Prison Life

Maryland is boosting efforts to focus on crime prevention and rehabilitation programs for offenders to reduce recidivism and reliance on the prison-industrial complex.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider a Feb. 21 appeal by an Alabama death-row inmate claiming midazolam, a controversial sedative used in the lethal injection process, may produce protracted, unbearable pain.

The idea that a corporation should ever profit from warehousing humans still remains beyond offensive and should not be tolerated in a civil and just society.

The Court will rule on whether convictions must be overturned if prosecutors withheld potentially exculpatory evidence from the defense.

Prison education and rehabilitation programs can provide practical skills, career and vocational skills, and critical thinking skills. They can help with mental and behavioral issues, and provide access to higher education courses; some achieve diplomas and degrees while incarcerated. These programs are vital to improving lives, especially since many prisoners come from poverty, do not have high school diplomas, and lack outside support networks.

Interview with Christopher Zoukis, author of 'Federal Prison Handbook'.

Some Bureau of Prisons staff have recognized that, at least in some cases, approaching chronically self-destructive behavior as a treatment issue (not a disciplinary one) is the only way to rehabilitate someone with serious mental illness.

Anthony "Tony" Bascaro is 80 years old and has been in prison for the past 34 years. Pretty much everyone – except for his daughter and granddaughter – has forgotten about him. If he lives long enough, he will be released in 2019.

The "secret" to weight loss is, well, not a secret at all. All of us understand that weight loss is a mathematical equation.

Quality vocational training, in-prison work experience, and job opportunities upon release could be so transformative if only there were the vision and leadership to realize the potential.