Flagging (mostly troubling) prison news from coast to coast

As I have mentioned in the past and will surely mention again in the future, there are too many notable daily and weekly developments in our nation’s prisons and jails to cover them all (or even to cover some well) in this space.  For example, on-going strikes in New York’s prisons have been generating lots of news for weeks now.  And, moving from east cost to west coast, many persons working in a California juvenile hall are now under federal indictments for mistreating their wards.  Seeking to cover ground quickly, I will flag a few press pieces discussing these stories and a few others catching my eye:

From Corrections1, “Keys, light switches and minimal supervision: Inside Idaho’s unique prison dorm“

From East Bay Times, “30 California probation employees indicted for allegedly staging ‘gladiator fights’ at juvenile hall“

From the Louisville Courier Journal, “KY inmate receives federal jail time after threatening judges to get better living conditions“

From the New York Times, “Seven Prisoners Die as New York Guard Strikes Cause Widespread Disarray“

From PennLive, “Pa. looking to expand ‘Little Scandinavia’ model prison project after signs of success“

From Public News Service, “Faith leaders condemn dangerous heat conditions in U.S. prisons“

From Wisconsin Public Radio, “Judge orders Wisconsin prison system to implement program for incarcerated moms and their babies“

Though most of the news linked about is troubling, I made sure to add a few good news stories in this abridged round-up.