TELL US: How would you prefer your tax dollars be spent โ funding more prisons or funding programs to help individuals?
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, our country spends $81 billion a year on mass incarceration. These dollars go to staffing the jails and meeting the basic needs of the more than two million Americans incarcerated. But when they leave prison or jail and go back to society, the support systems designed to help them is complicated. Most programs to help with reentry into the outside world come from non-profit organizations, or ones that have small budgets.
The Florida Department of Corrections proposed changes for prisoner visits
The Florida Department of Corrections proposed modifications to its visitation policy, potentially reducing visitation hours to every other weekend and limiting those who can visit prisoners. The DOC cites staffing shortages and other strains on the system.
3 inmates, 2 staff injured in disturbance at Ware State Prison
WAYCROSS, Ga. โ Three inmates and two staff members were injured during unrest at a state prison in Southeast Georgia that began Saturday night, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Eason said he believes if Ware State Prison had more guards, the disturbance โabsolutely would not have happened.โโThe fear of that was what if you get taken, hostage or beat up. A Ware State inmate was killed two weeks ago in what authorities said was an altercation with another inmate. Department of Corrections data shows 22 inmates and 32 staff members at Ware State Prison have tested positive for the coronavirus. Ware State Prison houses adult male felons and has a total capacity for 1,546, according to information about the facility on the departmentโs website.