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Living Large in the Big House
Nick Summers 6/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
In the public eye, each stage of the white-collar criminal's path from boardroom to big house is attended by drama. There's the shock of being caught, the gravity of indictment, the finality of a conviction, and the satisfaction of sentencing. But the final step of the process often earns far less attention: designation, the process by which the Federal Bureau of Prisons determines where the freshly convicted serve their time.
Gitmo North? Bring it On.
6/20/2009 12:00:00 AM
In 2004, the state of Montana was faced with overcrowded prisons. With the endorsement of our then governor, Judy Martz, the Two Rivers Authority, the -economic--development arm of the town of Hardin, began building a prison. We had hoped Two Rivers Detention Center would create jobs, helping to stop the economic spiral that was crippling this town of 3,400. But after our current governor, Brian Schweitzer, was elected, he decided the prison wasn't needed, even though a month ago the state's own consultant disagreed. Three years after we broke ground, it's still empty.
Actual Innocence
Ellis Cose 6/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
For nearly two decades, Troy Davis has sat on death row, during which time he has accumulated a noisy band of supporters. They include former president Jimmy Carter, Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu and former Georgia congressman (and current death-penalty advocate) Bob Barr. All are convinced Davis may be innocent and deserves another chance to confront his accusers—especially since most have now recanted the testimony that convicted him. The story begins in a parking lot in Savannah, Ga. Police believe Davis pumped two bullets into off-duty cop Mark MacPhail after he tried to intervene as Davis assaulted another man around 1 a.m. on Aug. 19, 1989. Davis claims he was trying to stop the assault and had nothing to do with MacPhail's murder. But a witness fingered Davis, and the police launched a highly publicized manhunt. He surrendered on Aug. 23, and was indicted and found guilty.
Our Real Prison Problem
Dahlia Lithwick 6/5/2009 12:00:00 AM
The public-opinion two-step on the wisdom of closing the prison camp at Guantánamo is fascinating, and not just because, as recent polling shows, Americans are inclined to keep it open forever. The current legal meltdown over what to do with the 240 prisoners shows that Americans actually care a lot about prisons, prisoners and prison reform, but only when the inmates threaten to tumble out into their backyards.
CRIME
Bringing Up Baby in the Big House
Suzanne Smalley 5/14/2009 12:00:00 AM
The special wing of the Indiana Women's Prison is at once cheerful and depressing. To get there, you walk through a metal detector and a locked steel door to a courtyard surrounded by razor wire and two 20-foot fences. Then you pass through two more steel doors, and eventually enter a cinder-block hallway. The bright yellow hallway is adorned with stenciled images of stars and crescent moons. The sound of a TV blares from a common room, decorated with a mural of the night sky and the lyrics to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." There are cells on both sides of the hallway. Each has a varnished crib that was made in woodworking class. Protective collars are fitted to the cell doors—there to prevent the steel from slamming on little fingers.
INTERNATIONAL
Eat Your Heart Out, Chicago
Anuj Chopra 4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
For the past three years, a federal prison in the badlands of northern India has been the next best thing to freedom for Mukhtar Ansari. A tall, mustached member of the Uttar Pradesh state legislature, he's awaiting trial for more than two dozen alleged crimes, including murder. But Ansari has remained steadily in touch with his loyal supporters—especially in recent weeks, while he ran for a seat in the nation's parliament from his cell. Dedicated campaign workers like Lakshmi Devi, an elderly local widow who thinks of the jailed candidate as a modern-day Robin Hood, have been routinely allowed to call on Ansari at any time of day. They need only to flash an entry permit—not a government-issued photo ID, but a note on Ansari's personal letterhead. "Gatekeeper Sahib," the old woman's tattered letter says, handwritten in Hindi. "Do not stop aunty from coming to see me."