Prison

Sakharov prize winner was given eight-year sentence after process widely condemned as politically motivatedThe Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, the 2025 Sakharov prize winner, has been freed after five years in a Belarusian penal colony as part of a US-brokered multi-country swap deal.His release has been confirmed by Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, who posted a picture of him on social media, saying: “Andrzej Poczobut is free! Welcome to your Polish home, my friend.” Continue reading...

Dances With Wolves actor assaulted Indigenous women and girls, exploiting his position as a spiritual leaderNathan Chasing Horse has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls.A Nevada judge gave the Dances With Wolves actor his sentence Monday. A jury had previously convicted him of 13 charges, mostly related to sexual assault. He was accused by three women, including one who was 14 when the assaults began. He was acquitted on some charges. Continue reading...

Strict protocols violated by corrections staff who wrongly believed sexual assault cases were ‘closed’, ombudsman findsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMen charged with alleged prison rapes were allowed to stay in shared cells – against strict protocols – by Queensland corrections staff who mistakenly believed their cases were “closed” and that they posed no risk, a report by the state’s ombudsman has found.The ombudsman’s inspection report of the Brisbane correctional centre raises a number of concerns about the facility, including extensive overcrowding, health facilities that are not fit for purpose and complaints that chicken served to detainees and staff is often undercooked. Continue reading...

• The Alabama Department of Corrections terminated its $1 billion health care contract with Tennessee-based YesCare for failure to adequately fulfill contractual duties. • The contract, awarded in 2023 as a 5-year agreement, was dissolved due to the company's inability to meet performance standards for prison health services. • The termination raises questions about oversight of private contractors providing essential health care services within the correctional system.

Rapper, jailed over Megan Thee Stallion shooting, alleges he was ‘knowingly’ housed with prisoner with violent historyThe rapper Tory Lanez, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence over the shooting of fellow hip-hop artist Megan Thee Stallion, has filed a federal lawsuit against California corrections officials, seeking $100m after being stabbed in prison.Lanez, whose name is Daystar Peterson, said in court papers that a fellow inmate at California correctional institution in Tehachapi stabbed him approximately 16 times on 12 May 2025 using a “home-made” shank. Peterson said he suffered stab wounds to his face, head, torso and back, resulting in “permanent scarring, along with two collapsed lungs”. Continue reading...

Paul Quinn convicted in light of DNA evidence from 2003 attack that led to notorious miscarriage of justiceA man who evaded justice for more than two decades has been found guilty of the 2003 rape for which Andrew Malkinson was wrongfully jailed for 17 years.Paul Quinn, 52, was convicted by a jury on Friday after a fresh forensic analysis found traces of his DNA on the victim. Continue reading...

James Heaps was first sentenced in 2023, but verdict was overturned after appeals court found he was denied a fair trialSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA former University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gynecologist pleaded guilty to 13 felony sexual abuse charges on Tuesday in connection with the sexual assault of several patients over his career, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.James Heaps was originally sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison after being convicted of five counts of sexual battery and penetration involving two patients. That sentence was overturned by an appeals court in February, which ruled that Heaps was denied a fair trial because the judge did not share with his attorneys a note from the court’s foreman sharing concerns about a juror’s English proficiency. Continue reading...