by David M. Reutter
As the mentally ill become more prevalent within the nation’s prison population, guards and prison administrators face a dilemma when confronted with such a prisoner who is not conforming to prison rules. While it said it was “a hard case,” a Florida federal district court nonetheless ...
by David M. Reutter
Finding that no legitimate penological interest existed to support a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) policy that requires a PDOC-issued control number on correspondence for it to qualify as legal mail, a U.S. District Court issued an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the policy. However, that ruling ...
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Supreme Court has retreated from a mandatory procedural practice for resolving government officials’ qualified immunity claims, leaving it to the discretion of lower courts as to which prong of the test to apply as required by the facts of the case.
At issue was ...
by David M. Reutter
The level of violence in Arizona prisons is increasing – at least that is the conclusion to be drawn from recent reports. In 2008 alone there were four homicides in the state’s prison system, and with 12 death investigations still pending that number could rise. Arizona ...
by David M. Reutter
Florida’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) has issued a report that finds that oversight of the state’s private prisons has strengthened under the Department of Management Services (DMS) but significant weakness still abounds.
The Florida Legislature authorized private prisons in 1989. When ...
by David M. Reutter
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has charged 15 former prison guards with assaulting prisoners. The charges come nearly a year after the guards were fired from the North Branch Correctional Institution and Roxbury Correctional Institution; another eight guards were not charged due to lack of evidence. ...
by David M. Reutter
Hispanics are comprising a higher percentage of federal sentences, concludes a February 2009 report issued by the Pew Hispanic Center. The rise is attributed to a heightened focus on immigration enforcement. The findings of the report are based on data collected by the United States Sentencing ...
by David M. Reutter
Citing the benefits of college prison programs, a report by the Correctional Association of New York recommended several policy changes to increase and recognize participation in degree-awarding programs. The report says the principal benefits of college programs in prison are: reduced recidivism because of the enhanced ...
by David M. Reutter
A report by Utah’s legislative Auditor General into the performance of the Drug Offender Reform Act (DORA) says that more time is needed to evaluate the program, and it makes several recommendations to assist in future evaluations.
DORA began as a three-year pilot program to identify ...
by David M. Reutter
A former Massachusetts prisoner has received $100,000 to settle a claim of wrongful and illegal confinement. PLN previously reported on this incident, which stems from the failure of the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MDOC) and Parole Board to implement a court ruling that required time served ...
