Incarceration

Crime

Washington state is closing its first prison in 10 years. Are other facilities next?

For the first time in more than a decade, Washington state is closing a prison. The Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt, Clark County will shut its gates for the last time next week. The state’s Department of Corrections says the population of the 240-bed minimum security prison is now down to about 60 people, all of whom will be relocated by Monday, Oct. 2.

Crime

Seven staffers injured in youth brawl at King County juvenile detention facility

Crime

County jail vs. state prison: A current incarcerated person explains the difference

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with incarcerated journalist Christopher Blackwell about how his 20 years in Washington State Prison compared to his time at Pierce County Jail.

Crime

27 indicted in prison drug ring with ties to white supremacy

This week a federal grand jury in Tacoma indicted 24 people, most from Washington state, accused of trafficking drugs and weapons in multiple states. Federal authorities say many members of the drug ring have ties to a white supremacist prison gang.

Crime

New law would make sexual misconduct by corrections staff a felony

A proposed bill in Olympia would impose harsher sentences for corrections officers or staff who are convicted of sexual misconduct against inmates.

ICE detainees in Tacoma reportedly on day three of hunger strike

Detainees at Tacoma’s immigration facility are reportedly on day three of a hunger strike. And a spokesperson for the ICE facility confirms that chemical agents were used Wednesday in response to a disruption there.

Government

Incarcerated people would earn minimum wage under new proposal

‘It increases the amount of money that goes to victim restitution and child support, and mandates that 50% goes into a savings account that will be available upon reentry.’