Former Los Angeles Police Department detective Stephanie Lazarus appeared emotionless in court this morning as she was handed down her sentence of 27 years to life in state prison for the shooting death of her ex-lover and his new wife in 1986. more ›

The man who tried to sneak 55 live turtles and tortoises packed in snack food boxes into the U.S. via Los Angeles International Airport last year will now get to pack himself into a federal prison cell. more ›

A West Hills couple has literally translated that elusive feeling of being trapped into your own home by turning their house into a prison. KTLA reports that Lou and Linda DeMarco's home renovations, such as they are, are being billed as a commentary on the current housing crisis. But since the couple is also trying to sell a movie about a couple that turns their home into a prison to make ends meet, it's also part of a PR stunt. more ›

Robert Charles Lee has a lot of time on his hands to think about the crimes for which he was convicted. Lee, 42, received a sentence today of 764 years and eight months in prison, according to the District Attorney's office. more ›

A parolee who broke into a Westminster home and hid naked under a child's bed has been sentenced to four years in prison following a guilty plea in response to charges of burglary and street terrorism. more ›

Cesar Lopez, a 24-year-old gang member, has been sentenced in Norwalk to 21 years in state prison for his role in the shooting death of a woman who interrupted him when he was spraying graffiti. more ›

While sitting in a bright and simple deli on Hollywood Boulevard watching various costumed characters from Grauman's Chinese Theatre wander by, LAist chatted with Leonard Manzella about his new play and his ideas about prison reform. more ›

ose Tulio Deras, 21, has been sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison for the 2011 beating death of his infant daughter and the rape of his wife, according to City News Service. Deras delivered the fatal beating to 9-month-old Valerie on January 15, 2011, because the baby girl would not stop crying. more ›

Cages is entertaining and well-rounded with a largely capable cast, engaging script, excellent staging, and insightful direction. The title is an eerie reference to so-called "therapeutic modules" used in prisons to contain inmates during group therapy sessions. more ›

Lenny Dykstra, the former Mets outfielder who has had financial and legal troubles for the past few years, was sentenced to three years in California state prison today. A Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge refused to allow him to withdraw his no-contest plea to grand theft auto and he was immediately taken into custody. more ›

Andre Torres, a transsexual currently living as a female, was sentenced today to 11 years to life in state prison for a knife attack against an attorney in 2010. Torres, who committed the crime while living as a man, was addressed as "Miss Torres" in court, notes City News Service. more ›

An elderly Los Angeles woman found guilty of fraudulently seeking insurance policies for two non-existent people and staging their fake funerals is now facing up to 20 years in prison for her crimes. more ›

Alex Da Silva, a local dancer, instructor, and choreographer whose resume includes a gig on the hit reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" will be tripping the light fantastic behind bars for the next 10 years. Da Silva, 43, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for aping one woman and assaulting another. more ›

Miguel Pinero's penetrating, taboo-breaching prison drama Short Eyes is currently at Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC). Co-produced by the Latino Theater Company and Urban Theatre Movement, this exciting production is dark, exhilarating, and utterly glorious. Pinero flaunts violence and poetry while navigating delicate moral, ethical, and social dilemmas contextualized by power dynamics and incarceration culture. more ›

It's the 14th time at bat for Charles "Tex" Watson, one of convicted killer Charles Manson's family members, as he goes before a parole board for a hearing today at Mule Creek State Prison. Watson, incarcerated for the crimes for 42 years now, has previously called himself Manson's "right-hand man." more ›

If you're looking to up the ante on the legitimate fear factor of your Halloween, try this on for size -- a jail in Norwalk is going to transport its inmates elsewhere this October 31, and deck the prison out as a haunted house. Deputy Frank Barragan told the Huffington Post that the Norwalk Sheriff's Station and the Lakewood Station will be filled with your typical Halloween characters: ghosts, goblins, witches and vampires. more ›

21-year-old Rachel Lee, considered one of the main players in the "Bling Ring" burglary crew has been sentenced to four years in prison for her role in a thieving venture into the home of reality star Audrina Patridge. more ›

Charges against deputies at LA County jails continue to pile up -- the LA Times reports today that an FBI investigation into the county's possibly corrupt system now includes allegations that prison employees beat up a visitor for no reason. Gabriel Carrillo says that when he went to visit his brother in the Men's Central Jail, deputies arrested him after discovering that he had a cell phone. He says that they handcuffed him, took him to a break room and beat him up. more ›

Gregory Powell, one of the two men responsible for the 1963 "Onion Field" kidnap and murder of Los Angeles Police Department Officer Ian Campbell has cancer, and is serving a life sentence. However, District Attorney Steve Cooley announced late today that the California Board of Parole Hearings has denied Powell a compassionate release from prison. more ›

Things are not looking good for the reputation of L.A. County's jails: a new report shows that at least 30 jail employees were disciplined for attacking inmates or covering up attacks in the past two years. The news comes on the heels of an FBI investigation into the prison system, and the revelation from a rookie jailer that he was forced to beat a mentally ill inmate. more ›

Justice takes time to prevail, and in Obie Anthony's case, it waited 17 years. At age 19 Anthony was convicted of fatally shooting a man outside of a South L.A. brothel. The 1995 trial found him guilty by the "trustful" words of a pimp and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On Tuesday night around 7:40pm, Anthony exited the Twin Towers jail after his wrongful conviction was overturned. more ›

Local inmates are doing Ghandi proud. The group of prisoners in an estimated 12 California facilities participating in a hunger strike has grown to nearly 12,000, reports L.A. Now, possibly the largest inmate hunger strike in recent U.S. history. The prisoners are protesting a number of regulations, most prominently those surrounding solitary confinement. more ›

The controversial case of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two American hikers who were sentenced to eight years in Iranian prison, is finally seeing its resolve. After more than two years of detainment, both men are slated to arrive stateside on Sunday, September 25. more ›

Before the Governator left office, he signed into law a statewide plan that could permit over 4,000 females inmates to finish their sentences in the comforts of their own homes. Obviously a controversial incentive, the Alternative Custody Program may or may not benefit the children. more ›

John Levin, 47, was found guilty last month of murdering his wife Michelle and microwaving his Pomeranian to death, and yesterday he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, plus parole for life after release, according to the Glendale News-Press. more ›

Michelle Nicole Stearns of San Juan Capistrano was sentenced yesterday to six years in state prison for her role in the death of a cyclist who died after she struck him while she was driving drunk. Stearns, 30, pleaded guilty in March to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the 2007 Dana Point collision that took the life of 32-year-old Jose Umberto Barranco-Patino. more ›

It was a nice try, but against the law, and today the actions of Michael Plank of Lomita have had their consequences set. Plank, 42, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for smuggling 15 lizards from Australia into the United States--so basically one month per lizard. more ›

The simple lesson in the case of Kenneth Lucas II of Los Angeles is don't post videos of your pot growing operation on YouTube. For many who make their moola off marijuana, growing is one part of their weed-focused set-up. Lucas, however, has just been sentenced to 13 years in prison because what this video ultimately unearthed was that his pot op was just his seed money for "an even bigger moneymaking scheme," according to CBS2. more ›

Doris Payne, the 80-year-old jewel thief charged with stealing a $16,000 ring from a Santa Monica store in October, pleaded no contest and has been sentenced to 16 months in prison, according to ABC Local. more ›

It is now a misdemeanor for any prison employee or visitor to smuggle a cell phone into prison, reports. ABC Local. Senators unanimously approved the bill SB26, similar to one that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed as too weak, on Thursday, reports the Sacramento Bee. The misdemeanor is punishable up to a $5,000 fine. more ›