prison
Idaho has obtained lethal injection chemicals. But state law protects where they came from.
After being unable to do so for years, Idaho officials have obtained chemicals necessary to carry out an execution by lethal injection. However, state laws recently passed by the Idaho Legislature protect the identities of anybody who sells, supplies, transports, dispenses, compounds, synthesizes, procures or prescribes the chemicals or substances for use in an execution. […]
Judge gives OK for state to move ahead with prison closure
Larch Corrections Center in southwest Washington will close Tuesday, despite a last ditch effort by the union representing correctional employees to keep the minimum security state prison open until a round of labor negotiations wraps up. Teamsters Local 117 sued the Department of Corrections last month over what they say were multiple violations of fair […]
WA prisoners struggle with wildfire smoke as ventilation upgrades go unfunded
When the wildfire smoke arrives, Harry Whitman has nowhere to go. “When there’s smoke or there’s a fire, they lock you in,” Whitman said. Whitman, president of the advocacy group Black Prisoners’ Caucus, is incarcerated at Airway Heights Corrections Center. The prison is located less than 10 miles away from Medical Lake, Washington, where Gray […]
Stifling prison heat used to be just a Southern problem. Not anymore.
While sweltering heat in prisons without air conditioning has long been an issue in the South, extreme heat waves worsened by climate change are expanding the problem into Northern states. In recent years, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin have seen extreme heat in prisons. Many of these states lack the necessary infrastructure for […]