Latest news with #prison
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Teenage Muslim-convert who plotted Isle of Wight Festival terror attack and has knifed TEN prison officers since being jailed is named for the first time
A teenage terrorist who has stabbed ten prison officers since being locked up has been moved to an NHS unit where he can enjoy board games and film nights. Nathan Ruth, who can now be named for the first time after turning 18, was jailed for seven years in 2024 after being convicted of plotting an attack at the Isle of Wight Festival. Then aged 15, he had researched weapons, vehicles and stab vests. Prison sources at Feltham Young Offenders institute in south-west London warn that staff at his new NHS mental health unit are not safe from the Muslim-convert extremist, who tried to slice one guard's ear off and stabbed another with a makeshift weapon known as a 'shank'. A leaked intelligence report on Ruth, who was snared following a tip-off from the FBI, reveals he has a history of improvising weapons and attacking staff and that he intends to kill a prison officer. Between his arrest in July 2022 and sentencing in April last year, he had already attacked prison personnel on 18 occasions. But Ruth will now be able to take advantage of sports facilities, quizzes, arts and crafts and movie nights after being moved to Bluebird House mental health facility in Hampshire. The centre's website states that staff provide 'a friendly, welcoming and therapeutic environment for our young people'. The unit's three wards care for up to 20 young people and include a relaxation room, sports hall, games room, fitness suite and all-weather sports area. Patients are provided with their own 'homely and comfortable' bedroom with an en-suite. Its website continues: 'During evenings and weekends we plan activities such as sports, boardgames, quizzes, arts and crafts and film nights.' Guards at Feltham would wear full riot gear when they delivered food or allowed him out to shower or exercise, and staff are shocked he has been transferred to a hospital that 'looks more like a five-star hotel', a source said. 'He has stabbed so many officers while in Feltham – and openly boasts to staff that we will see him on the news one day,' the source added. 'We can't believe they have let him go. He has 100 per cent manipulated the system to get himself sent somewhere more comfortable.' The source said that once it had been decided that Feltham was detrimental to his health, the terrorist began boasting about his luxurious new quarters and how the facility would be easier to escape from. 'What really annoys staff is that he has received no further prison time for all the stabbings against staff,' they said. 'They just want to focus on his rehabilitation. Well, tell that to the officer who nearly lost an ear. He is a stone-cold psychopath, the scariest I have ever seen. 'He will not stop until he has killed someone. Staff at that place do not know what they are letting themselves in for.' A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'Prisoners can be transferred for treatment in mental health hospitals, based on assessments by expert clinicians, but will return to prison once they are fit to do so. 'We do not tolerate violence against our hard-working staff and will always push for the strongest possible punishments for those who break the rules.'
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Female prison guard, 26, who had phone sex with inmate and flooded his mother with more than 900 messages faces jail
A lovestruck prison officer who pursued an illicit relationship with an inmate now faces being locked up herself. Megann Gibson, 26, engaged in sexual communications with the prisoner while working at Wealstun prison near Wetherby, West Yorkshire. The rookie guard flooded the criminal's mother with more than 900 messages, reportedly in a bid stay in contact with him. She also allowed the unnamed inmate into restricted areas of the Category C resettlement prison and visited his home address, a court heard. Gibson, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, was this week warned she faces jail over the forbidden romance, while joining a growing list of shamed female prison guards convicted over behind bars liaisons. The shamed officer, who admitted misconduct in a public office and possession of cannabis, will be sentenced in August. Gibson, who lives in a semi-detached home with her sister and driving instructor mother in the Gipton suburb of Leeds, was warned by a judge at the city's crown court: 'You may well be serving a prison sentence.' Her twin sister Hollie declined to comment on the case, saying: 'I really don't want to talk about it. It's not a very nice subject for me.' The plea hearing was told that Gibson is undergoing assessment for mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress linked to a previous relationship. She was released on unconditional bail but warned her offence was a 'serious matter'. At least 29 female prison guard have been given the sack in the past three years for forming improper relationships with prisoners. That compares to just nine women who lost their jobs for the same offence between 2017 and 2019. Katie Evans, 26, embarked on an illicit romance with inmate Daniel Brownley while working at HMP Doncaster, calling herself his 'queen' as she lavished him with attention. The mother-of-one, who was jailed for 21 months in March, boasted about sex acts on the criminal and collecting drugs cash on his behalf. Her criminal behaviour was exposed during an anti-corruption investigation into another crooked guard at the category B jail. Morgan Farr Varney, 24, was this month locked up for ten months after being caught slipping into a cupboard with a prisoner while working at HMP Lindholme in South Yorkshire. Gibson's twin sister Hollie (pictured) declined to comment on the case, saying: 'I really don't want to talk about it. It's not a very nice subject for me.' She became besotted with crack cocaine dealer Jordan Stones, 30, who pinned racy snaps of his prison officer lover to his cell walls. Cherrie-Ann Saddington, 29 smuggled a Calpol syringe into jail to artificially inseminate herself with a prisoner's sperm. The shamed officer became obsessed with convicted sex offender Bradley Trengrove after he was moved to HMP The Verne in Dorset. The female prison warden told Trengrove she was pregnant in November 2022, although she later miscarried after eight weeks. She was mercifully spared jail by a judge in May after being left in a wheelchair from a spinal stroke. In January, former Wandsworth prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu, 31, was jailed for 15 months after a film of her having sex with an inmate was shared online.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
2 accused of trying to smuggle fake cash, drugs during attempted contraband drop at GA prison
Two people were arrested after officials said they caught them trying to smuggle contraband into a Georgia prison. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Recently, the Georgia Department of Corrections made two arrests during a contraband attempt at Macon State Prison. Their ages and identities were not released. It appeared the suspects used reusable grocery bags to hide the items. TRENDING STORIES: 1 dead, 11 injured after dozens of shots fired in North Carolina, officials say 8-year-old dies days after being pulled from GA lake GA mayor, wife charged with crimes against children Officials said they found the following items: 2,299 grams of marijuana 19,956 grams of tobacco 32 cell phones 12 charger blocks 31 charging cables Pair of earbuds USB drive Five vapes A pair of shoes A wallet containing $420 in suspected fake $20 bills and $143 in real cash "Contraband behind the wire is an ongoing battle inside our facilities. Thanks to our GDC staff and law enforcement partners who work tirelessly as they battle contraband daily," the GDOC said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
CNN
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Bonus Episode: Suge Knight Weighs In From Prison - Trial By Jury: Diddy - Podcast on CNN Audio
Bonus Episode: Suge Knight Weighs In From Prison Trial By Jury: Diddy 13 mins This week, Laura interviewed Marion 'Suge' Knight about the ongoing trial of his longtime music industry rival Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year-sentence on a manslaughter charge, talked from a prison phone about the way the industry takes advantage of artists, what has and hasn't surprised him about the allegations against Combs, and why he thinks the prosecution's efforts might fail. We bring you their conversation in a weekend bonus episode.
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘People think prison is for rehabilitation. It is all lies': could community service work better than jail?
The baby calls out, reaching towards a metal detector security gate. 'Mama, mama,' she says. A prison officer waves her through. It's visiting time at El Buen Pastor prison, Colombia's largest detention centre for women. Behind the black door, half a dozen women wait anxiously. Dressed in her best clothes, the mother folds herself around the child. Inside, the prison is crumbling. Black mould creeps up the walls; broken windows have been replaced with plastic sheets. Inmates say five to six people share cells built for two. 'It is terrible here,' says inmate Daniela Martinez. 'The conditions are horrible. Once you enter, you lose hope.' Colombia's female prison population has increased more than fivefold since 1991, largely driven by drug laws that disproportionately punish women. More than a third are imprisoned for drug-related crimes; many are minor players in the trafficking chain. The nation – which produces most of the world's cocaine – has long been plagued by the drug trade, which has fuelled organised crime and conflict and continues to flourish. Now Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, is attempting a new approach – pivoting from punishment to rehabilitation. 'Colombia has been the best student of the global drug regime, and done pretty much everything we were told to do for decades,' says Laura Gil, Colombia's ambassador-at-large for global drug policy. 'Yet today, we have record production, record consumption and record narco trafficking. 'We need to put people at the forefront instead of prisons at the forefront,' she adds. A key reform is the Public Utility law, introduced in March 2023, to allow incarcerated women who are heads of their household and serving sentences under eight years to complete community service instead. It is granted primarily to women convicted of drug trafficking. At El Buen Pastor prison, Colombia's minister of justice Ángela María Buitrago Ruiz says a significant portion of female inmates are poor and from rural areas – where they are vulnerable to the cartels. 'Many of the women here have suffered from marginality. Although in many cases they have trafficked drugs, in many cases they also did not know what they were smuggling,' she says. 'We need to change the system. We need to protect women.' Inmate Martinez was sentenced to five years and four months after 10 kilos of marijuana was found in her home. 'I was tricked. I was asked to keep hold of it for someone, and then two hours later the police came,' she says. 'I was a mule.' Patricia Cortes, 23, is one of those who released under the scheme. She was freed on 17 September 2024, 11 months after she was first incarcerated for conspiracy to commit a crime, drug trafficking, manufacturing, or possession of narcotics. Cortes says that she had been photographed alongside her mother, who had started selling narcotics to escape poverty. 'Her motivation was our household needs: she had eight children, five of whom were minors, and my father had left,' she says. 'She needed the money.' Cortes says women bear the brunt of Colombia's drug crisis, with many coerced. In the prison chapel, the justice minister plays a video of an inmate leaving El Buen Pastor under the scheme. 'Please help us and give us women who are heads of household a second chance,' she says; the inmates watching cheer in response. 'People think and say that prison is where people are rehabilitated and educated, but it is all lies. In prison, everything is denied,' says Cortes, who gave birth to her son in jail. 'Many people leave prison worse than when they entered.' Only 143 women have been released so far – 99 of whom were charged with drug offences – despite the availability of more than 2,600 community service spaces. The justice ministry blames 'conservative judges' for stalling progress, while civil society leaders say the definition of 'marginality' has caused difficulties in court. 'We don't have high hopes for being released,' says Martinez. 'We are more useful outside than inside; here all we do is waste time. But we have seen how many of the requests have been denied.' Beyond the Public Utility law, Petro launched a 10-year drug policy in October that proposes to change the narrative around psychoactive substances, prioritise rural development, reduce coca crops, and help small farmers transition to the legal economy. In March, the Colombian government also led a historic resolution at the UN commission on narcotic drugs to suggest reforms for the existing 60-year-old system. Civil society leaders have criticised Petro's 10-year plan as lacking strategy. It also comes amid a deteriorating security situation that has left tens of thousands displaced, and prevents access to key coca cultivation sites. Local people, too, wonder if the policies go far enough. In a Bogotá neighbourhood long scarred by the drug trade, people say the root of the issue is poor education. 'There are no opportunities for children to get an education here,' says Monica Urbina, 39. 'They turn to drugs at 13, thinking it will give them a solution to their problem. Then they join the gangs. A lot of young people from our neighbourhoods are in jail or dead. The government needs to fix the schools first.' Martinez, who is applying for release under the Public Utility law, agrees that more action is needed. 'Drugs affect everything in this country – families, economy, work, social life,' she says. 'The government needs to work harder to break the chain.'
