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Articles by David Reutter

Twisted Tennessee Coroner Had No Training and Violent Past

In the wake of his resignation as a Tennessee coroner, it was uncovered that Terry Jarnigan had no medical training and was previously convicted of violent crimes.

Just a short time after his civil rights were restored in the late 1990's, Jarnigan was appointed as the coroner of Cocke County, ...

Nevada Chief Medical Examiner Must Assure Prisoners Receive Healthful Diet

The Nevada Supreme Court held a prisoner was entitled to the grant of a writ of mandamus to compel the Nevada's Chief Medical Officer to periodically examine and semi-annually report to the Board of State Prison Commissioners Board regarding the nutritional adequacy of the diet of prisoners.

Prisoner Robert Stockmeier ...

Nebraska Law Limiting Sex Offender Internet Use “Guts” Constitutional Rights

Driven by “rage” and “revulsion” of registered sex offenders, the 2009 Nebraska Legislature enacted LB 97, which allowed law enforcement to monitor and restrict Internet usage by those offenders. In an exhaustive order following a trial, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Kopf held that sections of the legislation “gut the ...

Guard’s Report of Prisoner Abuse Came with a Cost

The confines of prison render abuse by guards a virtually impossible crime to prosecute.  The few cases that come to light and successfully prosecuted occur only with video evidence or the testimony of another guard.  Florida Department of Corrections [FDOC] guard John Pisciotta took the courageous path to report another ...

Violence in Mississippi Prisons Exacerbated by Guards’ Assistance

A contributor, perhaps the most serious one, to violence in Mississippi prisons is the accessory before the fact by guards.

Prisoners being able to access cells and cellblocks not their own due to locks being easily overcoming via design problems or guards “popping” them is a “constant” problem. Sometimes, the ...

Porn and Referral Fee Scandals Force Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice’s Retirement

In the midst of a pornographic email scandal, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery retired. That move came just a week after his colleagues issued an order suspending him from all judicial work and instructing the Judicial Conduct Board to begin an ethics violation investigation.

McCaffery was renowned for ...

Indefinite Pre-incident Detention of Indigents by Mississippi Challenged in Class Action Law Suit

A class action challenging the indefinite jailing of persons in a Mississippi’s Scott County Detention Center without indictment or representation by counsel was filed on September 23, 2014. The lead plaintiffs are indigents who have been held up to sixteen months without being indicted or appointed counsel. They seek injunctive ...

Florida Cancels Youth Prison Contract Due to Abusive Atmosphere

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) cancelled the contract for a residential youth program run by Youth Services International (YSI). DJJ defaulted on the contract for the Santa Rosa Substance Abuse Treatment Center because the facility’s staff “failed to correct deficiencies and sustain those corrective actions in areas involving ...

Woman Dies during 1,000 Mile Private Prisoner Transport Trip

The death of a woman on a private transport van raised a much needed spotlight on the private prisoner transport industry. The 54-year-old woman was found slumped over in the back of the Prisoner Transportation Services of America (PTS) van after a grueling two-day transport from Kentucky to South Florida. ...

Pennsylvania Blames Prison Clerk for Her Rape by Prisoner

In response to a female secretary who was raped by a prisoner at Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution – Rockview in 2013, the State Attorney General’s office filed a pleading that blamed the woman for her rape.

As PLN previously reported, prisoner Omar Best went into a secretarial office at Rockview ...