by David M. Reutter
Prisoners have faced a “substantially elevated total mortality risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the elevated risk for COVID-19 infection found in previous studies,” concluded a study titled, “Assessing the Mortality Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Florida State Prisons,” by Neal Marcos Marquez ...
by David M. Reutter
New Mexico’s Lea County paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging guards at the Lea County Detention Center (LCDC) failed to protect a pretrial detainee.
John Cordova was housed at LCDC on April 29, 2017, on a probation violation. Guards Joe Portillo and Dillon Phipps observed ...
by David M. Reutter
For many years, the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility (WNMCF) has had a “horrific and widespread” rodent infestation that makes the prison “a dangerous place.” Those allegations form the basis for a lawsuit filed in federal court by two former WNMCF prisoners.
The lawsuit was filed ...
by David M. Reutter
A California federal district court held that CoreCivic, Inc., must pay attorney fees in a defamation lawsuit. The court held the calculation of fees in abeyance until the resolution of appeals related to the dismissal and whether it could award fees.
The court’s April 6, 2021 ...
by David M. Reutter
The State of Washington Office of Corrections Ombuds (OCO) found in a January 14, 2021 report that the Department of Corrections (DOC) delayed cancer diagnosis that resulted in some prisoner deaths. Several other prisoners are expected to die as a result of the delay in treatment. ...
by David M. Reutter
A federal lawsuit alleges that Nexus Services, Inc., “preys on consumers held in federal detention centers by offering to pay for consumers’ immigration bonds to secure their release.” In exchange, the company “demands large upfront fees hefty monthly payments while concealing or most misrepresenting the true ...
by David M. Reutter
In affirming an Illinois district court’s order denying a motion for compassionate release, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held there was no procedural error in the failure to consider the movant’s argument that his skin color “elevates his risk from COVID-19.”
The court’s February 23, ...
by David M. Reutter
Criminal justice reform advocates scored multiple wins in the closing weeks of the 2020 session of Ohio’s General Assembly. The new laws end the shackling of pregnant prisoners giving birth, allow people to do community service to pay driver license fines, make it easier for convicted ...
by David M. Reutter
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Connecticut federal district court’s order that found a state law was an unconstitutional bill of attainder because it was intended to impose punishment upon prisoners on death row. It also affirmed the finding that the plaintiff was denied ...
by David M. Reutter
For the last two decades, theFlorida Department of Corrections (FDC) has faced a staff shortage. Mark Inch, Secretary of the FDC, urged lawmakers earlier this year to provide $26.1 million to shorten guards’ regular work shifts.
Inch sought to expand upon a pilot program approved in ...
