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Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy
by Harold Hempstead
On April 20, 2022, the federal court for the Middle District of Tennessee issued a highly unusal order enjoining the Davidson County medical examiner from performing an autopsy or collecting bodily fluids from a prisoner following his execution by lethal injection.
Oscar Franklin Smith filed his complaint ...
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More from this issue:
- New York Finding Closed Prisons a Tough Sell, by Chuck Sharman
- Ninth Circuit Says Arizona DOC Policy Cannot Be Used to Censor Prisoner’s Free Expression, by David Reutter
- “Night of Terror” in Indiana Jail Sees Detainees Assaulted by Fellow Prisoners Who Purchased Cell Keys From Guard, by Kevin Bliss
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Prisoner Abused with Overtight Handcuffs Need Only Show Deliberate Indifference, Not Malicious Intent, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Shows COVID-19 Drove Prison Death Rates 50% Higher, by Keith Sanders
- Wellpath Subsidiary Out of Australian Women’s Prison After Indigenous Prisoner’s Death, by Keith Sanders
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Releases Latest First Step Act Data, by Casey Bastian
- “Abdication of Responsibility”: Heads Roll in Tennessee DOC Over Botched Execution Protocols, by Kevin Bliss
- Federal Courts Throw Out Smart Communications’ Mail-Scanning Patent, by Robert Schaeffer
- $775,000 Paid for Mentally Ill California Jail Detainee Who Compulsively Drank Water Until He Died, by Casey Bastian
- Dying for Being Deadbeat Dad in Missouri Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Reveals Extent of Federal Pretrial Detention Crisis, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Requires Source-of-Funds Finding Before Allowing BOP to Raid Account of Federal Prisoner in Missouri, by David Reutter
- Arizona Prison Forcibly Induced Labor for Pregnant Prisoners, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, by Jayson Hawkins
- $17.675 Million Paid for New Yorker’s Wrongful Conviction, by Jacob Barrett
- Sixth Circuit: “Minimal Findings Necessary” Before Garnishing Funds From Federal Prisoner in Ohio, by Casey Bastian
- Prisoner Health Update: Tuberculosis, by Eike Blohm, MD
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, by Edward Lyon
- Four Escape Troubled Mississippi Jail After Fifth Circuit Postpones Federal Receivership, by Keith Sanders
- No Charges for Georgia Guards Who Allegedly Abetted Attack That Left Prisoner Dead, by Keith Sanders
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, by Harold Hempstead
- 70 Months for Former Warden of BOP ‘Rape Club’ in California, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint, by David Reutter
- Illinois Makes Abortion Care Free for State Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $42,500 Awarded to Illinois Prisoner for Denial of Physical Therapy by Wellpath Nurse, by Casey Bastian
- State Prison Systems Failing to Provide Meaningful Programming, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Greenlights Arkansas Execution Protocol, by Jacob Barrett
- Second Circuit Upholds Connecticut Prison Porn Ban, Sets Up Circuit Split Over “Vagueness” Test, by Jacob Barrett
- Louisiana Sheriff Coughs Up $2.75 Million After Falsely Claiming Detainee Died From Accidental Fall, by Jacob Barrett
- Nevada Pays Over $568,000 for Denying Prisoner Cataract Surgery, Ends “One Good Eye” Policy, by Jacob Barrett
- Four Michigan Jail Guards Guilty in Detainee Death, Family Paid $2.4 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Mississippi Sheriff Indicted for Bribery After Allegedly Allowing Detainee Rape at County Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- $3,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Public Records, by David Reutter
- BOP Hits Back Hard After Federal Prisoner in Arizona Brandishes Gun, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Prisoner Counselors STORMING California Prisons to Aid in Addiction Recovery, by Kevin Bliss
- It’s Official: BOP Prisoners on Expanded COVID-19 Home Confinement Staying Put, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fifth South Carolina Prisoner Sentenced in “Sextortion” Scams Targeting Military Members, by Chuck Sharman
- Imprisoned Former Head of New York City Jails Guards’ Union Granted Release, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Chronic Punishment: The Unmet Health Needs of People in State Prisons, by Leah Wang
- Prisoners Caught in Ukraine War Crossfire, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Over $3.5 Million Paid to Incontinent Colorado Prisoner Offered Diapers Instead of Dining Priority Pass, by David Reutter
- Sing Sing Prisoners File Suit Against New York State Alleging Vicious Beating by Guards, by Keith Sanders
- Eighth Circuit Lets Public Defender Withdraw from BOP Prisoner’s “Frivolous” Appeal, by Matthew Clarke
- No More Naps for Massachusetts Guards, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Michigan Supreme Court Justice Caves to Criticism, Accepts Resignation of Formerly Incarcerated Clerk, by Kevin Bliss
- Massachusetts Settles One of Three Suits Alleging Retaliation by Prison Guards for Assault on One of Their Own, by Harold Hempstead
- “All Signals Blinking Red” at Federal Prison in West Virginia After DOJ Releases Report on Killing of Mobster “Whitey” Bulger, by Casey Bastian, Benjamin Tschirhart
- Eleventh Circuit Won’t Force Condemned Alabama Prisoner to Die by Method He Didn’t Choose, by David Reutter
- Corizon Bankruptcy Threatens $6.4 Million Award to Family of Michigan Prisoner Whose Five-Day Jail Term Turned Into Death Sentence, by Jacob Barrett
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania Gets Sentence Reduction After Guard Rapes Her, by Casey Bastian
- Hawaii Guard One of Four Convicted in Smuggling Scheme at Honolulu Prison, by Chuck Sharman
More from Harold Hempstead:
- Florida Returning Canteen Funds for Prisoner Programming, July 15, 2023
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, June 15, 2023
- Massachusetts Settles One of Three Suits Alleging Retaliation by Prison Guards for Assault on One of Their Own, June 1, 2023
- Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention, May 15, 2023
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, May 1, 2023
- Sixth Circuit Won’t Hold Michigan County Liable After Mentally Ill Prisoner Impregnates Another, April 19, 2023
- Georgia Supreme Court: Trial Courts Are Bound to Follow Precedent of Court of Appeals, April 15, 2023
- Former CoreCivic Guard Pleads Guilty to Deprivation of Tennessee Prisoner’s Rights, April 1, 2023
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Probationer’s Due Process Right to Present a Defense Violated Where Denied Opportunity to Call Complainant Who Alleged Sexual Assault as a Witness During Probation Revocation Hearing, March 15, 2023
- Maryland Court of Appeals: ‘No Objection’ to Introduction of Evidence at Trial That Was the Subject of Denied Motion to Suppress Does Not Waive Right to Appellate Review of Denial, March 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Sleep Deprivation Claim—Again, Feb. 15, 2025. Medical Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Lighting, Noise, Sleeping on Floor.
- New York Governor Orders Firing of 13 Guards, Nurse in Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Deliberate Indifference.
- The Crisis in Prison Healthcare: Understanding Your Rights and Fighting for Change, Dec. 15, 2024. Medical Misconduct.
- Intellectually Disabled Georgia Prisoner Executed After SCOTUS Denies Appeal, Aug. 15, 2024. Disabled Prisoners, Death Penalty, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction.
- Condemned Alabama Prisoner Challenges Execution by Nitrogen Hypoxia, Aug. 15, 2024. Death Penalty, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Idaho Stopped From Repeatedly Scheduling Executions That It Cannot Carry Out, July 1, 2024. Injunctions, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Punishment, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Two Prisoners Removed from Texas Death Row Due to Intellectual Disability, July 1, 2024. Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Medical Examiners’ Biased Manner of Death Determinations Sending Innocent People to Prison and Exonerating Bad Cops, June 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Forensic Sciences, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Executions Rise in 2023, Number on Death Row Falls, June 1, 2024. Criminal Prosecution, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Death Row.
- Tuberculosis Outbreak Exposed Weak Washington DOC Response, June 1, 2024. Medical Misconduct, Tuberculosis.