Tag Archives: Adults in Custody/Inmates/Prisoners

Oregon Supreme Court orders immediate release of woman whose commutation was revoked

The Oregon Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of a woman who had been sent back to prison after Gov. Tina Kotek revoked an earlier commutation of her sentence. The court found Kotek lacked the authority to return the woman to Coffee Creek Correctional Institution because her sentence had expired. Request full-text (for […]
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County Confirms a Third Inmate Fatally Overdosed on Fentanyl Last Year

Tera Harris, an inmate who died in Multnomah County Detention Center last October, fatally overdosed on fentanyl, according to an autopsy report Multnomah County officials released today. Harris, who was awaiting trial on charges of running over her ex-husband with a car, had a history of drug use. She had been on an “opioid use […]
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Many states are eager to extend Medicaid to people soon to be released from prison

Oregon is among 20 states awaiting federal approval to extend the free health care to people while they’re still incarcerated. A new policy that allows states to provide Medicaid health care coverage to incarcerated people at least a month prior to their release has drawn bipartisan interest and a slew of state applications. Source: Many […]
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Oregon’s former governor dismissed from class-action COVID lawsuit

The litigation covers some 5,000 people who were in custody at one of the state’s prisons and contracted or died from COVID-19. Former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown can’t be held liable for the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic across its prisons, according to a ruling by a federal magistrate unsealed last week. But in […]
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Sheriff Calls in Feds Again to Help Fix County’s Dysfunctional Jails

She also laid out her efforts to address a laundry list of recommendations the National Institute of Corrections gave the county in January. Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell has asked the National Institute of Corrections to help stem the smuggling of drugs into Multnomah County’s jails, where two inmates overdosed and died last year. Source: Sheriff […]
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Lobbying the Legislature from behind bars

Charles Longshore is the author of a bill Washington lawmakers considered this year that would have allowed judges to review and shorten long prison sentences. He’s also behind bars, serving a nearly 36-year sentence at a state prison north of Olympia for killing two people in 2012. Longshore’s done a lot to change his life […]
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Opinion | I was a teen in Virginia prison. Books were my lifeline.

State Library Ed. Note: If you cannot access this story via the link below, state employees can access this Washington Post story HERE via the State Library’s subscription to the US Newstream database. Alternatively, state employees can contact us for access: LibraryHelp.SLO@slo.oregon.gov or 503-378-8800. Navalny spent some 300 days in solitary confinement. I spent nearly twice as many. Books were my […]
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Service dogs graduate from Pendleton prison

Thirteen people met the service dogs who will change their lives Monday, April 8, during a “Leash Passing Ceremony” at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton. Source: Service dogs graduate from Pendleton prison | Local News | eastoregonian.com

“It’s not just about us”: training service dogs brings purpose to Salem prison

Tonic knew something was wrong well before his human collapsed to the floor. The 12-month-old Labrador retriever began tugging a newspaper away from his handler, Luis Salas-Juarez, sensing the contents were distressing him. As Salas-Juarez became more agitated, Tonic put his paws in the man’s lap, attempting to help him calm down, then went to […]
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Oregon recriminalizes drugs. How many people are incarcerated in your state?

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has signed a bill into law that ends the first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law that was enacted three years ago.House Bill 4002, recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs. The new measure will go into effect this fall, the Salem Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network reported. The total […]
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