prison reform

(Runtime 4:14)By Jeanie Lindsay / Northwest News NetworkThe final Friday of September was an emotional day at Larch Corrections Center.The…

When Travis ComesLast was 20 years old, he was on the run from juvenile detention. He and a friend were looking for ways to get some cash so they could skip town. But during what he describes as a drug deal gone bad, ComesLast shot and killed a man.

Over 100 people participated in a hunger strike last week at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, known colloquially as the Northwest Detention Center.The strike ended on Feb. 5 after four days according to detention abolitionist group La Resistencia.

Umatilla County is home to two large state prisons, which hold more than 3,500 inmates between them. The petitions are a last resort for inmates who need things like medical equipment and procedures that have been denied.

As flames consume parts of California, an unexpected group of firefighters has put their lives at risk to protect communities: prison inmates. For $2 per day — and another $1 an hour when battling fires — qualified inmates can volunteer to help authorities combat fires.