended period of time, it has its downfalls."

the man of twists and turns — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:31:52 -0800

Forty years in solitary: two men mark sombre anniversary in Louisiana prison They were incarcerated with Robert King, previously on MeFi. That prison is Angola, previously, previouslyer, previouslyest

Supreme Court Gives Officers Unlimited Strip Search Power

GnomeChompsky — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:36:27 -0800

In admitting that they have no expertise in running a corrections system, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that officers have unfettered authority to conduct full strip searches of any arrested individual, even for the most minor of offenses and in situations where officers lack any suspicion of contraband. The ruling comes days after the NY Times ran an analysis suggesting that the current supreme court is the most conservative court in modern history.

How Knitting Behind Bars Transformed Maryland Convicts

reenum — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:24:32 -0800

After she retired, Lynn Zwerling decided to teach knitting to prisoners. The program has seen some success.

God's Own Warden

reenum — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:29:52 -0800

Burl Cain, the warden of Angola, Louisiana's largest prison, uses religion to control and subdue the prison population.

Chester Zoo would like to forestall requests for its big cats’ urine: it asks us to make clear that it does not in fact sell either tiger or lion urine.

Saxon Kane — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:40:19 -0800

Everything you never wanted to know about the American prison-industrial complex

Optimus Chyme — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:32:06 -0800

Everything you never wanted to know about the American prison-industrial complex. Part 2: Prison Nation.

1 in 99.1

aerotive — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:56:39 -0800

1 in 99.1 American adults are now incarcerated according to a new Pew Center study (pdf). Some interesting numbers from a NYT article on the report: 1 in 36 Hispanic adults are incarcerated, 1 in 15 blacks, 1 in 9 black men aged 20-34, 1 in 355 white women aged 35-39. Some context from the World Prison Population List (pdf).

We regret the following:

gingerbeer — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:45:58 -0800

Once again, The Year in Media Errors and Corrections. Correction of the year: "Following the portrait of Tony and Cherie Blair published on 21 April in the Independent Saturday magazine, Ms Blair’s representatives have told us that she was friendly with but never had a relationship with Carole Caplin of the type suggested in the article. They want to make it clear, which we are happy to do, that Ms Blair “has never shared a shower with Ms Caplin, was not introduced to spirit guides or primal wrestling by Ms Caplin (or anyone else), and did not have her diary masterminded by Ms Caplin.” Previously. Also.

The Year in Media Errors and Corrections

Tacodog — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 10:49:07 -0800

Crunks '05: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections

Batman=smart, Superman=superpowerful

braun_richard — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 10:45:10 -0800

Today's weird correction from the NY Times (reg required, of course). More fuel for the old "who would win in a fight, Superman or Batman?" debate.

I'm Not Sure They REALLY Regret the Errors

mmahaffie — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 12:47:35 -0800

Regret The Error is a blog that collects "corrections, retractions, clarifications, and trends regarding accuracy and honesty in North American media." This may well be a NewsFilterFilter, but any site that gives me "In fact, it is impossible to determine the linguistic background of the demonstrator in the monkey suit" is okay in my book.

NYT: Oops

Vidiot — Mon, 16 Dec 2002 14:50:27 -0800

No giant sea sparrow is known to be endangered by the eating habits of goats. ...so quoth the NYT. Funniest correction I've seen in a while; even better than the ones in the Guardian.

Trouble brewing in the Oprah Book Club.

conquistador — Wed, 24 Oct 2001 08:45:48 -0800

Trouble brewing in the Oprah Book Club. So Jonathan Franzen's critically-acclaimed "The Corrections" is selected by Oprah for her book club - meaning hundreds of thousands in sales, increased publicity, etc. He says "no thanks, you schmaltzy, woman-pandering, literary-wannabe hack." Well, not exactly... (nyt link)