by Matt Clarke
On June 6, 2011, the Better Government Association (BGA) and the Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC) at Northwestern University School of Law released a joint report on the cost of wrongful convictions. The report, which examined 85 wrongful convictions in Illinois since the advent of modern DNA ...
By Matt Clarke
Since 1980, American Medical Association (AMA) policy has stated that it is a clear violation of medical ethics for physicians to participate in executions. The policy, which was last updated in 2005, contains a broad definition of "participation" which includes "consulting with or supervising lethal injection personnel." ...
by Matt Clarke
On January 21, 2011, a U.S. District Court held that state prisoners in Arkansas have no First Amendment right to less expensive phone rates, a decision that was subsequently affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Arkansas state prisoners Winston Holloway and Joseph Breault filed a ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 9, 2011, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that executives with the Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly publication, could sue a special prosecutor who arranged for their late-night arrests after the New Times criticized Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, County Attorney Andrew P. ...
by Matt Clarke
Tougher immigration enforcement efforts coupled with fast-track procedures in immigration cases have combined to dramatically increase the number of Hispanics entering the federal prison system. Statistics released in June 2011 indicate that Hispanics, who make up only 16% of the U.S. population, accounted for almost half of ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 7, 2011, a Pennsylvania federal judge issued an order reducing a prisoner’s jury award for destruction of legal materials to $75,005. The award had previously been reduced from $185,000 to $115,000.
Andre Jacobs, a Pennsylvania state prisoner, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit in ...
by Matt Clarke
Eldon Vail, the Secretary for the Washington Department of Corrections, submitted a letter of resignation on July 1, 2011 when it was publicly revealed that he had been having an affair with a subordinate.
Shortly before Vail resigned, several Seattle-area television stations received copies of a video ...
by Matt Clarke and Alex Friedmann
In 2006, Prison Legal News published a cover story, Guards Rape of Prisoners Rampant, No Solution in Sight, that presented a compilation of news reports concerning the rape and sexual abuse of prisoners by prison and jail staff, police officers and other law enforcement ...
by Matt Clarke
Delaware County, Indiana prosecutor Mark R. McKinney was suspended from practicing law for 120 days beginning on July 28, 2011. He was disciplined for engaging in professional misconduct by handling criminal prosecutions and civil forfeiture cases involving the same defendants while working as a deputy prosecutor from ...
by Matt Clarke
Texas has a generous compensation package for prisoners who are exonerated, which includes $80,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, an annuity with annual payments in the same amount, free college tuition and free medical care. [See: PLN, July 2009, p.12].
However, some state officials are stingy with ...
