International News
"Felons and the Right to Vote" - Editorial from the New York Times
11th July 2004
About 4.7 million Americans, more than 2 percent of the adult population, are barred from voting because of a felony conviction. Denying the vote to ex-offenders is antidemocratic, and undermines the nation's commitment to rehabilitating people who have paid their debt to society.
"Ontario sex-offender registry 'unconstitutional'" - CBC
1st July 2004
An Ontario provincial-court judge has found the law governing the province's sex offender registry is too broad and, therefore, unconstitutional.
Syringe Exchange Programs in Prisons: Reviewing the Evidence
15th June 2004
by Thomas Kerr and Ralf Jürgens, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.
Methadone Maintenance Therapy in Prisons: Reviewing the Evidence
15th June 2004
by Thomas Kerr and Ralf Jürgens, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
"Torture Victims Sue U.S. Security Companies" by Emad Mekay, Inter Press Service
10th June 2004
Lawyers for Iraqis tortured while in U.S. custody have sued two private security companies for allegedly abusing prisoners to extract information from them with the goal of winning more contracts from the U.S. government.
SPACE I: Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics - Survey 2002
23rd May 2004
Comprehensive data on prison populations, incarceration rates, etc. Prepared by Marcelo F. Aebi, University of Seville and University of Lausanne for the Council of Europe.
"Arizona Prison Crisis: A Call for Smart on Crime Solutions", by Families Against Mandatory Minimums
11th May 2004
In an in-depth analysis of the impact of Arizona's sentencing laws finds that the state's rigid mandatory sentencing laws fill prison cells and cost millions while doing little to enhance public safety.
"Mistreatment of Prisoners Is Called Routine in U.S." by Fox Butterfield, New York Times
8th May 2004
Physical and sexual abuse of prisoners, similar to what has been uncovered in Iraq, takes place in American prisons with little public knowledge or concern, according to corrections officials, inmates and human rights advocates.
Open Detention Facilities to Stop Torture, says Human Rights Watch
6th May 2004
The U.S. government should allow human rights organizations to monitor detention facilities in Iraq and elsewhere in order to bring a stop to the mistreatment of prisoners, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today.
"Prisoner Wins 'Slopping Out' Case: The Scottish Executive is facing huge compensation claims after a judge ruled that "slopping out" in jails amounted to degrading treatment.
26th April 2004
In a judgement to be delivered later on Monday, Lord Bonomy has awarded £2,400 to a prisoner at Barlinnie Jail in Glasgow. The inmate claimed that the practice, where prisoners use buckets in their cells, breached his human rights. Scotland's prisons watchdog demanded an end to the practice last October.
