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Prison

Apr 25, 2023

$1.6M settlement reached in handcuffed prisoner’s 2014 death

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The family of a handcuffed inmate who was shot and killed in 2014 by a prison guard trainee reached a $1.6 million settlement with Nevada prison officials on Monday, capping a nearly decadelong legal battle that raised questions about the use of shotguns in state prisons. Less than two years after […]

Jan 30, 2023

State pays $1.4M to estate of worker killed in prison break attempt

On Sept. 12, 2022, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety paid $1.4 million to the estate of Geoffrey Howe, a maintenance mechanic at Pasquotank Correctional Institution who was killed by four inmates during an attempted prison break.    Howe’s estate was represented by David Kirby, of Edwards Kirby Law Firm, and Cate Edwards, of […]

Nov 18, 2021

Group says state kept magazines from inmates

RALEIGH (AP) — A human rights group is suing the North Carolina Department of Public Safety alleging its staff censors magazines inmates receive by mail, especially those with articles about prison misconduct. Human Rights Defense Center in Florida filed the suit Friday in U.S. District Court, The News & Observer reported. The nonprofit publishes Prison […]

May 20, 2021

Lawyers ask that ex-N.C. Rep. Lewis receive no prison time

CHARLOTTE (AP) — A longtime North Carolina state lawmaker should not receive active prison time for his guilty plea to charges involving his scheme to siphon campaign dollars to his ailing family farm, attorneys recommended to a federal judge this week. Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn to sentence former state Rep. David […]

Feb 26, 2021

Cooper, N.C. prison officials agree to release 3,500 inmates

RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina civil rights groups struck a deal on Thursday with Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration to allow for the early release of 3,500 inmates in state custody over the next six months. If the state abides by its commitment to trim about one-eighth of its more than 28,000-person prison population, the North […]

Oct 1, 2019

US judge orders former NC official to start prison term

A federal judge says it’s time for a former county manager in North Carolina to start her seven-year prison sentence on fraud, bribery and other corruption charges. Multiple media organizations report that U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad on Friday denied a request by both prosecutors and lawyers to delay the sentence for former Buncombe County […]

Feb 11, 2019

North Carolina inmates win payouts over prison violence

North Carolina taxpayers are paying three former inmates at one of the state’s most dangerous prisons $62,500 to settle lawsuits claiming the former warden and supervisors wouldn’t clamp down on murderous gangs who terrorized them. They were among five inmates formerly held at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Charlotte, who […]

Dec 19, 2018

Bureau of Prisons chided over ‘disregarded’ order

A federal prisoner’s sentence must be reconsidered, again, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, this time giving weight to a state court’s order for concurrent sentences. This is the second time the 4th Circuit has heard the appeal of Anthony Mangum as he seeks to have time served in Oklahoma state prison […]

Sep 25, 2018

State: N Carolina prison inmates coordinated disturbances

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety is looking into what it says was coordinated acts of disobedience by prisoners at a correctional center. Department spokesman Jerry Higgins tells The Asheville Citizen-Times that Craggy Correctional Center inmates on Saturday set trash can fires in at least three housing areas, stopped up toilets and sinks to […]

Jul 12, 2018

NC prisons pay $190,000 fine for drug record-keeping lapses

RALEIGH (AP) North Carolina prison officials are agreeing to pay a $190,000 penalty for failing to keep track of prescription drugs that had the potential of being diverted to inmates. Federal prosecutors said July 11 that the dozens of lapses occurred during the last two years of former Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration at the two Raleigh […]

Jun 4, 2018

2 North Carolina jail officers fired after investigation

MURPHY (AP) Two North Carolina jail officers have been fired following an investigation into allegations of assault. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that officers Wesley Gage Killian and Josh Gunter were fired over what was termed “a violation of department policy and procedure.” Authorities say an inmate was assaulted as […]

May 18, 2018

Officials: North Carolina inmates attack guards at 2 prisons

RALEIGH (AP) Officials in North Carolina say inmates attacked correctional officers in separate incidents at two prisons. The N.C. Department of Public Safety says in a news release inmate Charles McDougald attacked four officers at Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton May 15. McDougald struck the officers before being subdued by other correctional officers. According to the […]

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