Trump urges prison reform, not sentencing overhaul after pushback

The White House on Tuesday urged U.S. lawmakers to move ahead with legislation to help prisoners prepare for life after release, but stopped short of calling for broader reforms such as changing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. Arguing that a wider overhaul lacks congressional support, the Trump administration recommended more prison work programs, more partnerships with businesses to help ex-prisoners find jobs and more funding for programs to reduce state prison recidivism.

Trump Urges Prison Reform, Not Sentencing Overhaul, After Pushback

President Donald Trump speaks during a prison reform roundtable in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 11, 2018. The White House on Tuesday urged U.S. lawmakers to move ahead with legislation to help prisoners prepare for life after release, but he stopped short of calling for broader reforms such as changing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes.

Kansas agency, firm bolster lawmaker support for prison plan

Kansas corrections officials and the company picked to build a new state prison have bolstered support for their plan among top Republican legislators, making it more likely their project will get the final go-ahead. Three key Republican legislators said after a briefing this week that they're more comfortable with a state Department of Corrections plan to have the nation's largest private prison operator, CoreCivic Inc., build the new prison for 2,432 inmates in Lansing, in the Kansas City area.

Plan to double-bunk at new Kansas prison worries lawmakers

Kansas legislators are debating how much the decision to house more inmates two-to-a-cell has fueled unrest at state prisons in recent months, and some worry about Department of Corrections plans to open a new prison with a majority of its cells double-bunked. Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood told a legislative committee this week that the cells at the planned new prison in Lansing in the Kansas City area would be large enough to hold two inmates, including maximum-security prisoners.

Justices grant execution stay to consider juror racial bias

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay of execution for a Georgia inmate whose attorneys argue that the 59-year-old black man's death sentence was tainted by a juror's racial bias. Keith Leroy Tharpe, known as "Bo," was set to be put to death at 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday at the state prison by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital.

Topeka prisoner files lawsuit objecting to inundation by Christian propaganda

A Topeka Correctional Facility inmate who is plaintiff in a federal religious-freedom lawsuit complained of the prison's 8-foot wooden cross, Christian-themed radio and television broadcasts, and housing units saturated with proselytizing messages. Inmates at the all-female prison are subjected to "Christian propaganda," the suit says, and remain under threat of punishment if caught moving objectionable religious materials.

this Date in History, Sept. 9: ‘United Colonies’ become ‘United States’ Posted at

On September 9, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction, a measure primarily concerned with protecting voting rights and which also established a Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Florida is scheduled to conduct its first execution in more than 18 months.

Florida has put a man to death with an anesthetic never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, carrying out its first execution in more than 18 months on an inmate convicted of two racially motivated murders. Authorities said 53-year-old Mark Asay, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke.

Florida executes convicted double-murderer using new drug

Florida on Thursday put a man to death with an anesthetic never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, carrying out its first execution in more than 18 months on an inmate convicted of two racially motivated murders. Authorities said 53-year-old Mark Asay, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke.

Arkansas inmates snatch keys, take control of part of prison

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city will keep fighting President Donald Trump's immigration policies with a federal lawsuit alleging it's illegal for the government to withhold public safety grants from... Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city will keep fighting President Donald Trump's immigration policies with a federal lawsuit alleging it's illegal for the government to withhold public safety grants from so-called sanctuary cities. Six inmates have taken keys from correctional officers at a maximum security prison in Arkansas and are holding the officers in an area where they control the doors.

UK cybersecurity expert still held after Las Vegas arrest

On Friday, Aug. 4, 2017,... . FILE - In this Monday, May 15, 2017, file photo, British IT expert Marcus Hutchins speaks during an interview in Ilfracombe, England.

Contraband Drone Crashes Near Prison in Washington State

Recently, a drone carrying 16 individual bags of marijuana, cell phones and chargers, two bags of tobacco, and 31 oxycodone pills crashed into the ground near the Washington State Prison yard. A corrections department spokeswoman, Joan Heath, said that the drone crashed into the ground near the prison around 10:45 p.m. Drones carrying contraband into prison yards has been a growing problem.