Josh Vaughn

ICYMI: this is BIG

Dauphin County picks new prison healthcare company, forfeits $400K for human services building County commissioners in a 2-1 vote Wednesday chose correctional healthcare company Mediko to take over after PrimeCare held the contract uncontested for 40 years.

PrimeCare is out at Dauphin County Prison as the county selects Mediko as its new provider during the first competitive process for the contract in nearly 40 years.

www.pennlive.com/news/2025/07...

Got to find a good place to hang this bad boy.

Incredibly humbled and honored to be named Human Rights Champion of the Year by the Pa Prison Society

Infographic showing that most of the 35 births in jails that were documented by news over 10 years took place inside a jail cell.

Among the 35 jail births identified in the news over 10 years, at least two-thirds of them occurred inside jail cells.

Those are horrifying conditions for anyone – let alone someone who is in labor.

www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/07...

Couple years old but can double confirm.

Death County, PA Podcast Episode · Crime Writers On...True Crime Review · 06/26/2025 · 44m

A massive thank you to @crimewriterson.com for reviewing Death County, Pa.
The praise is quite humbling and the critiques are well received and appreciated.
Thank you!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Ha! But are you livin’ on a prayer?

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New bench press PR - 3 sets of 330 lbs for 4 reps

Broke through a long time plateau so now trying to get to 350 this year.

Indiana Jones and “do I really have to fight Nazis….again!?!?!?!?”

Death County, PA True Crime Podcast · Weekly Series · Lamont Jones leaves Dauphin County Prison for the last time, a free man ready to move on with his life. But when his young cousin dies in that same jail, he learns...

I mean, it’s a wee bit grim but has some humor and hope.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

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4 fans now installed in my garage gym and it’s still ridiculously hot.
But I hit a new bench press PR of 320 lbs for 4 reps (2 sets)

92% were in Biden counties, most in the blue-heavy cities of swing states.

43 of the 66—two-thirds—were Philly and Atlanta: blue cities in swing states that swung.

And we barely talk about it, if ever.

Short Attention Span Theater is great for stand-up, terrible for politics.

Let it be known I work with the absolute best team.
@julietterihl.bsky.social and I are taking home the John VR Bull First Amendment Award from the Pa Newsmedia Association for our coverage of corruption and shenanigans at the top levels of Dauphin County.

a cat is giving a thumbs up and saying thank you . ALT: a cat is giving a thumbs up and saying thank you .

Also, a huge thank you to @julietterihl.bsky.social and Tirzah for jumping on this while I’m out of town

In recommending healthcare provider, Dauphin County Prison board ignores consultant rankings The board suggested the county hire one of two providers despite questions about misconduct and ethics.

The Dauphin County Prison Board recommended the county choose between PrimeCare & Wellpath for the jail’s healthcare
There is a wild disconnect with board members trusting an audit that found P was ok at DCP but recommending two of the lowest ranked bidders

www.pennlive.com/news/2025/06...

Awesome! I’ll be in a white shirt and a tan ballcap that says “Wondery”
Say hi if you see me :-)

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Alright, who’s at #ire25?

BREAKING: The Supreme Court ruled that incarcerated people have a right for their claims to be heard by a jury in cases where access to the prison’s grievance procedure is at issue.

This is a step toward making justice more accessible for people in prison.

‘I feel like I let him down’: Inmates tried to stop suicide in Dauphin County jail PrimeCare staff ignored a medical slip warning Christopher Phy was planning to attempt suicide. He died before workers looked at it.

As Dauphin County prepares to decide if they will continue with PrimeCare as their medical provider at DCP, a reminder that PrimeCare failed to respond to a note warning of an imminent suicide and someone died.

Without whistleblowers this would be hidden

www.pennlive.com/news/2025/06...

That’s fair. I’m notoriously bad at gauging crowd sizes. I once wrote that “more than 50 people” were at an event when the number was like 300.
Today was a lot of people.

Word from organizers is 4,500 people in attendance

No official total but easily more than 1,000 people at the No Kings event in Harrisburg.
It took more than 30 minutes to get everyone across the walking bridge.

Thank you!

Death County, PA Lamont Jones leaves Dauphin County Prison for the last time, a free man ready to move on with his life. But when his young cousin dies in that same jail, he learns that his is not the only mysterious ...

Took me a minute to finally listen to it, but glad I did. @joshuapvaughn.bsky.social does some deep reporting in a place that might not draw attention, but DCP has it all: corruption, dehumanization, systemic racism.

Good news is change is happening.

wondery.com/shows/death-...

Death County, PA True Crime Podcast · Weekly Series · Lamont Jones leaves Dauphin County Prison for the last time, a free man ready to move on with his life. But when his young cousin dies in that same jail, he learns...

The whole series is now available on all podcast streaming platforms.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

YouTube video by Don Lemon LEMON DROP | Why Are U.S. Prisoners Dying?

Huge thank you to @donlemonofficial.bsky.social for having us on to talk about Death County, Pa
@pennlive.com @wonderymedia.bsky.social

youtu.be/w8vMDWfao2c

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Raise your hand if you’re going to IRE in June.