[UPDATE BELOW] The state Department of Correctional Services has recently changed its regulations to allow conjugal visits for homosexual inmates who have entered into a same-sex marriage or a civil union. The regulation is a formalization of a policy initiated in 2008 by Governor Paterson, which required New York State agencies to recognize same-sex marriages and civil unions performed out of state. Peter Cutler, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, told the Daily News, "If they seek a furlough based on the partner, it's likely it would be granted." Please save all "drop the soap" jokes for the end of the post. more ›

The Daily News takes a look at Mark David Chapman's time behind bars at New York's Attica Correctional Facility; the man who killed John Lennon is up for parole for a fifth time this week. In 2000, Yoko Ono wrote a letter to the parole board, referring to Chapman only as "the subject" and asking that he not be released because "With his one act of violence in those few seconds, [he] managed to change my whole life, devastate his sons, and bring deep sorrow and fear to the world." She recently reiterated those sentiments, and fears that his release would leave her family unsafe--the board has also received around 50 letters from Lennon fans this time around. more ›