by Jacob Barrett
In a stunning decision reached on December 16, 2021, the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Third Appellate District, absolved the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) of any liability to warn a woman murdered by her paroled grandson that he might be dangerous. ...
by Jacob Barrett
On September 9, 2021, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the assault conviction of a prisoner based on statements he made during a jail disciplinary proceeding, agreeing with him that they were obtained under “compelling circumstances” requiring Miranda warnings he wasn’t given but concluding nonetheless that admission ...
by Jacob Barrett
On February 25, 2022, the Supreme Court of Idaho reinstated a negligence claim lodged by a former prisoner against Ada County after he fell when ordered to descend from the top bunk of his cell for roll call while held at the county jail.
Suffering a head ...
by Jacob Barrett
On February 7, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio denied a writ of mandamus petition filed by a state prisoner challenging a decision by the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) to keep him incarcerated, holding his claim was not cognizable because it was raised to ...
by Jacob Barrett
On February 7, 2022, the federal court for the Eastern District of California allowed claims to proceed against Nevada County and a group of its jail guards for the 2019 suicide of detainee Linda Miller, who died just five days after a transfer back to the jail ...
by Jacob Barrett
On September 16, 2021, headlines trumpeted the end of solitary confinement in Washington state prisons, even quoting Gov. Jay Inslee (D) to call it “the right thing to do.” So come March 2022, why was the state Department of Corrections (DOC) still holding some 600 prisoners in ...
by Jacob Barrett
At a graduation ceremony held in the Nash Correctional Institution gym on December 15, 2021, a degree in pastoral ministry was awarded to 24 twenty-four North Carolina prisoners. Offered by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the four-year, in-person program is the only one so far available from an ...
by Jacob Barrett
CoreCivic, the nation’s second-largest for-profit private prison operator, settled a class-action suit filed by former prisoners at the company’s Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility (MDDF) in Nashville on November 30, 2021. After deductions for costs and attorney’s fees, the $150,000 settlement fund provided payouts to each class member ...
by Jacob Barrett
On January 11, 2022, the Court of Appeal for the State of California, Fourth District, vacated a lower court’s authorization of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for a state prisoner, saying it must first consider whether, when competent, he had expressed any preferences, views, or beliefs that would operate ...
by Jacob Barrett
After two staff members were brutally beaten to death by prisoners in March 2021, the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) hired prison consultant CGL Companies to review security at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. In return, DOC received a $500,000 bill and an audit report in December 2021 ...
