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Articles by David Reutter

Ohio Parole Authority Ordered to Grant Hearings that Provide Meaningful Parole Consideration

by David M. Reutter

The Court of Common Pleas in Franklin County, Ohio has entered summary judgment finding the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (APA) denies “meaningful parole consideration when they assign an inmate to a proper guidelines category, but the lowest possible range in the guidelines chart is beyond the ...

Audit Report Finds Michigan Prisoner Transportation System Wasteful

by David M. Reutter

Michigan’s Auditor General has issued a report that criticizes the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) prison transport system as inefficient and wasteful of taxpayer money. The report notes that MDOC has failed to implement recommendations made in a 1996 report.

To transport its prisoners, the MDOC ...

Colorado Florists Decry Prison Retail Flower Business

by David M. Reutter

Florists in Colorado are crying out against a prison program that is competing against them, undercutting their prices due to the help of prisoner slave labor. What started as a prison program to keep prisoners busy has now turned into a business that florists in Canon ...

Federal Prison Guards’ Convictions Affirmed in Sex Scandal

by David M. Reutter

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of two guards convicted in a sex-for-contraband scheme at the Women’s Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee, Florida. PLN previously reported the arrests and indictments in this case. [See: PLN, Aug. 2007, p.38; Oct. 2006, p.12].

Before ...

New Mexico Abolishes Death Penalty; Similar Efforts Fail in Other States

by David M. Reutter

“Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime,” said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, ...

$4.6 Million Settlements in Death of Quadriplegic D.C. Prisoner

by David M. Reutter

When 27-year-old Jonathan Magbie entered the District of Columbia Jail to serve a 10-day sentence, he was a quadriplegic confined to a mouth-operated wheelchair. Four days later he was dead.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin sentenced Magbie to jail after he pleaded guilty to ...

Miami’s Sex Offender Bridge Encampment Continues to Grow

by David M. Reutter

Population: 52. That’s how many sex offenders have been forced to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami, Florida as of March 2009. In late 2007, the population was only 19. [See: PLN, June 2008, p.1].

With city and county laws creating restricted residency zones, ...

No Qualified Immunity for Pepper Spraying Alabama Prisoner; Case Settles After Remand

by David M. Reutter

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that pepper spraying a prisoner, keeping him in a small cell for longer than necessary to gain his compliance, and not allowing him to decontaminate properly or receive medical care after being sprayed can constitute excessive force and deliberate ...

Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials

Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials

by David M. Reutter

A pro se Virginia prisoner has entered into a settlement agreement with prison officials that provides him a $2,250 cash payment and a change in policies surrounding the provision to allow prisoners to ...

Lawsuits Challenge Prohibition on Prisoner Pen-Pal Services in Indiana, Florida

Lawsuits Challenge Prohibition on Prisoner Pen-Pal Services in Indiana, Florida

by David M. Reutter

To the extent that an Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) policy “denies prisoners the right to advertise for pen-pals and receive material so they can advertise for pen-pals, the [policy] violates the First Amendment to the ...