by Derek Gilna
In March 2017, the Montana Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to modifications to a class-action settlement originally entered into in 1994 to resolve medical, dental and mental health complaints stemming from a 1991 prison riot. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that “five prisoners were murdered in ...
by Derek Gilna
Officials in Floyd County, Indiana agreed on July 24, 2017 to settle a federal class-action lawsuit that alleged jail officials kept prisoners in padded cells, “deprived [them] of clothing, bedding, and hygiene products,” and tased and pepper-sprayed them. Named as defendants in the 2014 complaint were former ...
by Derek Gilna
Helen Stokes, a 65-year-old Pennsylvania woman with no criminal record, was nonetheless continually denied credit due to inaccuracies in her background report that a property credit reporting company refused to correct. Consequently, she filed a class-action complaint in federal court that alleged damages as a result of ...
by Derek Gilna
On March 7, 2017, the National Registry of Exonerations published a report that found African-Americans are much more likely than whites to be wrongfully convicted and spend more time in prison before being exonerated. The report noted that although blacks represent just 13% of the U.S. population, ...
by Derek Gilna
On June 14, 2017, Utah officials entered into a settlement to resolve a federal class-action lawsuit that alleged the state failed to provide timely and proper mental health competency evaluations and treatment to pre-trial detainees. According to the complaint, filed in 2015 by the Disability Law Center ...
by Derek Gilna
On March 16, 2017, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court dismissed all administrative charges against state prisoner Lawrence George Wilson, who was accused of violating prison disciplinary rules under CPLR article 78. Wilson had been charged with “bribery, solicitation, possessing personal identifying information, violating ...
by Derek Gilna
Following an investigative report by Reveal, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting, at least four federal lawsuits were filed against Christian Alcoholics and Addicts in Recovery (CAAIR) and Simmons Foods, Inc. in October and November 2017. The suits allege that defendants sent to CAAIR ...
by Derek Gilna
Social impact bonds (SIBs) are investment vehicles by which charitable organizations or individuals can invest in a project to benefit a government agency. If the government agency reaches a pre-determined goal with it bond investment, the government reimburses the agency. The concept is designed to permit government to ...
by Derek Gilna
On July 24, 2017, the New York City Board of Correction (BOC) released a report titled, "Enhanced Supervision Housing for Young Adults," which highlighted the challenges to eliminating injustices at the Rikers Island jail complex. According to that report, "This assessment builds upon the Board of Correction’s ...
by Derek Gilna
Congress has passed the wrongful Conviction Tax Act of 2015 with votes from both sides of the aisle, exempting the damage awarded granted the wrongfully convicted from federal tax liability. According to the Innocence Project, a prisoner-rights organization who has contributed to the exoneration of dozens of ...
