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Distance makes oversight hard, prisoners’ rights attorney says
The state office charged with protecting the rights of prisoners has a hard time doing so for Vermont inmates housed outside Vermont, Defender General Matthew Valerio told lawmakers Monday. Valerio...
View ArticleJohn Brunelle: Opportunities for Vermont’s out-of-state prisoners
Editor’s note: This commentary is by John F. Brunelle, who is the chaplain at the Lee Adjustment Center, a Corrections Corporation of America prison in Beattyville, Kentucky. He is a native Vermonter...
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State plans to bring some inmates back from Kentucky prison
The Department of Corrections expects to be able to return 46 prisoners from Kentucky by mid-January and in turn, save the state money, DOC Commissioner Andy Pallito said Thursday. In addition, he said...
View ArticleFederal beds to keep more Vermont prisoners in Kentucky
A deal in the works to house more federal inmates in Vermont prisons will hamper the state’s effort to reduce the number of local prisoners incarcerated in Kentucky and Arizona, the corrections...
View ArticleVermont inmate sues Kentucky prison over injury
Editor’s note: This article is by Keith Whitcomb Jr., of the Bennington Banner, in which it was first published May 6, 2015. BENNINGTON — A local man serving a sentence in a Kentucky prison for...
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Vermont’s prison population at its lowest in over a decade
Department of Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito. VTD/Josh Larkin The Department of Corrections passed a milestone this week as Vermont’s prison population dropped to its lowest point since 2002....
View ArticleSuzi Wizowaty: DOJ makes right call on private prisons
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Suzi Wizowaty, who is the executive director of Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform. She is a former member of the Vermont House of Representatives. By now...
View ArticleInjured ex-inmate’s suit against private prison is due for hearing
BENNINGTON — A lawsuit by a local man injured in a table saw accident while he was serving time in a private prison is scheduled for a pretrial conference in Bennington Superior Court on March 1. Eric...
View ArticlePrivate prison operator settles suits by former Vermont inmate
BENNINGTON — A local man has secured settlement agreements in two suits he filed against one of the nation’s largest privately owned prison operators. Eric Lambert, 29, said he was twice injured while...
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Committee debates whether private companies should be subject to public...
Secretary of State Jim Condos. VTD/Josh Larkin The Vermont Constitution entitles citizens to hold state government accountable, and Vermont’s Public Records Act gives any person the right to access...
View ArticlePerry: Balancing private vs. public prisons
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by John G. Perry, a former director of planning for the Vermont Department of Corrections.The rise of private prisons is a “natural” response to the market. If a market is...
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A rising number of detainees is creating prison issues; new bill would end...
Department of Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito. VTD/Josh Larkin Lawmakers and state corrections officials are struggling to deal with a surge in detainees in Vermont’s prison population, which is...
View ArticleVermont ACLU sues private prison company over public records
The Vermont ACLU is suing the nation’s largest private prison company for allegedly ignoring public records requests about Vermont prisoners. The question at the heart of the lawsuit is whether or not...
View ArticleFBI investigating Idaho prison run by Corrections Corporation of America
The FBI is investigating Corrections Corporation of America after its Idaho prison was so violent inmates dubbed it “Gladiator School,” according to a report by the Associated Press. The...
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Advocates pitch plan to bring prisoners home
A criminal justice reform group is hatching a plan to bring out-of-state prisoners home in the next three years by reducing the prison population 10 percent each year. Vermonters for Criminal Justice...
View ArticleDOC receives $1 million to reduce recidivism
The Department of Corrections on Wednesday received a $1 million federal grant to help reduce the number of offenders who commit new crimes. Vermont was one of five states to receive the recidivism...
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Distance makes oversight hard, prisoners’ rights attorney says
The state office charged with protecting the rights of prisoners has a hard time doing so for Vermont inmates housed outside Vermont, Defender General Matthew Valerio told lawmakers Monday. Valerio...
View ArticleJohn Brunelle: Opportunities for Vermont’s out-of-state prisoners
Editor’s note: This commentary is by John F. Brunelle, who is the chaplain at the Lee Adjustment Center, a Corrections Corporation of America prison in Beattyville, Kentucky. He is a native Vermonter...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State plans to bring some inmates back from Kentucky prison
The Department of Corrections expects to be able to return 46 prisoners from Kentucky by mid-January and in turn, save the state money, DOC Commissioner Andy Pallito said Thursday. In addition, he said...
View ArticleFederal beds to keep more Vermont prisoners in Kentucky
A deal in the works to house more federal inmates in Vermont prisons will hamper the state’s effort to reduce the number of local prisoners incarcerated in Kentucky and Arizona, the corrections...
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