Latest news with #jailreform
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
An audit of the Milwaukee County Jail found problems. What progress has been made since then?
Milwaukee County has taken steps to improve conditions at its jail, including ending the use of unsafe restraint practices and updating suicide prevention protocols, according to a recently released report from an outside evaluator. The progress report was a follow-up to an audit commissioned by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and prompted by six in-custody deaths between 2022 and 2023, including two confirmed suicides. The original audit, dated October 2024, was critical of the jail conditions. It found suicide watch practices termed "dangerous," challenges administering mental health care, poor leadership oversight and an ongoing critical staffing shortage and inmate crowding. The new report, dated May 20, provided an update on progress made between January and April of this year. Here's what to know about the final report: Texas-based firm Creative Corrections produced the audit and the 47-page final report. The report was a "collaborative effort" between the company, the jail and Wellpath, which is the health care provider in the jail, the report says. The key areas of concern were security, training, safety, food service, facility maintenance, occupant handbook information, medical services, mental health and communication with other county departments. The report found "measurable and meaningful progress" in addressing problems that had been identified in the original report. "Key improvements include the elimination of unsafe restraint practices, updated suicide prevention protocols, strengthened supervision, improved compliance reviews, and targeted mental health and suicide awareness training," the report states. About 71% of the 52 actionable items identified in the corrective action plan had been fully resolved while the remaining 29% are partially compliant and being addressed, according to the report. Areas of concern that are only partially compliant include: Removing bench restraints. Adding holding cells. Funding new protective gear and less-lethal munitions for jail staff. Less-lethal munitions typically refers to pepper spray and similar law enforcement tools. Upgrading suicide watch cells. Posting daily food menus in housing units and on occupants' tablets. Removing all graffiti. Filling certain positions to ensure around-the-clock mental health coverage. Auditors remain confident the jail will continue to improve — "provided that appropriate structural and fiscal support remains in place," the report says. They specifically emphasized the need for continued funding and support for infrastructure changes, such as renovations to the cells. The report also found that the county could move faster to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions of confinement by expanding the Community Reintegration Center's acceptance criteria to include pretrial female occupants. Yes. Monitoring by the state's Department of Corrections Office of Detention Facilities and court monitoring under the Christensen Consent Decree will continue, according to a memo from county Director of Audits Jennifer Folliard Folliard. Medical care at the jail and the Community Reintegration Center will continue to be monitored by NCCHC Resources, she wrote. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Jail conditions improve since audit but work remains
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
An audit of the Milwaukee County Jail found problems. What progress has been made since then?
Milwaukee County has taken steps to improve conditions at its jail, including ending the use of unsafe restraint practices and updating suicide prevention protocols, according to a recently released report from an outside evaluator. The progress report was a follow-up to an audit commissioned by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and prompted by six in-custody deaths between 2022 and 2023, including two confirmed suicides. The original audit, dated October 2024, was critical of the jail conditions. It found suicide watch practices termed "dangerous," challenges administering mental health care, poor leadership oversight and an ongoing critical staffing shortage and inmate crowding. The new report, dated May 20, provided an update on progress made between January and April of this year. Here's what to know about the final report: Texas-based firm Creative Corrections produced the audit and the 47-page final report. The report was a "collaborative effort" between the company, the jail and Wellpath, which is the health care provider in the jail, the report says. The key areas of concern were security, training, safety, food service, facility maintenance, occupant handbook information, medical services, mental health and communication with other county departments. The report found "measurable and meaningful progress" in addressing problems that had been identified in the original report. "Key improvements include the elimination of unsafe restraint practices, updated suicide prevention protocols, strengthened supervision, improved compliance reviews, and targeted mental health and suicide awareness training," the report states. About 71% of the 52 actionable items identified in the corrective action plan had been fully resolved while the remaining 29% are partially compliant and being addressed, according to the report. Areas of concern that are only partially compliant include: Removing bench restraints. Adding holding cells. Funding new protective gear and less-lethal munitions for jail staff. Less-lethal munitions typically refers to pepper spray and similar law enforcement tools. Upgrading suicide watch cells. Posting daily food menus in housing units and on occupants' tablets. Removing all graffiti. Filling certain positions to ensure around-the-clock mental health coverage. Auditors remain confident the jail will continue to improve — "provided that appropriate structural and fiscal support remains in place," the report says. They specifically emphasized the need for continued funding and support for infrastructure changes, such as renovations to the cells. The report also found that the county could move faster to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions of confinement by expanding the Community Reintegration Center's acceptance criteria to include pretrial female occupants. Yes. Monitoring by the state's Department of Corrections Office of Detention Facilities and court monitoring under the Christensen Consent Decree will continue, according to a memo from county Director of Audits Jennifer Folliard Folliard. Medical care at the jail and the Community Reintegration Center will continue to be monitored by NCCHC Resources, she wrote. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Jail conditions improve since audit but work remains
Al Bawaba
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Kim Kardashian becomes a Lawyer after 6 years—Here's how she did it
ALBAWABA - After six years of legal education, Kim Kardashian said on Wednesday that she had finished her law school. Also Read Kim Kardashian returns to court over Infamous 2016 case On her Instagram stories, Khloe Kardashian posted pictures from her sister's private ceremony. Kim's tutors, CNN political analyst Van Jones, and the graduate herself all gave statements at the ceremony. During her address, Kim Kardashian stated, "All of you guys have been on this journey with me." "It did start with Van and me." When she started this trip years ago, the reality TV personality claimed to have been "dumbfounded" by the state of the legal system. Kim Kardashian started her law studies in 2019, telling Vogue magazine that she decided to pursue legal education because she was passionate about jail reform. California's "reading law" approach permits aspiring attorneys to engage in apprentice-style study under a licensed attorney rather than attending a traditional law school, despite the fact that the entertainment magnate never earned a college degree. Khloe Kardashian Instagram profile The 44-year-old completed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), which is necessary to be admitted to the California bar, according to an E! News story from March. Attorney Jessica Jackson, who mentored Kim Kardashian during her academic career, stated during the event on Wednesday that "six years ago, Kim Kardashian walked into this program with nothing but a fierce desire to fight for justice." "A mountain of case logbooks to read, determination, and no ivory tower shortcuts or law school lectures." Kim Kardashian Instagram profile According to Jackson, the inventor of SKIMS studied law for more than 5,000 hours over the course of six years, putting in 18 hours a week, 48 weeks a year. "That's time she carved out raising 4 children, running businesses, filming television shows, and showing up in courtrooms to advocate for others," Jackson stated. Speaking at the private ceremony, Jones also acknowledged that Kim Kardashian started her education during a challenging moment, "when it wasn't trendy, when it wasn't cool." Kim Kardashian Instagram profile At the luncheon, which included placemats of her flashcards, Kim Kardashian toasted the achievement with a number of her children, sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Barker, and other friends. On her Instagram stories, she also posted a picture of her late father, Robert Kardashian, a well-known attorney who defended O.J. Simpson. "This is years and years in the making; I'm so proud of her," Khloe Kardashian said in a video that was uploaded on Instagram Stories about her older sister. "This was really inspiring and motivating."
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Judge strips NYC of full authority over Rikers Island, citing 'unprecedented' violence
New York City will no longer fully control its jail system, including the long-troubled Rikers Island complex, after a federal judge found the city had failed to stem spiraling dysfunction and brutality against those in custody. Instead, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said she would appoint an outside manager to 'take all necessary steps' toward restoring order inside the jails and bringing the city into compliance with previous court orders. The official, known as a 'remediation manager,' will report directly to the court. While the city's corrections commissioner will remain responsible for much of the day-to-day operations of the jail system, the remediation manager will have broad powers to address long-standing safety problems, including authority over hiring and promotions, staff deployment and disciplinary action regarding the use of force The extraordinary intervention, outlined Tuesday by Swain in a 77-page order, comes nearly a decade after the city's jail system was placed under federal oversight as part of a class-action lawsuit brought by detainees. In the years since, rates of violence have continued to increase, creating a 'grave and immediate threat' that violates the constitutional rights of those in custody, according to Swain. 'Worse still, the unsafe and dangerous conditions in the jails, which are characterized by unprecedented rates of use of force and violence, have become normalized despite the fact that they are clearly abnormal and unacceptable,' Swain wrote Tuesday. This past November, she found the city in contempt for failing to comply with 18 separate provisions of court orders pertaining to security, staffing, supervision, use of force and the safety of young detainees. The contempt ruling opened the door to a federal receivership of Rikers Island, a remedy long supported by detainee advocates, strongly opposed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and characterized by the court as an option of last resort. In her order on Tuesday, Swain said the remedial manager would have 'broad authority' similar to a federal receiver, but would be expected to work closely with the city-appointed commissioner of the Department of Correction to implement a reform plan. At a press conference Tuesday, Adams said the city would follow the judge's order, while also suggesting the appointment of an outside manager was not necessary. 'Remediation manager? I don't know the definition of that,' he said. 'We have this oversight and that oversight. How much oversight are you going to do before you realize there are systemic problems?' Benny Boscio, the president of the union that represents correction officers, said the union was willing to work with the outside manager, but it would maintain "our fierce advocacy for the preservation of our members' employment rights and improving their working conditions.' Advocates for detainees, meanwhile, celebrated the judge's order as a turning point in a decades-long effort at reform. 'This has the potential to finally change the culture of violence and brutality in the city's jails that we've seen for decades,' said Debbie Greenberger, an attorney with the Emery Celli law firm, which represents detainees, along with the Legal Aid Society. 'Nothing is going to change overnight, but I'm more hopeful today that we have a path to transformational change,' she added.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judge strips NYC of full authority over Rikers Island, citing 'unprecedented' violence
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will no longer fully control its jail system, including the long-troubled Rikers Island complex, after a federal judge found the city had failed to stem spiraling dysfunction and brutality against those in custody. Instead, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said she would appoint an outside manager to 'take all necessary steps' toward restoring order inside the jails and bringing the city into compliance with previous court orders. The official, known as a 'remediation manager,' will report directly to the court. While the city's corrections commissioner will remain responsible for much of the day-to-day operations of the jail system, the remediation manager will have broad powers to address long-standing safety problems, including authority over hiring and promotions, staff deployment and disciplinary action regarding the use of force The extraordinary intervention, outlined Tuesday by Swain in a 77-page order, comes nearly a decade after the city's jail system was placed under federal oversight as part of a class-action lawsuit brought by detainees. In the years since, rates of violence have continued to increase, creating a 'grave and immediate threat' that violates the constitutional rights of those in custody, according to Swain. 'Worse still, the unsafe and dangerous conditions in the jails, which are characterized by unprecedented rates of use of force and violence, have become normalized despite the fact that they are clearly abnormal and unacceptable,' Swain wrote Tuesday. This past November, she found the city in contempt for failing to comply with 18 separate provisions of court orders pertaining to security, staffing, supervision, use of force and the safety of young detainees. The contempt ruling opened the door to a federal receivership of Rikers Island, a remedy long supported by detainee advocates, strongly opposed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and characterized by the court as an option of last resort. In her order on Tuesday, Swain said the remedial manager would have 'broad authority' similar to a federal receiver, but would be expected to work closely with the city-appointed commissioner of the Department of Correction to implement a reform plan. At a press conference Tuesday, Adams said the city would follow the judge's order, while also suggesting the appointment of an outside manager was not necessary. 'Remediation manager? I don't know the definition of that,' he said. 'We have this oversight and that oversight. How much oversight are you going to do before you realize there are systemic problems?' Benny Boscio, the president of the union that represents correction officers, said the union was willing to work with the outside manager, but it would maintain 'our fierce advocacy for the preservation of our members' employment rights and improving their working conditions.' Advocates for detainees, meanwhile, celebrated the judge's order as a turning point in a decades-long effort at reform. 'This has the potential to finally change the culture of violence and brutality in the city's jails that we've seen for decades,' said Debbie Greenberger, an attorney with the Emery Celli law firm, which represents detainees, along with the Legal Aid Society. 'Nothing is going to change overnight, but I'm more hopeful today that we have a path to transformational change,' she added.
