SACRAMENTO — California sent about $400 million in fraudulent unemployment benefit payments to state prisoners, a state official said Tuesday, nearly triple the amount disclosed last week and a number that could grow as a criminal investigation continues. Nine county district attorneys and a federal prosecutor are investigating unemployment fraud...
Judges Deny California Inmate Release Request, Cite US Law
SACRAMENTO — Federal judges on Saturday refused on procedural grounds to order California to free thousands of prisoners to ease crowded conditions that attorneys representing inmates likened to a “tinderbox” ready to ignite with the rapid spread of the coronavirus. But the three judges invited inmates’ attorneys to file a...
As Epstein Died, Guards Allegedly Shopped Online and Slept
NEW YORK — Two jail guards responsible for monitoring Jeffrey Epstein the night he killed himself were charged Tuesday with falsifying prison records to conceal they were sleeping and browsing the internet during the hours they were supposed to be keeping a close watch on prisoners. Guards Tova Noel and...
Community Programs for California Inmates Bring More Escapes
SACRAMENTO — California's attempt to ease inmates back into the community is coming at a price: more prisoners, some with violent convictions, walking away before their time is up. Fifty of the state's more than 126,000 prisoners absconded last year, almost half of them from a program that allows male...
California Revisits Three-Strike Life Sentences
SACRAMENTO — Up to 4,000 California inmates serving life sentences for nonviolent convictions will have a chance at parole following the state's decision to let stand a judge's ruling saying those prisoners are eligible for freedom under a voter-approved law. The state will craft new regulations by January to include...