Idaho Prison Blog

Idaho Code, Title 19 Chapter 55 (The Idaho DNA Database Act of 1996), requires that prisoners convicted of a felony must provide DNA samples and thumbprints, even if physical force is required to obtain those samples (Idaho Code §19-5511(5)). These samples are then submitted to the Idaho State Police Forensic Services and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's CODIS (or Combined DNA Index System), a database that allows the storage and exchange of DNA records submitted by state and local forensic laboratories. Idaho's Database Act is very specific - according to I.C. §19-5501, the purpose of the act is to assist federal, state and local criminal justice and law enforcement agencies within and outside the state in the detection and prosecution of individuals responsible for felony crimes, as well as in the exclusion of suspects who are being investigated for such crimes. So what happens to the accuracy and reliability of these database(s) when the samples submitte...

In a November, 2023 article posted on this site (ANOTHER STATE PRISON SYSTEM MAKES ALL INMATE CALLS FREE) I discussed how some states across the country are fighting back on the exorbitant fees charged by companies to allow prisoners to keep in contact with families and friends on the outside. Since then, the state of Massachusetts has added their name to the list of jurisdictions to mandate free calls from prisoners - but they've taken it two steps further - they are also making emails, video calls and messaging free, and prohibiting prisons and jails from taking kickbacks from telelcom companies. In another insightful and informative article published March 24, 2024 in the Idaho Statesman on the issue of unconscionable telephone rates for prisoners in Idaho prisons and jails [FN1], Opinion Editor Scott McIntosh illustrated an example of the real life problems created by the RICO-like conspiracies of jail and prison administrators in contracts with vendors providing...

Jails themselves are a microcosm of society at its worst, but dangers lie not only with other inmates or guards, but sometimes with the facilities and services themselves. Food and water quality/contamination, basic hygiene and unsanitary conditions, laundry and ventilation are always a concern in jails and prisons, but there are sometimes other dangers that are literally built in to the facility, intentionally or not. For the past several years, United States diplomatic, military and national security personnel have complained they are being targeted by foreign powers (usually pointing their fingers at Russian operatives) using energy-based, electromagnetic weapons at duty stations around the world. Suffering from what has come to be known as 'Havana Syndrome', these personnel describe having physiological and psychological effects of high intensity, short duration electromagnetic energy exposure. Lesser known are the intentional long-term, low[er] intensity elec...