Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Children permitted at Washington prison powwows

  May 29, 2012 in Region WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Graysun Sherwood lay sprawled across his grandmother’s lap, a red Kool-Aid stain ringing his mouth. A 3-year-old napping amid the sounds of powwow — the drumming, … 16

• No holds barred

  May 18, 2012 in City on Page A5 Kim Imel held back tears as Spencer, a 1-year-old dachshund mix, sniffed around his new home and played with his new companions. The dachshund was in prison – literally.

• Idaho prison population spikes

  April 26, 2012 in News, Idaho POCATELLO, Idaho — The state’s already full prisons are getting more crowded as the inmate population grows at a significantly increased rate. 8

• 7 workers could be disciplined in WA prison death

  July 22, 2011 in Region When a Monroe prison official was killed in the facility’s chapel earlier this year, a co-worker assigned to monitor the area was actually working in a separate part of the … 1

• Killer’s violent history not communicated in prison transfer

  July 5, 2011 in City on Page A5 When a rapist who murdered one of his cellmates in the Spokane County Jail requested a transfer to a medium-security prison several years later, the approval process at the Washington … 1

• Don’t release ‘worst of the worst,’ prison officials beg

  April 29, 2011 in City on Page A1 OLYMPIA – A legislative proposal to release some inmates a few months early as a budget-saving measure is a bad idea, Washington prison officials warned Thursday. The state already ordered … 1

• Idaho prison funding bill escapes budget ax

  March 8, 2011 in Idaho on Page A6 BOISE – Idaho’s state prison system would escape the cuts other state agencies are facing next year; instead, under a budget crafted by legislative budget writers Monday, it’d see a …

• Guard stabbed in head with pen, others picket for safety

  March 2, 2011 in Region Even before a correctional officer was stabbed in the head with a pen at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Department of Corrections employees represented by the Teamsters union … 2

• Prison bakery to use regional wheat

  February 3, 2011 in City on Page A5 Domestic violence put him behind bars 10 years ago, but Donald Kanne has plans for a better life when he leaves prison. And he owes it in part to dough.

• ACLU seeking to ban Idaho prison practices

  December 31, 2010 in Idaho on Page A8 BOISE – The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that practices at an Idaho prison that include guards opening the wrong cell doors and allowing inmate-on-inmate attacks have caused violence … 1

• Airway Heights prison to lose about 45 jobs

  November 11, 2010 in City on Page A7 Cuts at Washington state prisons will eliminate about 45 jobs at Airway Heights Corrections Center and could cancel a rehabilitative program designed to prepare inmates for re-entry to society. “It’s … 5

• Washington inmates get free phone call today

  August 25, 2010 in Region Every state prison inmate gets one free 20-minute long distance call each year, and they could start making this year’s calls this morning, said Maria Peterson, spokeswoman for the state …

• Cuts might force inmate releases, prison chief says

  February 6, 2010 in Idaho on Page B1 BOISE – The only way to cut more deeply into Idaho’s prisons budget than Gov. Butch Otter has proposed is to begin releasing prisoners, the state’s prisons chief warned state … 1

• Some released Wash. prisoners getting free rent

  August 31, 2009 in Region OLYMPIA — Some felons who have earned early release from prison are getting a few months of subsidized rent from Washington taxpayers, a new cost-cutting move expected to save the … 2

• Wash. seeks to jam cell phone signals in prisons

  July 14, 2009 in City Washington is among more than two dozen states seeking permission to jam cellphone signals inside prison walls to thwart inmates from making illegal calls. 4

• Jail treats addicts with acupuncture

  March 31, 2009 in Features on Page C5 BALTIMORE – Beyond the iron gate, the fence and the razor wire, 10 inmates in maroon uniforms sit in stillness, listening to the serene sounds of sitar music. Eyes closed, …

• Lawmakers seek to limit inmates’ access to records

  February 20, 2009 in City on Page A9 SEATTLE – An entrepreneurial spirit struck Allan Parmelee last fall as he sat in a Washington state prison, serving 17 years for bombing the cars of two attorneys. He wrote …

• Bill would allow some exceptions to sentencing law

  February 12, 2008 in Idaho on Page B3 BOISE – A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Monday designed to let Idaho judges waive mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenders if the crime stems from addiction that …