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Articles by Matthew Clarke

New Rule Sparks Uprising at California Sex Offender Civil Commitment Facility

by Matt Clarke

On January 14, 2018, about 400 to 500 civilly committed sex offender “patients” met in the common area of California’s Coalinga State Hospital to protest a stringent new rule that went into effect that day. The rule banned the possession of electronic devices with Internet access or ...

Texas Uses Failed Private Prison to Hold Civilly Committed Sex Offenders

by Matt Clarke

In 2015, Texas converted its outpatient program for civilly committed sex offenders into a “tiered” treatment program, in which participants start out in a “total confinement facility” at twice the cost of the original program. The state awarded Correct Care Solutions a $24 million contract to provide ...

Ohio Settles Suit Over Sexual Assault of Prisoner for $525,000

by Matt Clarke

In November 2017, Ohio state officials agreed to pay $525,000 to settle a lawsuit over the repeated sexual assault of a female prisoner.

Chesterland, Ohio attorney David B. Malik represented Dorothea Reynolds, who was incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) in 2008 and 2009. He ...

Nevada County Settles Lawsuit Over Jail Prisoner’s Death for $500,000

by Matthew Clarke

In September 2017, Washoe County, Nevada settled a lawsuit brought by the parents of a man who died after a struggle with deputies at the county jail.

Reno police arrested Justin Thompson, 35, and took him to a hospital for treatment of injuries he received in a ...

Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Federal Prisoner’s Retaliation, Conspiracy Claims

by Matthew Clarke

On November 15, 2017, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a Louisiana federal prisoner’s claims that prison officials conspired to retaliate against him for filing a grievance regarding power outages at his facility.

Derrick D.L. Brunson’s grievance expressed safety concerns related to several ...

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 ...