Mississippi

STATE FARM, Va. — The Powhatan Correctional Center in State Farm will become the first major prison in the United States to install videophones to enable deaf inmates to communicate with family and friends. The move is part of a recent lawsuit settlement.

Deaf inmates sued the Virginia Department of Corrections last January, accusing it of discrimination. The group says videophones will allow them to reach out to family that they had not been able to communicate with for some time.

RICHMOND, Va. — Harold Clarke has been named as director the Virginia Department of Corrections. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appointed Clarke, who has served as a commissioner with Massachusetts’ corrections system since 2007.

Clarke will oversee a system with 32,000 inmates in 44 prisons and more than 11,500 employees. Clarke succeeds Virginia DOC director Gene Johnson.