Settlement Requires Michigan Jail to Provide Recreation and Equal Treatment
by David Reutter
The Isabella County Correctional Facility (ICCF) agreed to provide prisoners out-of-cell recreation time as part of the settlement agreement of a civil suit brought by the ACLU of Michigan on behalf of ICCF prisoners. The settlement provides ...
Four Alabama Guards Receive Prison Sentences for Beating Prisoner to Death
by David Reutter
An Alabama federal district court sentenced four state prison guards to prison for their actions in the beating death of a prisoner and the subsequent attempt to cover it up. One guard was sentenced to 30 years; the sentences for the others range from 5 to 7 years.
Prisoner Rocrast Mack, 24, was serving a 20-year drug conviction sentence at Alabama’s medium-security Ventress Correctional Institution. As he lay on his bunk on Aug. 4, 2010, a female guard hit him for inappropriately touching himself. He hit her back, giving her a bloody lip. She called for help, saying Mack had jumped her.
According to evidence at trial, Lieutenant Michael Smith, 39, assaulted Mack in his office, repeatedly striking him with a baton and stomping and kicking him. On one occasion, Smith swung the baton like a baseball bat, hitting Mack in the back of the head. Even after Mack was in the infirmary, Smith stomped on Mack’s head as he lay on the floor. He died the next day at the local hospital. More details are available in PLN’s previous article. [See PLN, Jul. 2012, p. ...
Federal Court Releases County Commissioner Convicted of Fraud
by David Reutter
Citing “age (87) and deteriorating health,” an Alabama federal district court reduced the prison sentence of a former county commissioner convicted of corruption. The court reduced the sentence to time served and ordered his release on supervised release.
Former Jefferson County Commissioner Jewell Chris McNair was among 21 people convicted in the $3 billion sewer scandal in Alabama’s most populous county. McNair was convicted in April 2006 of bribery and conspiracy. He later pleaded guilty to soliciting $140,000 in bribes while overseeing the sewer project.
While appealing his conviction in 2008, McNair suffered a minor stroke. He tried to avoid prison on the grounds of his age and health, but in April 2011 the federal court ordered him to serve a 5-year prison term.
The court relented on August 29, 2013, and ordered McNair’s immediate release once his family could assure his health for allowed travel from a federal prison medical facility in Minnesota to Birmingham. He was released that day.
The release came after the Obama administration requested it on grounds of compassion. McNair, whose daughter Denise was one of three girls killed in the 1963 bombing of ...
New Orleans’ Effort to Vacate Consent Decree Fails
by David M. Reutter
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Louisiana federal district court’s order denying the City of New Orleans’ (City) motion to vacate a consent decree related to past practices of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). Also discussed in the case was the consent decree entered between the Department of Justice and the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) for the construction of a new jail building.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) began an investigation in May 2010 into alleged constitutional violations by the NOPD. That investigation began at the invitation of New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu, and on the same day the DOJ filed its complaint in federal court. The DOJ and the City agreed to a proposed consent decree.
As the action progressed, the City urged the court to approve the decree. When the court held a January 11, 2013 status conference, the City expressed “buyer’s remorse,” making an oral request to withdraw from the NOPD consent decree. The court, notwithstanding the City’s change of heart, approved the decree and denied the City’s subsequent motion to vacate it.
As the same time, the DOJ was also ...
Michigan Must Comply with Graham and Miller
by David M. Reutter
A Michigan federal district court ordered Governor Rick Snyder to provide a “fair, meaningful, and realistic” opportunity for parole to all prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes committed while children. The order follows the court’s January 2013 finding that Michigan’s mandatory sentencing scheme that denies parole to children convicted of certain crimes is unconstitutional.
“Courts have repeatedly made it clear that incarcerating children and throwing away the key is cruel and unusual punishment,” said Deborah LaBelle, the lead attorney in the lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. “Today the court demanded that the state of Michigan take action to comply with the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent set almost two years ago. It’s now up to the state to develop a process that is meaningful and fair.”
According to a press release published by the ACLU of Michigan, the court’s order requires Michigan to put in place, by December 31, 2013, a parole process that:
- Creates administrative structure for processing and determining parole eligibility;
- Gives notice to all who have served 10 years of a life sentence that they are eligible for parole;
- Includes a public ...
Fired Mississippi Jail Guard Sues for Wrongful Arrest
by David Reutter
A former guard at Mississippi’s Hinds County Jail (HCJ) has sued the Hinds County Sheriff Department after being fired and arrested for bringing contraband into HCJ.
The arrest followed the escape of two female prisoners on August 31, 2013. Guard Jackie Jenkins was fired, arrested, and charged with aiding the escape. Guard Jackie Jenkins, who had worked at HCJ for three months, was fired and arrested “for introduction of contraband into a correctional facility,” said sheriff’s spokesperson Othor Cain. “Tobacco products of any kind are not allowed in our facility at all.”
Jenkins’ attorney, Dale Danks, Jr. said Jenkins was following a supervisor’s instructions and that tobacco is not defined as contraband under Mississippi law. He stated that Jenkins “was told to keep them in the box.”
He was referring to the ammunition box that deputies place firearms in before entering HCJ, which is outside the facility under the sally port. Cain said the investigation following the escape revealed Jenkins “was not in her assigned area and that contributed to these inmates leaving.” Jenkins claimed she had a supervisors’ permission to be outside to smoke a cigarette at the ...
$127,000 Settlement for Michigan Jail Guards Use of Excessive Force
by David Reutter
Michigan’s Kent County Correctional Facility (KCCF) agreed to pay $127,198 to settle a civil rights action alleging a guard used excessive force against a pre-trial detainee.
After being involved in a one-car accident in the early morning ...
$48,000 in Attorney Fees Awarded in Prisoner-Injury Civil Action
by David Reutter
On November 18, 2013, a Colorado federal district court awarded more than $48,000 in attorney fees in a civil rights action involving a prisoner being injured after an accident involving the prison van that was transporting him.
Sterling ...
$1.1 Million Awarded to New York Prisoner Raped by Guard
by David Reutter
A New York Court of Claims awarded $605,750 to a female prisoner who was raped by a guard at the Albion Correctional Facility. The award followed a $500,000 award against the guard by a federal court.
In ...
$80,000 Award for New York Prisoner Injured During Scuffle with Guard
by David Reutter
A New York Court of Claims awarded $80,000 to a prisoner for injuries sustained after a confrontation between the prisoner and a guard.
On November 14, 2008, following a court appearance, prisoner Samuel Saunders, then 62, ...
