The North Carolina Division of Prisons has invested in a newly approved COVID-19 testing platform, eliminating the need for outside labs to test for the virus.
Over the past two weeks, eight prison medical facilities across the state have set up a MobileDetect-BIO molecular testing system, and their lab technicians have received training and certification. Each unit can perform multiple tests simultaneously and provide results in 30 minutes.
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Prisons leadership this week honored several employees – including North Carolina’s Warden of the Year - for their outstanding work, tireless dedication and extraordinary achievements in the past year.
“These men and women represent the best of our best from across the state,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “They are hard-working, innovative and deeply committed to their jobs, their colleagues and to the care of the men and women in our custody. They deserve recognition and accolades, particularly during this year of pandemic.”
“These men and women represent the best of our best from across the state,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “They are hard-working, innovative and deeply committed to their jobs, their colleagues and to the care of the men and women in our custody. They deserve recognition and accolades, particularly during this year of pandemic.”
Vaccines have been a game-changer. It’s been a year since the pandemic first hit our state prison system.
We’ve endured an awful year of heartbreak, surprises, adaptation, perseverance and the most logistically complicated mass-vaccination initiative since the polio vaccine was rolled out in the 1950s.
We’ve endured an awful year of heartbreak, surprises, adaptation, perseverance and the most logistically complicated mass-vaccination initiative since the polio vaccine was rolled out in the 1950s.
The ongoing pandemic temporarily halted in-person educational programs in every state prison due to restrictions placed on outside visitation by instructors, as well as community colleges stopping classes. But it did not stop the N.C. Field Minister Program from moving forward into its fourth year at Nash Correctional Institution.
Updated 3-3-2021: Requirements for the ELC program were recently ammended. Offenders with projected release dates in 2021 will be reviewed for possible participation in ELC. A review does not guarantee participation.
Navigating the uncharted waters of a modern-day pandemic has been difficult and challenging for everyone, particularly for people working and living in congregate housing settings. That’s one reason DPS is using existing provisions in state law to reduce the prison population to help reduce the spread of the virus.
Navigating the uncharted waters of a modern-day pandemic has been difficult and challenging for everyone, particularly for people working and living in congregate housing settings. That’s one reason DPS is using existing provisions in state law to reduce the prison population to help reduce the spread of the virus.
Jerlene Epley, one of hundreds of employees who worked at Western Youth Institution during its 41 years of operation, saw it built from the ground-up. On Saturday, June 11, she will see the “High Rise” fall back to the earth.
The 89-year-old Epley, one of the first female employees hired when the Morganton prison opened in 1972, will be on-site this weekend when the former 16-story facility is imploded to make room for a regional N.C. National Guard training center.
The 89-year-old Epley, one of the first female employees hired when the Morganton prison opened in 1972, will be on-site this weekend when the former 16-story facility is imploded to make room for a regional N.C. National Guard training center.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, offenders in North Carolina prisons who needed specialty visits to outside medical centers for treatment of physical ailments could spend an entire day traveling across the state to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, transported by correctional officers. That could provide security challenges depending on the facility’s vacancy rate. During this pandemic, transportation outside of a facility also brings the potential for COVID-19 infection.
Ground was broken on the imposing stone fortress known as Central Prison in Raleigh 150 years ago as convicts wielded shovels and chipped granite blocks from a nearby quarry to build its 30-foot walls.
It took 14 years to finish the job started on Jan. 6, 1870. Central Prison has been in continuous service since it opened in 1884. The project cost $1.25 million.
Much has changed since those simpler, harsher times.
It took 14 years to finish the job started on Jan. 6, 1870. Central Prison has been in continuous service since it opened in 1884. The project cost $1.25 million.
Much has changed since those simpler, harsher times.
Former warden Dennis Daniels looks back with a sense of pride and accomplishment on his nearly 40 years of service in the only fulltime work environment he ever knew.
Daniels, 61, who retired in November, said, “This is a tough job to walk away from, especially when this is what you’ve done every day of your working life. It’s in your bones. There’s something in those of us in corrections that want to get up and go to prison. I’ve been told ‘Maybe there’s something wrong with your head?’ But it’s all I’ve ever done.”
Daniels, 61, who retired in November, said, “This is a tough job to walk away from, especially when this is what you’ve done every day of your working life. It’s in your bones. There’s something in those of us in corrections that want to get up and go to prison. I’ve been told ‘Maybe there’s something wrong with your head?’ But it’s all I’ve ever done.”
Members of the Prisons’ Special Operations Response Team, along with a member from the Prisons’ Special Operations Target Interdiction Team (Snipers), placed third overall in the 2019 North Carolina Tactical Officer’s Association 26th annual SWAT Competition at the NC Justice Academy in Salemburg last month.