by Matt Clarke
During last year’s election campaign, President Obama came out forcefully against torture by U.S. officials and in favor of closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which holds approximately 230 alleged “terrorism” suspects. However, what Obama has done on these issues since taking office is another ...
by Matt Clarke
On July 30, 2008, Paepaega Matautia, Jr., 39, a mail room guard at the Special Commitment Center (SCC) for sex offenders on McNeil Island in Washington state, was arrested on federal charges of attempting to possess and distribute crack cocaine at the facility. The next day, SCC ...
by Matt Clarke
Faced with budget cuts due to the down economy, jails across Southern California have turned to a new revenue stream – immigration detention. The federal government paid over $55 million to house immigrant detainees in California jails in fiscal year 2008. That was up from $52.6 million ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 12, 2009, J. Clark Kelso, California’s federal court-appointed receiver over prison medical care, demanded the resignations of his chief of staff, John Hagar; Stephen Weston, Hagar’s assistant; and medical services CEO Dr. Terry Hill. Hagar and Weston both resigned; Hill refused to resign and was ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 24, 2009, a U.S. District Court ruled that hearings held by the Texas parole board before imposing sex offender parole conditions on prisoners not convicted of sex offenses were constitutionally inadequate.
Raul Meza, a Texas prisoner, was convicted of murdering an eight-year-old girl and sentenced ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 3, 2009, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to settle for $500,000 a lawsuit brought by survivors of a man beat to death in the Fourth Avenue Jail of the Maricopa County Jail System. The jail is operated by sheriff Joe Arpaio, ...
by Matt Clarke
A Missouri federal judge issued an injunction against enforcement of a new Missouri law imposing Halloween-related restrictions on registered sex offenders. However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction on October 30, 2008.
As part of the general demonizing and harassment of registered sex offenders ...
by Matt Clarke
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the federal conviction of a New York jail guard for intentionally using excessive force on a prisoner in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242.
Zoran Teodorovic, a pre-trial detainee at the Westchester County Jail, was housed in a special section ...
by Matt Clarke
On December 19, 2008, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal jury award of $14 million in a case involving the wrongful conviction of a Louisiana man for attempted armed robbery and first-degree murder, in which the prosecutors withheld an exculpatory blood test report and ...
by Matt Clarke
A review conducted by a Houston newspaper concluded that a large quantity and variety of contraband is still being smuggled into Texas prisons by state prison guards, and those caught smuggling rarely receive harsh punishment.
Between 2003 and 2008, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) brought ...
