by David M. Reutter
Was Ohio’s attempt to sell off and privatize five of its state prisons in 2011 a race to the bottom? That’s the question raised and analyzed in a report titled Cells for Sale: Understanding Prison Costs & Savings, released by Policy Matters Ohio in April 2011. ...
by David M. Reutter
An Indiana federal district court certified a class and allowed claims to proceed that challenged unsafe conditions, lack of medical privacy and an alleged incentive scheme that rewarded staff for providing less medical care to prisoners at the Marion County Jail #2 (MCJ) in Indianapolis. Four ...
by David M. Reutter
In June 2011, the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) issued a report to the Mississippi legislature concerning the state’s prison canteen contract, the operation and oversight of that contract, and the disposition of its profits. The report provided 15 recommendations to ...
Illinois taxpayers have shelled out over $10 million to settle workers’ compensation claims filed by employees at the Menard Correctional Center (MCC), mainly related to repetitive trauma injuries. However, a study concluded that the job duties guards are required to perform are unlikely to cause such injuries, raising questions about ...
A class-action lawsuit that alleged conditions at Alabama’s Donaldson Correctional Facility (DCF) placed prisoners “at a substantial risk of injury due to violence, lack of security, understaffing, corruption, and severe overcrowding” has concluded with a settlement agreement designed to address deficiencies at the prison.
DCF opened in 1982 with a ...
by David M. Reutter
Members of the public typically have little concern over what happens in the jails and prisons in their communities. Taxpayers in Custer County, Oklahoma, however, are now very concerned following a $10 million settlement in a lawsuit involving female prisoners who were subjected to rampant sexual ...
As a cost-cutting measure, Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd has decided his jail will no longer provide underwear to prisoners. “There’s no state law, there’s no federal law that says we have to provide underwear in the county jail,” he said.
Judd has instituted several other changes to make ...
by David M. Reutter
An August 2011 performance report by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) found that a prison doctor failed to properly follow-up with his patients, and improperly discontinued medications and treatment without meeting with patients. The review that led to the report was spurred by ...
by David M. Reutter
An $880,000 settlement has been reached in the death of a prisoner at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in SeaTac, Washington. The lawsuit alleged that the prisoner died due to negligent medical care.
When Roxanne Brown, 62, flew into Seattle from Bangkok to give a lecture ...
by David M. Reutter
When Florida lawmakers used a backdoor approach to try to privatize almost 30 state detention facilities in 2011, they likely did not anticipate the outcome. By the time the political dust had settled, the union representing prison employees had successfully sued to stop the privatization plan, ...
