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Dying in Vein
9/21/2009 12:00:00 AM
Can a vein save a convicted killer? It the case of Romell Broom—it might. Broom was sentenced to death for raping and murdering 14-year-old Tryna Middleton on Sept. 21, 1984. Broom isn't supposed to be alive to witness the 25th anniversary of Middleton's death—but he is. Last Tuesday, the execution team at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility spent several hours trying unsuccessfully to find a viable vein for a lethal injection. Now, Ohio is faced with the difficult task of determining whether it can try to execute Broom a second time, after it botched the first attempt.
Nuclear-Family Fallout
Barbie Nadeau 9/10/2009 12:00:00 AM
It has been a long hot summer for American murder suspect Amanda Knox, currently living in an Italian prison cell. Her parents are in the United States, her trial (she is accused of sexually assaulting and murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in November 2007) is on hold for the Italian holidays, and there is no air conditioning in Capanne Prison. Temperatures there have hovered in the upper 90s for most of August, and, like many Italian prisons, Capanne is seriously overcrowded. There are 485 detainees stuffed inside a facility built for 284. In August, nine guards suffered smoke inhalation after angry inmates started a fire and staged a mini-riot. (Knox was not among those involved, but she described the frightening incident to friends.) "You can imagine how hard it is to control these criminals who live in seven-square-meter cells when temperatures are unbearable," says Francesco Petrelli, who represents prison guards. "The situation is extremely difficult for guards, but it's worse for the detainees whose only outlet is to argue and fight with each other. It is bad for everyone."
Jailhouse Shock
Malcolm Beith 8/20/2009 12:00:00 AM
During a routine patrol in Ciudad Juárez earlier this year, military police grabbed 35-year-old Juan Chavez on the street and hauled him off to the state penitentiary facility on the outskirts of this border city. They charged him with disturbing the peace and possession of drugs. Chavez also admits to being a member of Los Aztecas, a notoriously ruthless gang who work for the powerful Juárez cartel, which gives the authorities another reason for wanting him behind bars. "I'm innocent," says Chavez, standing in the prison block reserved for members of his gang. "But it doesn't really matter to them, does it?
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.
Beyond the Bars
Sophie Grove
The art world often nurtures its enfants terribles. After all, rule breakers sell paintings. So it's no surprise that real felons are increasingly winning notice on the scene. As therapeutic art programs burgeon behind bars, "criminal art" has generated a curious niche in the U.K. This autumn, London's prestigious Southbank Centre will turn over its gallery space to works by Britain's inmates. The show, Art by Offenders (Oct. 21–Dec. 3), is organized by the Koestler Trust, a charity that awards convicts with small cash prizes and a cut of any work sold. The show will be curated by female prisoners on special supervised release who will give tours of the exhibit to the public. In a display at the Edinburgh Festival, also titled Art by Offenders (through Sept. 4), works by Scotland's inmates reveal a daring contemporary streak. One giant train made from thousands of matchsticks could out-kitsch Jeff Koons.