Latest from Prisons

Audrey Young: A complex picture behind prison bars

COMMENT: John Key this week recalled the shock he felt when Simon Power privately told him he would be retiring from politics.

Assaults on prison guards shoot up

Assaults on prison guards by inmates have increased by more than 100 in the last year.

Homeless man asks to be sent to prison

A 22-year-old man with an "extreme" meth problem has surprised a judge with his request to be sent to prison.

Dame Tariana slams prison plans

Dame Tariana Turia has accused the Government of spending more money on locking people up than on combating poverty. The former Maori

Three staff assaulted by prisoners

Three members of staff at the Paremoremo Prison required medical treatment after being assaulted by a group of prisoners.

Inmate meth drug ring leader jailed for 13 years

The leader of a methamphetamine importation ring - run from his prison cell - has been jailed.

Twenty-five inmates dead after Brazil prison riot

A prison riot in northern Brazil has reportedly left 25 inmates dead, seven of them decapitated and six burned to death.

Doco explores meditation in Mexico jails

Meditation has helped prisoners in one of Mexico's most notorious jails change their lives. Michael Donaldson talks to a pair of unlikely Kiwi monks.

Inmates sentenced over fatal bashing

Three inmates have been sentenced over the fatal bashing of fellow prisoner Benton Parata.

Shocking tales from world's worst prison

Beatings, inhumane conditions and inmates forced to rape each other. This is what goes on in Saydnaya Military Prison.

Errors lead to 15 let out of jail early

The most serious offending by inmates released in error was a man facing an aggravated robbery charge and incarcerated at Auckland South.

Shakespeare Behind bars

Ngawha Prison is a strange place for a flourishing arts scene where the Bard is making his mark.

Serco investigation 'fair': High Court

An investigation into allegations of 'fight clubs' at Mt Eden Corrections Facility was fair and the resulting report without error, a High Court judge has found.

Prison where inmates take turns to sleep

Eye-opening images reveal the daily life of 3,800 inmates serving time behind the crowded walls of a notorious prison built for just 800.

Men tried to smuggle drugs into prison

Four men have been charged for attempting to smuggle drug-filled packages into a Hawke's Bay prison.

'Why should I keep them and feed them?'

The Turkish president said that he would reinstate the death penalty to deal with those who took park in the coup attempt