All posts tagged: prisons

Rapper Tory Lanez Sues California Prison System for 0 Million Over Stabbing by Inmate

Rapper Tory Lanez Sues California Prison System for $100 Million Over Stabbing by Inmate

Published by Sam Flores

Lanez, 33, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, filed the federal lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages on Tuesday against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the warden and guards at the prison in Tehachapi where he was being held. The suit says he was stabbed 16 times in the back, torso, head and face in an “unprovoked life-threatening attack” by inmate Santino Casio, who used a homemade “shank.” Lanez had a collapsed lung and had to be airlifted to a hospital, it says. Prison officials say he was attacked May 12, 2025, by Casio, who is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. Casio had another 2008 conviction for assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon and another in 2018 for manufacturing a deadly weapon. “The choice to house Casio with Peterson was known or should have been a known danger,” the lawsuit says. It alleges that correctional officers’ response was slow, and no special measures like flash grenades or smoke bombs were used to stop Casio. …

Former Brazilian Intelligence Chief Was Arrested by ICE, Senator Says

Former Brazilian Intelligence Chief Was Arrested by ICE, Senator Says

Published by Sam Flores

SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian senator said on Monday that the country’s former intelligence agency chief Alexandre Ramagem was arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and is pleading for him to get political asylum in the United States. Ramagem, also a former lawmaker, was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison for his role in the coup attempt by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2023. Brazil’s federal police said he fled the South American nation before he would have started serving his sentence. Sen. Jorge Seif said in his social media channels that he had informed the U.S. embassy in Brasilia that Ramagem should not remain in custody for he was being persecuted at home. Seif did not give details as to why the former Brazilian intelligence agency chief had been put under custody. On Monday, Ramagem appeared as in custody in ICE’s online detainee database, although where he is being held was not specified. “The political persecution against President Bolsonaro, his sons and his allies is now hitting …

Cuba begins prisoner release after announcing more than 2,000 pardoned

Cuba begins prisoner release after announcing more than 2,000 pardoned

Published by Sam Flores

Cuban authorities began to free prisoners on Friday after announcing it would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second release in less than a month as it faces heightened US pressure. More than 20 inmates came out of La Lima penitentiary in east Havana, holding their release papers, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning, AFP journalists said. “Thank you for this opportunity that they gave us,” said Albis Gainza, 46, who had served half of a six-year sentence for robbery. He said he could not sleep after learning he would be released. “This needs to keep going … (and) more are released,” Gainza told AFP. The Cuban government announced late Thursday that it would pardon 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture” to mark Holy Week. It did not link it to talks with the United States, but the move came days after US President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude to the fuel-starved island. Read moreRussian tanker …

Mississippi Lawmakers Send Bill That Criminalizes Abortion-Inducing Medication to Governor

Mississippi Lawmakers Send Bill That Criminalizes Abortion-Inducing Medication to Governor

Published by Sam Flores

People who distribute, or intend to distribute, abortion-inducing medication in Mississippi could face a criminal charge and up to 10 years in prison if convicted, under a bill lawmakers are sending to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. Experts say criminalization could lock up desperate Mississippians and scare doctors away from prescribing these medications in clinical settings for non-abortion purposes, such as stopping postpartum hemorrhaging and easing symptoms of miscarriages. Lawmakers added restrictions on abortion-inducing drugs to a drug trafficking bill that passed the House 76-38 and the Senate 37-15 on Tuesday. Republicans control both chambers. “I think we’re going to end up trapping a lot of people into the criminal justice system simply because they want to have autonomy over their own bodies,” said Rep. Zakiya Summers, a Democrat from Jackson, who voted against the bill. Rep. Celeste Hurst, a Republican from Sandhill, said she introduced this amendment to keep abortion medication, such as mifepristone and misoprostol, from entering Mississippi. “The intent is to keep doctors from out of state from circumventing our current law,” Hurst …

Iran’s Imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi May Have Had a Heart Attack

Iran’s Imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi May Have Had a Heart Attack

Published by Sam Flores

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi may have suffered a heart attack, one of her lawyers said Tuesday. Two of Mohammadi’s lawyers and her sister visited her in Zanjan Prison in northwestern Iran on Sunday, her French lawyer, Chirinne Ardakani, told The Associated Press after being briefed by the two Iranian lawyers who went to the prison. “When my colleagues saw her, they were shocked because she was very pale and had lost a lot of weight, and she was not alone but aided by a nurse,” Ardakani said. She added that, according to Mohammadi, her fellow inmates told her that on March 24 she was unconscious for over an hour. Upon later examination at the prison’s clinic, a doctor told her that she probably had had a heart attack. “She said she has since been having chest pain more than once a day and she has breathing difficulties and that she is in a very bad state,” Ardakani said. She said Mohammadi has been denied transfer to the hospital …

Idaho Transgender Bathroom Bill Is the Strictest in the Nation and Likely Veto-Proof

Idaho Transgender Bathroom Bill Is the Strictest in the Nation and Likely Veto-Proof

Published by Sam Flores

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers passed a sweeping bathroom ban Friday, approving legislation that would make it a crime for transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, even inside privately owned businesses. If Republican Gov. Brad Little signs the bill, Idaho will have the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, subjecting people to time behind bars if they knowingly enter a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense, or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense. Private businesses are included in Idaho’s bill At least 19 states, including Idaho, already have laws barring transgender people from using bathrooms and changing rooms that align with their gender in schools and, in some cases, other public places. The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Movement Advancement Project’s tracking of the laws shows that three other states — Florida, Kansas and Utah — …

Tiger Woods Released on Bail Hours After Arrest at Crash Scene on Suspicion of DUI

Tiger Woods Released on Bail Hours After Arrest at Crash Scene on Suspicion of DUI

Published by Sam Flores

JUPITER ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods was released on bail late Friday, hours after his Land Rover clipped a truck, rolled onto its side and the golfer was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, officials said. Woods had been traveling at “high speeds” on a residential road and after the crash showed “signs of impairment,” Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said, adding that investigators believe he had taken some kind of medication or drug. He described Woods as lethargic and said he agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but he refused a urine test and was arrested. Florida law required that he spend at least eight hours in jail before he could post bail. Woods, who was not injured in the crash, had been held separate from others at the jail, Budensiek said. “He’s not going to be with other inmates that could hurt him or try to capitalize on what he did,” he said. “He’ll pay the price, but he’s not going to pay the price …

Michigan Launches ‘Safe Prisons’ Initiative Amid Growing Assaults, Concerns

Michigan Launches ‘Safe Prisons’ Initiative Amid Growing Assaults, Concerns

Published by Sam Flores

Amid a continued rise in prison assaults, the Michigan Department of Corrections this month launched a new “safe prisons initiative” that aims to improve conditions for inmates and officers alike. Among other things, the initiative seeks to provide improved prisoner programming to promote positive behavior, review segregation needs for violent inmates and provide corrections officers with both targeted training and technology to assist them in day-to-day operations. Additional details are not immediately available, but a spokesperson told Bridge Michigan the department is working to expand evidence-based programs for violence prevention and substance use treatment, while also reviewing tools to better equip officers. “The department is committed to our core mission of public safety, with the vast majority of day-to-day prison activities being conducted in a safe and compliant way,” Director Heidi E. Washington said in a statement announcing the initiative. “Our staff, those we supervise and the friends and family of both, deserve nothing less than our best when it comes to their well-being and the safety of the ones they love.” The initiative, which …

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to Serve Sentence at Home Due to Ill Health, Judge to Review in 90 Days

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to Serve Sentence at Home Due to Ill Health, Judge to Review in 90 Days

Published by Sam Flores

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro will continue to serve his 27-year sentence for a coup attempt at home instead of in prison due to failing health, a judge ruled Tuesday. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes allowed the 71-year-old to return to his residence in capital Brasilia after he is discharged from the hospital, but he argued in his decision that he will review the case within 90 days. Bolsonaro will wear an ankle monitor and is not allowed to use cellphones, the judge ruled. Local police will surveil his house in a gated community, where protesters are not allowed to gather. Bolsonaro is not allowed any visitors except for doctors and family members. The embattled leader has been hospitalized since March 13 for pneumonia, one of several health problems he has faced since he was stabbed by a man in 2018 before he was elected president. His house imprisonment could be extended after another medical report. Legal experts say it is rare for Brazilian judges to establish limits for house …