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Articles by Matthew Clarke

Lawsuit Claims Denial of Medical Care Nearly Killed Prisoner at Colorado Jail

by Matt Clarke

A former Colorado jail prisoner whose medical bills exceeded $2 million filed a lawsuit alleging a private health care provider at the jail denied him treatment until guards overruled them and transported him to a hospital. He was then airlifted to a Denver medical center where he ...

After Needless Prisoner Deaths, Connecticut DOC Takes Over Prison Healthcare

by Matt Clarke

For 17 years, Correctional Managed Health Care (CMHC), part of the University of Connecticut, held a no-bid contract – worth $100 million annually – to provide medical services for around 13,400 prisoners incarcerated in 14 Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) facilities.

But in 2016, the ...

Habeas Petition Granted Over Failing Roof, Unsanitary Conditions at California Prison

by Matt Clarke

On April 5, 2019, Robert Escareno, incarcerated at the California Substance Abuse Treatment and State Prison at Cocoran (SATF), submitted closing arguments in a Superior Court habeas action that alleged the failing roof over the Facility A dining hall allowed the intrusion of water, birds, bird and ...

Motions to Dismiss by Corizon and Wexford Denied in Lawsuit Over Florida Prisoner’s Double Leg Amputation

by Matt Clarke 

On December 14, 2018, a federal district court in Florida denied motions to dismiss by Wexford Health Sources and Corizon Health in a medical deliberate indifference case where a state prisoner’s legs were amputated. 

Craig Salvani was 38 years old when he arrived at the ...

Fifth Circuit Reinstates Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claims

by Matt Clarke

On April 16, 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated excessive force claims raised by a Texas prisoner in a federal civil rights suit. 

Michael Bourne was being held in a segregation cell when he asked to speak to a guard captain about some money ...

Montana Parolee Sues CoreCivic Over Prison Assault, Brain Injury

by Matt Clarke

former prisoner at the Crossroads Correctional Center near Shelby, Montana is suing the facility’s private operator, CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) and its contract medical provider, alleging staff allowed another prisoner to assault him without intervening and then delayed medical care, resulting in a permanent ...

Sheriff, Undersheriff and Deputies Resign Over Safety Issues at Oklahoma Jail

by Matt Clarke 

On March 18, 2019, Terry Sue Barnett, the sheriff of Nowata County, Oklahoma, resigned. So did her undersheriff, all of her deputies and everyone else in the sheriff’s department except for two dispatchers and three jailers. The reasons given for the mass resignations were safety ...

Texas Prisoner Sues Former Guards for Planting Screwdrivers in His Cell

by Matt Clarke

In February 2019, Texas state prisoner Neil Giese filed a lawsuit against four former Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) guards – including a major, a lieutenant and a sergeant – who allegedly planted screwdrivers in his cell at the Ramsey Unit, southwest of Houston. ...

Texas Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Reaction to Prison Blankets Moves Forward

by Matt Clarke

A lawsuit filed by a Texas prisoner with a wool allergy, who has spent a decade trying to get a blanket that will not cause an adverse reaction, has survived the state’s attempt to have the case dismissed.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prisoner Calvin E. ...

Study Finds More Private Prisons Result in Judges Imposing Slightly Longer Sentences

by Matt Clarke 

In a report published on March 24, 2019, researchers from Columbia University and UCLA found that “the opening of a private prison increases the length of sentences relative to what the crime’s and defendant’s characteristics predict.” Private prisons did not increase the chances of defendants being ...