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Articles by Matthew Clarke

Controversy in Utah Over Jail Deaths and Secret Jail Operating Standards

by Matt Clarke

In Utah’s local jails, a record number of deaths in 2016 caused both civil liberties groups and state legislators to question the standards under which the facilities operate. But there are no jail standards under state law, and the standards adopted by counties are kept secret by ...

Dozens of Lawsuits Against Correct Care Solutions for Sometimes Fatal Denial of Medical Treatment

by Matthew Clarke

From 2014 through July 2018, at least 52 lawsuits were filed in federal court against Correct Care Solutions (CCS) – a private medical contractor based in Nashville, Tennessee – alleging failure to provide adequate medical care to prisoners in Colorado jails. Six of the cases involved fatalities ...

Los Angeles County Settles Lawsuit over Jail Prisoner’s Suicide for $1.7 Million

by Matt Clarke

On October 16, 2017, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $1.7 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by the family of a man who committed suicide at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility (TTCF).

Eric Loberg, 48, displayed signs of acute psychosis when he was ...

Former Mexican Mafia General Turned Informant Receives $25,000 from GEO Group, 20 Years in Prison from Feds

by Matthew Clarke

After former Mexican Mafia general Raymond S. “Indio” Tellez agreed to testify against the gang, two gang members stabbed him multiple times in a secure area of a private prison operated by the GEO Group. He filed suit and, following a bench trial, received $25,000 in damages ...

Colorado County Settles Lawsuit Over Jail Prisoner’s Death for $3.5 Million

by Matt Clarke

In November 2017, Summit County, Colorado reached a $3.5 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by the family of a prisoner who died at the county’s jail.

Zachary Moffitt, 33, was being treated for acute alcohol poisoning in a hospital emergency room when he pulled out his ...

Ohio City, Medical Center Settle Lawsuit Over Jail Prisoner’s Death for $210,000

by Matthew Clarke

In January 2018, the City of Cleveland Heights, Ohio agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a lawsuit over the death of a prisoner two days after she arrived at the city’s jail.

Ralkina Jones, 37, was booked into the facility on charges of assaulting her ex-husband with ...

Federal Court Issues Injunction Over Conditions on Virginia’s Death Row

by Matthew Clarke

On February 21, 2018, a federal district court issued an injunction prohibiting the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) from reverting conditions of confinement on death row to those that existed when a lawsuit challenging those conditions was filed four years earlier. The DOC had improved conditions on ...

Some Arizona Prison Logs Show Temperatures up to 119 Degrees; Others Falsified

by Matt Clarke

Since February 2015, a settlement and stipulation in Parsons v. Ryan has required the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) to monitor and log indoor temperatures at state prisons. According to the Phoenix New Times, not only do the logs show excessive summer heat – as high as ...

Oklahoma Prisoners, Advocacy Group File Short-lived Lawsuit Alleging Corruption

by Matt Clarke

In August 2017, Oklahoma state prisoners and the non-profit All In One Project filed a federal civil rights suit arguing political contributions made by private prison firms to state officials led to contracts with those companies that included a 98 percent occupancy rate at private prisons. The ...

Indiana DOC Settles Prisoner’s Retaliation Suit for $80,000

by Matthew Clarke

In August 2017, the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) agreed to settle a prisoner’s conditions of confinement lawsuit after he alleged DOC officials had retaliated against him for filing the complaint.

Robert L. Holleman, an Indiana state prisoner, filed a pro se federal civil rights suit complaining ...