Tag: Prisoners

Taxpayers to Give Prisoners $130 Million Worth of College Aid

Michigan Star Staff

An expansion of federal student aid for the 2023-2024 academic year will cost taxpayers $130 million per year in grants to prisoners for higher education, according to The Associated Press.

The Biden administration’s expansion of the taxpayer-funded federal Pell Grant program, a program for low-income college students, will give 30,000 prisoners a total of $130 million in student financial aid for the upcoming academic year, according to the AP. The expansion is part of the Second Chance Pell Experiment from the Biden administration that is testing the benefits of providing Pell Grants to prisoners in order to reduce recidivism, according to a Department of Education (DOE) press release.

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Washington Lawmaker Introduces Proposal to Pay Prisoners Minimum Wage

The Center Square

A Washington legislator who served time behind bars contends it is time for the state to stop saving millions on the backs of inmates who are paid pennies for work in prison jobs.

“This is an evolution of slavery,” Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, told reporters. She is proposing that inmates be paid minimum wage when they work in the kitchen or produce furniture or other goods.

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Pandemic Triggered Massive Decline in US Prison Population: Report

Michigan Star Staff

More than 100,000 state and federal prisoners were released from custody between March and June as the coronavirus spread nationwide, according to analysis from a criminal justice organization.

The overall U.S. prison population declined by 8% over the course of those four months compared to the 2.2% decrease that occurred in the entirety of 2019, according to data compiled by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press. The decrease was mostly a result of prisons not accepting individuals from county jails to stop the virus from spreading and court closures, although some facilities did elect to release some prisoners early, The AP reported.

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