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The decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds an earlier decision that attempts to fix what critics called a “procedural vortex” that unfairly kept people in prison with confusing documents, unfair hearings and petty interpretations of violations.
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The policy comes more than a year after the Missouri Department of Corrections banned people from receiving paper mail in prison.
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Extended time behind bars can make it difficult to keep up in the fast-paced digital age. A University of Kansas program received a $1.6 million grant to teach women who have been imprisoned computer skills to prepare them for the workforce and to help reduce recidivism.
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People in jail or prison can't keep up with technology. A program for inmates in Kansas and Missouri will help them learn job skills.
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The Prison Policy Initiative put Missouri and Kansas on a list of “famously hot states” that lack universal air conditioning in prisons. During excessively hot summer days, inmates say that it can feel like a "pizza oven" inside — and the state isn't doing enough to fix the issue.
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Gov. Mike Parson is expected to sign a bill that could expand the eligibility and payout for Missourians who have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated, as long as they waive their right to sue the state. Experts say the bill is an improvement, but still wouldn't help very many people.
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A bill proposed by Missouri state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) would increase and widen the state's compensation for exonerees under the condition they not file a lawsuit. But Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director for the Midwest Innocence Project, said the bill still won't fix many of the state's problems.
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The Lansing prison is reducing the number of visitation hours each week. It says that will allow more families to visit because the demand for visitation is so high.
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Tommy Williams shot and killed a man in 1990. He has now served 32 years of three life sentences, with no chance of parole. In a long conversation at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri, he talked about his life on the streets, what he sees in the young men who come to prison and his regrets.
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Opponents of the death penalty want Missouri to abolish the practice. They say it's not a deterrent — the system is flawed and it gives too much power to the government.
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A Lansing prison riot in 2020 made national headlines. Another riot in 2022 injured corrections officers. No inmates have been charged in either incident.
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Attorney Lindsay Runnels of the Kansas City-based law firm Morgan Pilate has represented Lamar Johnson since 2015. Johnson was freed this week after serving 28 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.