LAND O' LAKES - Even a tornado can't keep a good jail down. Less than two months after an EF-1 tornado tore through the central jail complex, off Land O' Lakes Boulevard, the final touches were being made Thursday on the newly erected structure, replacing the one destroyed in the early morning hours of Dec. 16. ...more

January 31, 2008

BUSHNELL - The U.S. Attorney's Office in Ocala today announced the arrest of 11 people in connection with a long-running investigation into contraband smuggling at the Coleman Federal Correctional Institution in Bushnell. ...more

January 25, 2008

We don't blame Sebring City Council members for being upset that they are having no say in plans for jail expansion. Considering that the county jail is located in Sebring, and any growth directly impacts the city and its residents, it's a legitimate issue. That said, there isn't a good answer on how best to proceed. ...more

January 23, 2008

SEBRING — Although funding will not be available for expansion of the Highlands County Jail in the next 10 years, a block of downtown Sebring could eventually by usurped by a detention facility. City Council members had their first look at the jail's plans for expansion at the Jan. 15 meeting during a discussion about the Sebring Parkway, but they had a hard time focusing on that topic and instead discussed the jail. The Board of County Commissioners has been handling the jail expansion process because administration of the sheriff's office is part of the county's responsibilities. City Council members said because the jail is in the heart of the downtown, they want to be involved in the process as well. "I think the city needs to be part of these discussions about the location and the expansion of the jail," said City Council member Jeff Carlson, who added that the jail is in the middle of the community redevelopment zone. ...more

January 22, 2008

A training manual for Canadian diplomats lists the United States as a country where prisoners risk torture and abuse, citing interrogation techniques such as stripping prisoners, blindfolding and sleep deprivation. ...more

January 19, 2008

A Polk County Jail inmate found dead in his cell this morning is thought to have committed suicide, said Donna Wood, a sheriff's spokeswoman. ...more

January 15, 2008

The Kentucky inmates challenging the state's three-drug lethal injection protocol believe it is unconstitutional because there is a possibility that if administered improperly, it could cause excruciating pain. Thus the men claim the procedure is a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. ...more

January 9, 2008

Three times during his nearly 27 years in prison, Charles Chatman went before a parole board and refused to admit he was a rapist. His steadfastness was vindicated Thursday, when a judge released him because of new DNA evidence showing he wasn't. ...more

January 4, 2008

During some of the bloodiest years of the drug wars of the 1980s, crack was seen as far more dangerous than powdered cocaine, and that perception was written into the sentencing laws. Now that notion is under attack like never before. ...more

December 30, 2007