by Matt Clarke
On February 3, 2017, a jury in Madison, Wisconsin awarded two women $11.5 million in the first two of five federal lawsuits brought by former Polk County jail prisoners who were sexually abused by former guard Darryl Christensen. The awards came a year after Christensen, then-49, was ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 22, 2017, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of more than $1.25 million in a lawsuit over a Missouri prisoner’s death.
Danial Letterman was held at the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in a secured, padded room under suicide watch ...
by Matt Clarke
Five women who served time at Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County jail have filed lawsuits against the county and former Sheriff David Clarke, Jr., alleging mistreatment while they were pregnant – including shackling, the death of one child and the stillbirth of another.
Shadé Swayzer was eight months pregnant ...
by Matt Clarke
It’s an age-old story. Despite EEOC guidance instructing employers not to have blanket policies against hiring ex-felons – and efforts to lift restrictions on occupational licenses for former prisoners – those released from prison soon become familiar with every variation of the word “no” when seeking jobs. ...
by Matt Clarke
On August 14, 2017, a Colorado federal district court vacated its prior order granting a motion to dismiss filed by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and held that a lawsuit filed by Prison Legal News challenging censorship at the supermax Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, ...
by Matt Clarke
On December 12, 2016, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas district court’s sanctions of $1,000 each against lawyers representing GEO Group, the nation’s second-largest private prison operator, after finding they had engaged in discovery abuse.
Lisa Velasquez Olivarez filed a civil rights action against ...
by Matt Clarke
When New Mexico state prisoner Rhiannon Montoya was 36, she was incarcerated at the Rio Arriba County Jail. There she met guard Orlando Ulibarri, whom she accused of sexually assaulting her. Montoya complained about Ulibarri, who was subsequently fired for bringing contraband into the jail and possessing ...
by Matt Clarke
The family of a prisoner who was maced by guards as he bled to death at an Oklahoma prison operated by CoreCivic--then known as Corrections Corporation of America--has filed a lawsuit alleging prison officials allowed corruption and gangs to flourish at the facility, resulting in conditions that ...
by Matt Clarke
A Houston television station reported that a prosecutor had a rape victim jailed for almost a month – just to ensure she would testify at trial. Devon Anderson, the district attorney for Harris County, Texas, stood by the prosecutor, who worked for her office. In the aftermath, ...
by Matt Clarke
On April 27, 2017, the County Board of Knox County, Illinois agreed to a $500,000 settlement in a federal lawsuit over the suicide of a pretrial detainee.
Joey Corbin, 26, had a history of mental illness and was taking psychotropic medication when he was booked into the ...
