The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "state prisons" ...
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Catch and Release
California, using the term "realignment", chose to lessen the overcrowded prison population by paroling what corrections officials said were the least violent offenders on parole. Yet parole officers told KCRA that even sex offenders were now breaking the law - living with kids, near schools, even cutting off their GPS anklets - and facing no time in prison. Our investigation reviewed more than 8,000 parolees and their re-offenses over the last year. We also used internal sources to find that the state was preparing to review nearly ten thousand absconders in order to wipe them off the prison books.
Tags: Prison realignment; parole; sex offenders; parolees
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Detroit Free Press: Free to Kill
“Free to Kill,” a seven-month Detroit Free Press investigation, found the Michigan Department of Corrections failed to properly supervise some of the most violent of the state’s roughly 70,000 offenders under its watch. A total of 88 parolees and probationers were suspected, arrested or convicted in 95 murders between Jan. 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011. The number nearly doubled from 2010 to 2011 -- from 21 to 38. The series also revealed that dozens of offenders weren't outfitted with court-ordered electronic tethers, and others weren't sent back to prison for new crimes or failed drug tests.
Tags: Department of Corrections; violence; criminals; drug tests
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A Damaged District
For more than a year, Zahira Torres overcame obstacle after obstacle to document one of the worst school cheating scandals in the nation's history. Where other cheating scandals involved altering accountability tests, the El Paso Independent School District gamed the state and federal accountability systems by targeting Mexican immigrant students. In a number of cases, district officials refused to enroll students or pushed out students already enrolled -- denying countless students their constitutional right to an education. In other cases, they arbitrarily reclassified grade levels or altered transcripts, all in an attempt to keep students out of the testing pool. Torres' reporting sparked numerous results. The superintendent who masterminded the scheme went to federal prison. The state education agency removed the school board. And when Torres' reporting documented that the state was aware of details of the cheating in 2010 and cleared the district anyway, the new education commissioner ordered an independent investigation of how the agency missed the cheating.
Tags: schools; scandals; education; school board
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Arrested Development
For thousands of youths accused of crimes, punishment preceeds any conviction. The may be held for months or even years in county jails for -- and sometimes with -- adult suspects. Scripps Howard News Service reports on the 7,500 junveiles in adult jails at any time, their conditions of confinement and how a loophole in federal law allows jails in 29 states to house juveniles with adults.
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The Price of Prisons
This series of stories, reported over the course of six months, examined four aspects of the Arizona Department of Corrections' management of the state prison system.
Tags: Arizon Deparment of Corrections; Prisons; Arizona; Mismanagement
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Spousal Support
In November 2011, the KGTV 10News I-Team revealed a questionable legal loophole that forced sexual assault victims to pay support to their attackers. Within five weeks of our initial reporting, lawmakers took action, drafting legislation and pushing for a change. Our series features Crystal Harris, who was sexually assaulted by her ex-husband. While he sits in prison for the crime, a state judge has ordered Crystal to pay spousal support. Crystal Harris earns more money than her ex-husband.
Tags: broadcast; spousal support; sexual assault
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Failure to Aid
Over the last year, I spent a lot of time researching and reporting on stories pertaining to the mental health treatment of people in prison. More specifically, I have successfully fought to gain access to public records in order to tell the story of Tony Lester. Tony was a young man who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He committed an assault and was sentenced to serve time at the Arizona State Prison in Tucson. Tragically, Tony committed suicide while in prison. Staff in the prison failed to render aid when they discovered him in his cell bleeding. My investigation not only revealed that he was improperly placed in with the general population against a judge's order and a court-ordered psychiatrist order...but he was also mistakenly given razors as part of a hygiene kit.
Tags: prison; paranoid schizophrenia; suicide; mental health
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Women in Prison
The series examined reasons leading to Oklahoma's No. 1 U.S. ranking for its rate of incarcerating women. The Tulsa World found that while the state ranked in the mid-range for arrests of women, it jumps significantly when it comes to sentencing.
Tags: prisons; female prisoners; women in prison
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Secret early release of Illinois prisoners
The series finds that the Illinois state government had secretly released 1,700 inmates from prison early in an attempt to save money and reduce overcrowding. Many of those released had committed violent crimes or been convicted of driving under the influence.
Tags: prison; state prison; criminals; meritorious good time; Department of Corrections
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Prison Workers Compensation Investigation
The reporters find that hundreds of guards at a Illinois maximum security prison were receiving large taxpayer-funded injury awards for carpal tunnel syndrome they claimed came from unlocking cell doors. The state had spent $30.6 million on these settlements over three years. As a result of the investigation, the Illinois Department of Insurance launched a civil and criminal investigation.
Tags: injury awards; state prisons; settlements; Menard Correctional Center; workers compensation