Prisoners Archives

China builds more detention centers as Xi Jinping ups anti-corruption drive

December 30, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s alleged anti-corruption efforts across China are widening, with more detention centers being built to hold suspects at the center of his crackdown. At least 218 detention centers have been built, renovated or expanded across the country between 2017 and November 2024, according to a CNN investigation.

The facilities, known as “Li uzhi,” keep the suspects for up to six months without access to lawyers or family visits while the individuals are being investigated. The Chinese leader took power in 2012, and has since tried to remove officials accused of corruption, along with political rivals and those he considers disloyal.

The South China Morning Post reported that the corruption crackdown has detained 56 high-ranking officials in 2024 alone. Xi has also targeted anyone exercising public power, including civil servants and managers of public institutions, even school and hospital administrators.

He has also detained businessmen and other high profile figures the Chinese Communist Party government has accused of bribery. Critics argue the detention system is an abuse of power. A lawyer representing officials in corruption cases told CNN that the detainees typically face threats, torture and extreme psychological pressure.

Chinese officials say the Liuzhi system is a crucial step toward what they call “the rule of law in anti-corruption work.” Government documents show that Chinese construction plans involve building more detention facilities through 2027.

NY attorney general releases video of prison beating death of Robert Brooks

December 27, 2024

The New York attorney general’s office released video footage of the beating death of 43-year-old prisoner Robert Brooks. The video shows as many as eight employees of the state Department of Corrections and Community Services punching, kicking and grabbing at Brooks, who had just arrived at the Marcy Correctional Facility.

Brooks was in the middle of serving a 12-year sentence for stabbing an ex-girlfriend in 2016.

The video has no audio on it. New York Attorney General Letitia James said that was because the cameras were in standby mode, meaning the officers had not activated them.

The video captured the incident on Monday, Dec. 9, showing officers carrying Brooks into a medical exam room. It shows officers punching Brooks and one stuffing a white cloth into his mouth.

The attorney general said Brooks died on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 10, just hours after the video’s recording. The corrections department announced Brooks’ death on Sunday, Dec. 15, prompting an investigation under state law.

On Monday, Dec. 23, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the state corrections commissioner to fire 14 officers who were either directly involved or who failed to intervene.

“Like all New Yorkers, I was outraged and horrified after seeing footage of the senseless killing of Robert Brooks,” Hochul said. “I have been clear that it is the responsibility of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to provide appropriate care and protection for those in its custody, and I will not tolerate anyone who violates that responsibility.”

This isn’t the first time that the Marcy Correctional Facility has faced scrutiny for its treatment of prisoners.

The Correctional Association of New York, a prison watchdog, released a report following a 2022 visit to Marcy. They said they found “rampant abuse by staff” and “pervasive allegations of racial discrimination.”

Mozambique prison riot leads to nearly 3 dozen deaths, more than 1,500 escapes

December 26, 2024

Authorities say a prison riot in Mozambique’s capital on Wednesday, Dec. 25, killed at least 33 people and left at least 15 other individuals injured. The riot comes as violence continues to rise following October’s disputed election.

Mozambique’s top court confirmed the victory of long-ruling party Frelimo in the election on Tuesday, Dec. 24, which ignited new nationwide protests by demonstrators who say the election results were rigged.

The country’s police blame the protests outside the prison for encouraging the riot and eventual prison break.

However, Mozambique’s justice minister disputed that notion, saying the incident began inside the prison and is unrelated to the protests.

The South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) reported the prisoners overpowered guards and stole AK-47s during the riot.

Officials say more than 1,500 prisoners escaped during the riots but 150 have since been caught. Authorities believe crime and violence will rise over the next two days as a result of the prison break.

Police also say there were two different prison break attempts at two other facilities on Wednesday.

The prison break follows civil unrest after the top court’s decision on Tuesday confirming the election results, which reportedly led to 21 people being killed, including two police officers.

Before Tuesday, a civil society monitoring group reported at least 130 people killed in clashes with police since the Oct. 9 election.

Alabama inmates sue state, say alleged forced labor is ‘modern-day slavery’

December 23, 2024

Current and former inmates in Alabama are suing the state, alleging they were forced to work at jobs for “next to nothing.” The lawsuit claimed the prisoners were forced into “modern-day slavery” by working jobs at fast food restaurants, meat packing plants and city offices.

Though inmates make at least $7.25 an hour, the state siphons 40% off the top of all wages and charges fees, including $5 a day for rides to their jobs and $15 a month for laundry, according to The Associated Press.

The AP report found the cheap and reliable labor has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 just through money garnished from prisoners’ wages.

While the inmates can refuse to work, they face punishment if they do. Inmates can be denied family visits or sent to higher-security prisons in the state. Those prisons are so dangerous that the federal government filed a lawsuit four years ago, calling Alabama’s treatment of prisoners unconstitutional. That lawsuit is still pending.

Turning down work can also impact an inmate’s chances of getting an early release, with only 8% of eligible prisoners granted parole in 2023. The lawsuit also said the prisoners forced into this “modern-day slavery” are disproportionately Black.

US to payout nearly $116M to victims of sexual abuse at Calif. prison

December 17, 2024

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons agreed on Tuesday, Dec. 17, to a historic payout of nearly $116 million to more than 100 survivors of sexual abuse at a California women’s prison. The now-shuttered prison facility, internally dubbed “the rape club,” was plagued by rampant accusations of sexual abuse of prisoners by staff.

Eight former prison employees, including the former warden, have been convicted of sex crimes. Additionally, more than 20 workers were placed on leave and under investigation.

Officials announced the permanent closure of the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, in December 2024.

Tuesday’s settlement is reportedly the largest single payout in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons history. Under the agreement, each of the 103 women will be paid around $1.1 million.

One of the sexual abuse victims told the Associated Press that she hopes the settlement will help the healing process, but warned that “money will not repair” the harm done to them “or free survivors who continue to suffer in prison.”

The payout is a breakthrough for advocates fighting to end sexual abuse across the U.S. federal prison system.

A U.S. Senate inquiry in 2022 found that sexual abuse by staff against inmates happened at two-thirds of federal prisons in the United States over the past decade.

The settlement on Tuesday follows a separate class-action lawsuit last week in which the U.S. Bureau of Prisons agreed have some of its facilities court-monitored and publicly acknowledged rampant sexual abuse at FCI Dublin.

Pennsylvania prison accused of abusing inmates by depriving them of basic rights

December 17, 2024

Prison staff in Pennsylvania allegedly waged a “campaign of mass torture,” according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Dec. 17. It alleges that guards outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County Prison, punished entire cell blocks after suspecting some inmates were smoking synthetic marijuana.

The lawsuit says that top jail officials cut power and heat. It also claims officials kept toilet paper, soap and warm clothing from prisoners during a monthslong punishment last year.

A Dauphin County commissioner said he is “deeply disturbed” by the accusations in the lawsuit. He maintains an investigation must play out to determine the “appropriate consequences.”

The abuses described by inmates happened in the prison’s restricted housing unit, typically for prisoners who break the rules and where jail officials believed inmates were using drugs.

Court documents note that prison officials responded to the alleged violations by taking personal items and shutting off communication outside the prison to inmates. Prison workers also allegedly cut the heat when temperatures outside were below freezing, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are reportedly looking for monetary damages on behalf of the detainees. Defendants in the lawsuits include the warden, chief deputy warden and other prison officials.

The plaintiff’s lawyers say DCP has a “widespread and well-earned reputation as a troubled facility,” noting, “more than 20 people have died in custody at the jail since 2019.”

Biden commutes sentence of judge who sent children to jail for kickbacks

December 13, 2024

A former judge who received millions in kickbacks for sending children to for-profit detention centers had his sentence commuted by President Joe Biden. Michael Conahan was one of two former judges convicted in the “kids-for-cash” scandal that took place from 2003 to 2008 and impacted 2,500 kids.

Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges in 2011 and was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison. He was released to home confinement in June 2020 after petitioning for compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he was in severe danger of contracting and dying from the virus.

Conahan was convicted alongside Mark Ciavarella, who is still serving a 28-year-sentence for honest services mail fraud charges. The pair received $2.1 million in kickbacks for sending kids to juvenile prisons with sentences that were disproportionate to their crimes.

Conahan was one of 1,500 individuals released during the pandemic who had their sentences commuted by Bide. The president said those individuals deserve a second chance.

The White House said in a statement that they are people, “who were sentenced under outdated laws, policies, and practices.”

“These Americans have been reunited with their families and shown their commitment to rehabilitation by securing employment and advancing their education,” the statement continued.

The mother of a young man who committed suicide in the midst of the scandal said she was shocked and hurt by the announcement.

“Conahan‘s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son‘s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power,” Sandy Fonzo told Citizens Voice. “This pardon feels like an injustice for all of us who still suffer. Right now I am processing and doing the best I can to cope with the pain that this has brought back.”

In 2015, an attorney who wrote the checks to Conahan and Ciavarella entered into a $7.5 million settlement with the juvenile defendants imprisoned in the scandal.

Kyiv using psychological warfare to get N. Korean troops to surrender

December 12, 2024

Ukraine is adapting an old tactic to counter a new enemy as revealed on Tuesday, Dec. 10, Kyiv is using psychological warfare in an effort to get North Korean troops fighting for Russia to surrender. The effort comes from its “I want to live” project, in which Ukrainian forces are producing leaflets and videos to push Pyongyang’s troops to surrender.

Ukrainian intelligence reportedly launched the project at the beginning of Russia’s invasion in 2022, and much of the work includes dropping flyers on the battlefield, which encourage Russian forces to give up the fight.

Kyiv claims 350 Russian soldiers have surrendered as part of the effort.

Now there are new leaflets written in Korean being dropped on the battlefields. The leaflets reportedly instruct Kim Jong Un’s forces on how to surrender by lying face down on the ground, holding up a white sheet or leaflet, and dropping their weapons.

Ukrainian intelligence says they’re optimistic North Koreans may see surrendering as a way to escape Kim Jong Un’s regime and live in another country.

Ukraine is also producing videos as part of the campaign, in exchange for their surrender, the North Koreans are being offered three warm meals a day, and a warm place to sleep, while still remaining prisoners of war.

As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers were reportedly deployed to the Kursk region as part of Moscow’s effort to retake the territory from Ukraine. In exchange for the North Korean soldiers, the United States says Russia is sending fighter jets to North Korea.

US works to find, free journalist Austin Tice after Assad regime falls in Syria

December 10, 2024

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria renewed hope that American freelance journalist Austin Tice, captured more than 12 years ago, could soon come home. U.S. officials said they’re working to get as much information as possible about the 43-year-old.

Tice was abducted in August 2012 near Damascus, a year after the start of the Syrian Civil War. It led to efforts by the U.S. government and groups like Reporters Without Borders to help with the search.

The White House recently sent its special envoy for hostages to Lebanon to lead new efforts to find Tice. It comes as Syrian rebels are releasing political prisoners and dissidents.

Both U.S. officials and Tice’s family are hopeful he’s still alive.

“We believe he is alive,” President Joe Biden told reporters Monday, Dec. 9. “We think we can get him back but we don’t have direct evidence of that yet. And Assad should be held accountable.”

“President Joe Biden has consistently said that Austin is alive,” his sister Naomi Tice told CBS News. “And recently, we were able to independently verify that with another source. And so, we have full confidence that Austin is indeed alive, that he is in Syria, and that he is absolutely waiting to walk free.”

The Texas native is a U.S. Marine veteran and graduate of Georgetown University. He wrote for news outlets, including The Washington Post and McClatchy.

Syria’s old regime under President Bashar al-Assad denied holding Tice or any other Americans.

The FBI said Sunday it is still offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Tice coming home safely.

3 Americans imprisoned in China for years are now free after agreement

November 27, 2024

Three Americans imprisoned in China for years have been released and are coming home to the United States. The White House announced on Wednesday, Nov. 27, the agreement between Washington, D.C., and Beijing in the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s presidency.

The exchange is reportedly part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. releasing unidentified Chinese nationals, although the White House would not confirm those details.

The United States says the freed Americans were wrongfully detained and one had been facing a death sentence on drug charges. The other two U.S. citizens were imprisoned for alleged espionage and one faced a life sentence.

The U.S. said the White House had brought up the release of the three Americans over the past several years, including earlier this month when Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Summit in Peru.

The release of the three Americans comes just months after Beijing released a pastor from California who spent nearly two decades in prison after being convicted of contract fraud.

Relations between Beijing and Washington have been tense with China’s increasingly cozy relationship with Moscow, the ongoing dispute over Taiwan’s sovereignty, and back-and-forth accusations of spying.