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Public hearing spotlights alleged extortion, beatings and poor conditions as Senate Judiciary considers SB 316
Summary
A packed Senate Judiciary public hearing on SB 316 featured family members, a former corrections officer and advocates who described extortion, drug trafficking and physical abuse inside state prisons and urged independent oversight; the sponsor said the bill would create a corrections oversight board and expand investigative authority.
Senate Judiciary held a public hearing on SB 316, a bill designed to expand prison oversight and investigative authority, after witnesses testified about alleged extortion, smuggling and physical abuse inside state correctional facilities.
Senator Stuts, the bill sponsor, told the committee SB 316 would increase the responsibilities of the prison oversight coordinator, give that coordinator access to facilities at any time, create a corrections oversight board, place investigative authority with the state bureau of investigations and provide a special prosecutor in counties with major Department of Corrections facilities. "It increases the responsibility of the position of prison oversight coordinator," he said, summarizing the bill’s core provisions.
The public record at the hearing included several…
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