The former executive director of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, which investigates complaints of discrimination, says she herself was fired after less than a month on the job as the result of discrimination.
Crime & Courts
Alaska Corrections reports 16th death of 2022, surpassing previous decade-high number of in-custody deaths
Acting Corrections Commissioner Winkelman said at the press conference the deaths are “not unusual.”
In the U.S., some 4.6 million people are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction
An estimated 2% of the U.S. voting age population is ineligible to cast a ballot due to a felony conviction. State-level felon disenfranchisement rates vary dramatically.
Alaska is one of 26 states that picks judges through a council. Here’s why some voters want a change
When the framers of Alaska’s constitution were debating how the state should pick its judges, the goal was to remove politics from the process as much as possible.
Advocates still hopeful about legislation to give youth sentenced as adults an earlier chance at parole
The bill wouldn’t guarantee parole for those people, but it would give them a chance in front of the Alaska Parole Board.
Administration says Corrections deaths not ‘unusual,’ ACLU says it’s deflecting responsibility
None of the 15 people to die in Alaska Department of Corrections custody in 2022 so far “died as a result of others,” according to Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Acting Corrections Commissioner Jen Winkelman also said the deaths were not “unusual.”
A brother seeks answers over Alaska deaths in custody
“I want to know what their procedures are and how they intend on fixing them, so this doesn’t keep happening,” Mike Cox says.
Families, activists question why so many people in Alaska’s jails and prisons have died this year
Normally at this time of year, Nora Brown said her daughter would have finished picking berries for the season and had her silver salmon smoked and put away.
As people die in Alaska prisons, reform advocates are calling for independent investigation
With the death of William Hensely III on Sunday, Corrections matches the highest number of in-custody deaths the department has seen in the past decade. In 2015, 15 people died in Corrections custody.
Two more people die after a short time in Alaska Corrections custody
The number of in-custody deaths so far this year had already surpassed the nine in-custody deaths that took place last year.