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"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah has been ordered to participate in a mental health treatment program, as part of her probation, following her prison release. Jen Shah on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Shah has said she suffered from depression and was on antidepressant medication during episodes of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." It noted her work with a mental health organization that works within the Polynesian community. "Given her own background, Jen feels deeply empathetic toward anyone marginalized, fearing rejection, and struggling with mental health issues," the memorandum said.

☆ 'Deadly' double agent Ana Montes who was a US spy for communist Cuba freed from prison after 20 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ana Montes, seen as "one of the most damaging spies" in US history, has been released from prison. When she was working a clerical job at the Department of Justice, Cuban authorities identified her as someone who would be sympathetic to their cause. She was able to pass highly sensitive information over to Cuban authorities through memory alone. "She compromised everything — virtually everything — that we knew about Cuba and how we operated in Cuba and against Cuba," Van Cleave said. Chris Simmons, a former investigator with the DIA, described Montes as "a very deadly woman, a very dangerous woman," NBC reported.

Timothy York knows what works to treat his decadeslong opioid addiction: Suboxone, a medication that effectively quiets cravings. Since York arrived in federal prison in 2008, he has been held in a series of facilities awash with contraband drugs and violence. Yet the federal prisons are treating only a fraction — less than 10% — of the roughly 15,000 prisoners who need it, according to the bureau’s estimates. Some say the issues stem from a culture at the bureau that is skeptical of addiction medication and pits staff against prisoners. He was using an underground supply of Suboxone at USP-Coleman, the federal prison in Florida where he was incarcerated, but it was erratic.

The sky was darkening above Hazelton federal penitentiary in West Virginia when a prison van rolled up carrying an elderly gangster. ‘I’m deteriorating’His final hours were described in detail for the first time in a Justice Department Inspector General report released Wednesday. The news somehow got out among the Hazelton inmates, the report says, a detail that had been previously disclosed by federal prosecutors. The facility, known as Misery Mountain, was among the most violent in the federal prison system. Two hours passed before a prison staffer went into the cell and found Bulger’s lifeless body.

☆ Former federal prison warden convicted of sexually abusing inmates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The former warden of a federal women’s prison in California where inmates said they were subjected to rampant sexual abuse was convicted on Thursday of molesting inmates and forcing them to pose naked in their cells. Ray Garcia was found guilty of all eight charges and faces up to 15 years in prison. He was among five workers charged with abusing inmates at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, and the first to go to trial. Garcia, 55, retired from his post last year after the FBI found nude photos of inmates on his government-issued phone. Garcia was charged with abusing three inmates between December 2019 and July 2021.

The inspector general found that prison officers spoke openly about Bulger’s anticipated arrival around inmates, in violation of policy. Elderly, ailing inmates are often transferred to a prison medical center. Bulger had a heart condition and should have been sent to a prison with special medical facilities, the inspector general found. The FBI is conducting a separate criminal probe into the murder, but it’s not clear whether the bureau is investigating any prison employees. The inspector general's report cites six prison employees as having committed potential misconduct.

☆ Judge proposes Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes serve her 11-year sentence in a 'minimum-security' Texas prison camp
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A district judge proposed for Holmes to be sent to a prison camp at Bryan, Texas, court records show. Holmes was sentenced to 135 months in prison on November 18. District Judge Edward Davila recommended for Holmes to be designated to the Federal Prison Camp at Bryan, Texas, according to a November 21 filing. The Federal Prison Camp in Bryan is a minimum-security prison that houses female inmates. Holmes was sentenced to 135 months, or 11 years and 3 months, in prison on November 18.

☆ Google has a secretive project that could reduce the need for human engineers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, we've got the details on Elon Musk walking back perks at Twitter, and news on a secretive project at Google. Google has a secretive new project that teaches code to write itself. In this case, the goal is to reduce the need for humans to write and update code, while maintaining code quality. It later moved into Google Labs — a transition that signaled its increased importance to leaders, with Google Labs pursuing long-term bets. Elon Musk put an end to some Twitter perks.

☆ US Secret Service protection would follow Donald Trump to the slammer if he ever ended up there, former agents say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Robin Bravender | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"If Donald Trump gets sent to prison, what's the role of the Secret Service in that case?" Federal law entitles Trump and all other ex-presidents to Secret Service protections for life — although it didn't always. "Geez, the fact that we're thinking about him going to jail kind of scares me," said the former Secret Service official. While former presidents are entitled to Secret Service protection, they can opt to decline it — just as Nixon did after leaving office. They did so under the Clinton administration, when a law was passed that would afford ex-presidents 10 years of Secret Service security, rather than lifetime protections.

☆ Here's how Donald Trump could theoretically run for president in 2024 and govern the US from prison, according to 9 legal scholars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Robin Bravender | Tina Sfondeles | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

If Trump landed in prison, nothing in the Constitution would block him from another White House run, according to nine legal experts interviewed by Insider. He served eight years in federal prison after being convicted on public-corruption charges. In the Oval Office, Trump conducted business at the ornate Resolute Desk. If he wound up in federal prison, he'd likely have more sway over his fate. Hochul would all but certainly reject calls to cut Trump legal slack in any fashion, pardons included.

After more than 35 years in prison, Mutulu Shakur, Tupac Shakur’s stepfather, will be released on parole on Dec. 16, when he'll spend what are expected to be his final days among family and friends. U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier in October approved a motion to release Shakur, an activist and holistic health care advocate, now 72, according to court documents obtained by NBC News. After being released on parole, Shakur will be monitored for up to four months. He was given medical parole, which means he could still be snatched back from us," Muhammad said. Now, Shakur's supporters and family feel the decision to release him represents a bittersweet victory.

☆ Americans convicted in Japan on Carlos Ghosn’s escape return home
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO — An American father and son convicted in Japan on charges of helping former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn escape to Lebanon by hiding in a box have been returned to the U.S., their lawyer said Tuesday. The U.S. and Japan have an extradition treaty, while Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan. Peter Taylor has already been released, and is back with his family in Massachusetts, said Kelly, whose office is based in Boston. During their trial in Tokyo, Michael and Peter Taylor apologized and acknowledged guilt, saying they had been misled by Ghosn. He says he fled because he could not expect a fair trial in Japan.

☆ Ex-Green Beret, Son Return to U.S. After Prison Sentence Over Carlos Ghosn Escape
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Nick Kostov | Mark Maremont | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The American father and son who helped former Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan have returned to the U.S. after spending 20 months in Japanese jails. Michael Taylor , a 62-year-old former Green Beret, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles with a release date set for Jan. 1, 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. His son Peter Taylor is back home in Massachusetts with his family, according to their lawyer, Paul V. Kelly . Mr. Kelly said he was in discussions with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and parole officials about releasing his client sooner. Bloomberg News reported earlier that the Taylors were back in the U.S.

But prisoner advocates say this misstep is indicative of the larger failures of a law that has given federal inmates hope they could qualify for early release. But the new computer app was viewed as a positive development in ensuring inmates' credits don't fall through the cracks. "I hope that what happened with the rollout was a 'glitch,' not a feature of the new autocalculate app. "Nearly four years after the FSA was signed into law, BOP still lacks a formal program statement" on time credits. "There's a lot of tensions inside of prisons because they're wanting to go home and they don't know what's happening."

The surge in restrictive housing — informally known as solitary confinement — has perplexed BOP Director Colette Peters, who told NBC News that she "asked the same question when we saw the numbers come forward, so I'm curious as well." Colette Peters, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 29. The federal government houses more than 142,000 inmates in its custody across the United States. It really is limiting the use of restrictive housing when absolutely necessary," Peters said. "We know so much more now from research around what solitary confinement can do to the hearts and minds of those there, and so this is something we need to take very seriously."

☆ Ex-Barbados Official Loses Appeal of Bribe Laundering Conviction
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

A former Barbados government official has lost an appeal to overturn a U.S. conviction for laundering bribes connected to insurance contracts through a New York business. Though Mr. Inniss contested the charges at trial, on appeal his lawyer didn’t argue over whether the bribery occurred. Instead, he tried to argue that the conduct wasn’t technically money laundering because Mr. Inniss didn’t launder the money after it was sent from the dental business. The appeals court also rejected arguments from Mr. Inniss that the jury instructions were faulty. Mr. Inniss is incarcerated in a prison outside Detroit and scheduled to be released in January, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records.

Thomas Lane, a former Minneapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison. Lane held down Floyd's legs as he cried out that he couldn't breathe, while another former officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 ½ minutes on May 25, 2020. As part of Lane's plea deal, a charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder was dismissed, a spokesman for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the case, previously said. Cahill said Lane’s state sentence will be concurrent with his federal sentence and that he will serve his time in a federal institution. Two other former officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, are scheduled to stand trial next month on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

In addition, the law requires that states and federal agencies report in-custody death information to the attorney general, who must then study how the data can help reduce such deaths and provide the results to Congress. The information was due at the end of 2016, but the Senate report says it won't be completed until 2024. The subcommittee's chairman, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said in a statement that there were "shocking long-term gaps in federal oversight" of the law. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the most recent Justice Department data, 4,234 people died in state and federal prisons in 2019, a 6.6% decrease from 2018.

☆ COVID allowed Raquel Esquivel and 4,500 others to be released from overcrowded federal prisons. So why is she back behind bars?
▼ + stars: | 2021-08-13 | by ( Jamie Roth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

As COVID-19 spread through federal prisons, the Justice Department began a novel experiment: 4,500 prisoners were approved for home confinement with GPS ankle monitors. A federal correctional institution in Englewood, CO. As of May 5, there were 2,066 inmates who’d tested positive for COVID-19 in the federal prison system. "I was just recently released from federal prison," Esquivel wrote him last year on July 3, in their very first text exchange, which the couple shared with Insider. Her defense was enough for Dismas, Esquivel said, and the manager told her they wouldn't recommend any punishment. The next morning at Dismas, Esquivel busied herself as she waited for the bureau's ruling.

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