by David M. Reutter
Prisons and jails in Massachusetts have a problem: Almost every correctional facility in the state is operating above its capacity. Budget cuts have compounded the overcrowding problem because there is no money for new construction or expansion, and longer prison and jail terms due to tougher ...
by David M. Reutter
The fact that prisoners have a constitutional right to adequate medical care under the Eighth Amendment has long been established. Since the U.S. Supreme Court made that pronouncement in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976), most lawsuits challenging deliberate indifference by guards and medical staff ...
by David M. Reutter
To settle a lawsuit filed by a juvenile prisoner, the Montana State Prison (MSP) has agreed to adopt or change policies that regulate the care and treatment provided to prisoners under the age of 18.
The plaintiff who filed the suit, Raistlen Katka, can only be ...
by David M. Reutter
On April 4, 2012, a Michigan federal district court imposed sanctions against Wayne County for committing fraud and misrepresentation upon the court and opposing counsel in a prisoner’s wrongful death suit.
The lawsuit was filed by the personal representative of John C. Fahner, who was murdered ...
by David M. Reutter
In reversing and remanding an Idaho federal district court's denial of a preliminary injunction, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals directed the lower court to enter an order requiring the State of Idaho to allow witnesses to observe a prisoner's execution "from the moment [he] enters ...
by David M. Reutter
Life in prison has alwayss been far different than life in the free world. An investigation by the Pittsburgh-Gazette into the wages of Pennsylvania prison employees revealed one of those differences – an Alice-in-Wonderland quality to the Department of Corrections' (DOC) pay scale.
Typically, an employee's ...
by David M. Reutter
On June 20, 2011, the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) filed a complaint with the Georgia Composite Medical Board against Dr. Carlo Musso, seeking the revocation or suspension of his medical license for illegally importing and distributing sodium thiopental, one of the three drugs used ...
by David M. Reutter
Several of the defendants in a “widespread scheme and subversion of the Luzerne County juvenile justice system” in Pennsylvania have agreed to a $17.75 million settlement to resolve a class-action federal lawsuit. The scheme involved the building of two private juvenile detention centers and payments to ...
Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Case Challenging Conditions in Illinois Jail
where Mentally Ill Prisoner Died
On March 20, 2012, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants in a case claiming inhumane conditions of confinement at a county jail; the ...
by David M. Reutter
An October 2010 report issued by Kentucky’s Auditor of Public Accounts concerning the $12 million food service contract between Aramark Correctional Services (Aramark) and the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC) found a lack of oversight, overpayments and a failure to provide the service required by the ...
