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Union Campaigns For Federal Prison Guard Safety After Death

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime & Justice News

"The stabbing death of a correctional officer at the

Atwater U.S. Penitentiary in California has started a

national campaign to overhaul failed safety policies

across the federal prison system, reports the Merced

(CA) Sun-Star. Yesterday, the American Federation of

Government Employees, which represents federal

corrections officers, ran a full-age ad in USA Today

featuring a letter from slain officer Jose Rivera's family

blaming overcrowding and inadequate protections

inside the penitentiary for his death.

Rivera, a 22-year-old Navy veteran who had worked at

the institution less than 11 months, died June 20 after

he was attacked by two inmates wielding handmade

shanks. The union wants more funding to increase

staffing in federal prisons and policy changes that

would make stab-resistant vests and nonlethal

weapons, such as batons and Tasers, standard

equipment for all officers. Rivera was alone with more

than 100 inmates when he was attacked -- a standard

inmate-to-officer ratio inside federal prison housing

units. The Bureau of Prisons has said it is

considering making stab-resistant vests available to

some correctional officers."

Merced (CA) Sun-Star - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001OezDVQDJ2aBQByteelbGGmSWiWv8bPsepMtBnaHWhhG0a6zpe_nDGuypS9VCR_jXiRO9-NMq0sfo2TPEhkmFASQeM4r3h7D_BLG82_fEddfOsImje48g22ajnCdDuzHxwIKyZuPyclnnKVjMdAKOog==

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on July 11, 2008 (boomark / email).