Prison
Latest Stories

Immigration
Private prisons and local jails are ramping up as ICE detention exceeds capacity
The number of people in ICE detention has grown, and detention facilities are over capacity. So the government is intensifying its hunt for more space, and local police are playing a bigger role.

Culture
150 years ago, a Modoc prisoner died on Alcatraz
On this date 150 years ago, a Modoc warrior from Southern Oregon died at Alcatraz. He was one of the first Native Americans sentenced to the island prison.

Former guard at Oregon’s prison for women receives prison sentence for sexual misconduct
Levi David Gray received a 20 month prison sentence followed by three years of post-prison supervision.

Infrastructure
Trump says he’s going to reopen Alcatraz prison. Doing so would be difficult and costly
President Donald Trump’s directive to rebuild and reopen the long-shuttered penitentiary was the latest salvo in his effort to overhaul how and where federal prisoners and immigration detainees are locked up.

Politics
Lawmakers consider extension of Oregon’s prison time alternative for parents
Oregon’s Family Sentencing Alternative Pilot Program started 10 years ago and has served hundreds of kids and parents. It’s set to sunset this year if lawmakers don’t pass House Bill 2555.
Fired Oregon prison health leaders delayed treatment, retaliated against staff, report claims
The 84-page internal investigation also highlighted inadequate treatment of women’s health by Chief of Medicine Dr. Warren Roberts.
Oregon Department of Corrections fires two top health care leaders
Corrections Director Mike Reese fired Assistant Director of Health Services Joe Bugher and Chief of Medicine Dr. Warren Roberts, according to an announcement Monday. Corrections department officials say they are overhauling the division and trying to improve its health care system.

Judge may order Snake River to release inmate early over inadequate medical care
Releasing prisoners over access to medical treatment is rare, but it has happened before

State initiative helps Oregon inmates forge new career pathways
WorkSource Oregon Reentry looks to relieve one of the most stressful parts of leaving prison by bringing job training and employment services inside correctional facilities.

Health
A mentally ill inmate in Oregon lost nearly 100 pounds before his sudden death, records suggest
New details from Skye Baskin's autopsy and interviews indicate that his medical emergency had started long before he arrived at the Oregon State Hospital.