Government

Inmates who throw bodily fluids could get book thrown back

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By KAREN HOPPER USHER
Capital News Service
LANSING — Inmates who throw excrement and other bodily fluids at their jailers could be charged with a felony if legislation under consideration by the Senate passes. The proposal, sponsored by Sens. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, and  Margaret O’Brien, R-Portage, would turn “dressing out” (throwing excrement, urine, spit, semen or blood onto a corrections employee) into a felony punishable by up to four years in the slammer. The new bill is necessary because convictions are unlikely under a current assault law that could add 10 to-15 years to sentences, O’Brien said. The bill recently passed  the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Government

Tasers in prisons reduce injuries, inmate fights

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By JUSTINE McGUIRE
Capital News Service
LANSING – Officers and inmates benefit when tasers are in prisons, according to the Department of Corrections and the Michigan Corrections Organization. According to the department, employee injuries at the hands of inmates declined 17 percent between October 2011 and March 2012 compared to the previous year. There were 233 injuries compared to 281 the year before. Daniel Heyns, department director, said, “I knew it would work from my old days as a county sheriff. “I knew we could change some of those violent interactions in the institutions,” he said.