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Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Alaska inmate found dead in Weld County prison - The Denver Post

Alaska inmate found dead in Weld County prison - The Denver Post

Authorities from a number of agencies are investigating the death of an inmate from Alaska who was found unresponsive in his cell at Hudson Correctional Facility in Weld County Sunday morning.

Wesley Shandy, 44, of Ninilchik was serving a 19-year sentence for manslaughter in the death of his fiancee, felony drunken driving and witness tampering.

Hudson Correctional houses a number of Alaskan prisoners at the 1,250-bed medium security private prison operated by GEO Group of Boca Raton, Fla.

The company released a statement this afternoon.

"The Hudson Correctional Facility is cooperating fully with the Alaska Department of Corrections, the Colorado Department of Corrections and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation," according to the statement.

A company spokesman citing the investigation said by e-mail he could not comment further.

Shandy's fiance, Roxanne Herndon, was killed in November 2005 — the day they announced their engagement — when he drove a four-wheeler with her aboard into the Ninilchik River. She fell off and drowned, according to the Homer News.

Prosecutors said Shandy urged witnesses to say Herndon was driving the four-wheeler.

Shandy's previous criminal record included the 1989 beating and suffocation death of a drug dealer in Redmond, Wash., according to the Anchorage Daily News.

He also had been convicted of domestic-violence assault, shoplifting, two other DUIs and, at the time of his last arrest, was on parole for unemployment benefits fraud.

"Just fate, just bad luck, just an accident — it's not that," Superior Court Judge Donald Hopwood of Homer said at Shandy's sentencing in January 2009, according to the Homer News.

Hopwood told Shandy another conviction after his release could mean a life sentence.

"You don't have to live a life in the criminal justice system," Hopwood said. "I just hope that you make decisions in the future that are more thoughtful."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

if he killed a drug dealer he should have gotten a medal for ridding society of a slime ball. I think its time to reign in the sick thinking prosecutors who are using there positions of power to further there carreers.djw

Celia Harrison said...

Geo, Colorado DOC, Alaska DOC, are all keeping the details on this case hush, hush. I would like to know the circumstances surrounding this death. Also, considering the history of the GEO Corp.(Wachenhut, Cornell, etc.), both of these DOCs and the desire to squelch abuse issues in both states, and the desire in the area local to Hudson Correctional facility to squelch abuses at the prison due to it being used to prop up their economy I would call for an independent autopsy. This inmate could have easily had health problems from his lifestyle, but should not have had medical attention denied. Did he get psychotropics that were mismanaged, did he get illegal drugs in the prison, did he have some kind of untreated pathology like renal failure, or diabetes? Was he in isolation? Did he save up meds and commit suicide? I am alarmed by the silence.

Anonymous said...

It has been a month and still no answers. could it be that they want no one to know what really happened. body was cremated so too late for second autopsy.how do you die under 24 hr surveilance? it would be nice to have one on one conversation with the guards on duty that night. some thing is just not right. WTF is up?