criminal justice

The racial disparities in Iowa's state prisons continue to rank among the highest in the country. According to The Sentencing Project, the state’s Black to white prison ratio has decreased somewhat in recent years, but it’s still among the 10 worst in the nation.

Iowa's state medical examiner has confirmed that the human remains found in a farm field outside of Montezuma last month are that of 10-year-old Xavior Harrelson, who disappeared in May, just days before his 11th birthday. The cause of death has not yet been released but law enforcement officers continue to investigate the boy's death as suspicious.

Cedar Rapids police have arrested a 17-year-old boy for allegedly killing both of his parents. According to a criminal complaint, the teen told officers he killed his parents with a knife and an ax in order to “take charge of his life."

The second inmate convicted of killing two staff members at the Anamosa State Penitentiary will spend the rest of his life in prison. At a hearing at the Jones County Courthouse on Wednesday, Michael Dutcher pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole.

The second inmate accused of killing two staffers at the Anamosa State Penitentiary is expected to plead guilty this week. Michael Dutcher had been slated to have a bench trial next week, but court filings show he now intends to plead guilty.

The Iowa Department of Corrections has pressed pause on a new policy that required legal mail sent to inmates to first be photocopied. The policy was enacted due to concerns that the original documents could be infused with drugs, and the paper then smoked or ingested.

The Iowa Department of Corrections is now requiring all legal mail sent to inmates to first be photocopied, due to concerns the original documents could be infused with drugs. Some attorneys and advocates fear the policy may violate inmates’ constitutional right to legal counsel.

A judge ruled Thursday that inmate Thomas Woodard will spend the rest of his life in prison for the brutal killings of nurse Lorena Schulte and correctional officer Robert McFarland. Woodard was sentenced to two life terms, served consecutively, for the murders of the prison staffers at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

An audit of the Buchanan County Jail has found officers there were improperly holding some inmates longer than they were sentenced and releasing others before they had finished their time. The audit found more than 100 instances where inmates were released a day or two early without proper authorization and 40 instances where inmates were held too long.

One of the men charged with killing two staffers at the Anamosa State Penitentiary in March pleaded guilty Friday. Inmate Thomas Woodard pleaded to two counts of first degree murder and one count each of second degree kidnapping and attempted murder.