It’s not unusual for Vermont’s Department of Corrections to be at the center of debate. The department manages six prisons across Vermont, with more than 1,000 incarcerated people in the system.
The department is perpetually facing challenges, which only increased during the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are perennial discussions over the ethics of sending people to out-of-state prisons, the conditions that incarcerated people face and what working conditions are like for the department’s employees.
Since January 2022, 16 incarcerated people have died — 12 at one prison, the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. That has focused even more attention on the Department of Corrections as well as the health care and conditions in Vermont’s prisons.
In this episode, host Sam Gale Rosen talks about some of these issues with reporter Ethan Weinstein. He covers southeastern Vermont for VTDigger, and much of his recent journalism has focused on the Department of Corrections.
The fate of the "country doctor"
The high court's hydro decision
When Vermonters struggle with social isolation
How the DMV sells your data
Beyond the zinger: Welch and impeachment
Sweeping opioid litigation lands in Vermont
A.I. is out there. Can the state catch up?
An Amish enclave in the Northeast Kingdom [10/26/18]
How the trade war with China is costing Vermont businesses
Peter Galbraith on the 'catastrophe' in Syria
Where migrating Vermonters are going — and why
BONUS: David Sanger talks cyber warfare and national security in Manchester
Vermont officials and the Trump impeachment inquiry
Why Bill McKibben keeps fighting after 30 years
With F-35 landing scheduled, protesters press on
What Opportunity Zones mean for Vermont communities
Pollution victims bring Bennington's PFOA crisis to court
What changes after the church abuse report
James Adomian on being Bernie
Telcos face state scrutiny after Huawei expose
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