Texas Enacts Legislation to Reduce Wrongful Convictions
by Matt Clarke
Legal experts in Texas are trying to iron out a wrinkle they say is an unintended consequence arising from a new law governing discovery in criminal cases, but despite the glitch, the statute has been hailed as landmark legislation aimed ...
Federal Court Finds Texas Violates Rights of Muslim Prisoners
by Matt Clarke
On April 30, 2014, a federal district court held that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) was violating the constitutional rights of Muslim prisoners by limiting their religious services to one hour per week unless a volunteer ...
$451,000 Federal Jury Award for Illinois Prisoner Beaten by Jail Guard
by Matt Clarke
In March 2014, an Illinois federal jury awarded $451,000 to a pretrial detainee at the Cook County Jail who was severely beaten by a guard a dozen years earlier.
James Degorski, 41, filed a civil rights ...
Texas Prison Escapes Down Since “Texas Seven”
by Matt Clarke
Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) say the number of escapes from state prisons dropped sharply after seven prisoners staged a brazen break-out in 2001. Since 2012 there have been only three escapes from secure facilities, all ...
One of Two Charges Dropped against Former Texas Governor in Abuse-of-Power Case
by Matt Clarke
One criminal charge has been dismissed in an abuse-of-power case filed against ex-Texas Governor Rick Perry, but a second charge remains pending that stems from his attempt to force the resignation of the district attorney ...
Arizona Jury Awards $3.4 Million against Owner of Sex Offender Websites
by Matt Clarke
In May 2014, a Maricopa County, Arizona jury awarded $3.4 million to people who were falsely profiled on private sex offender websites owned by businessman Charles “Chuck” Rodrick, 52, including SexOffenderrecord.com, Offendex.com and SORArchives.com. Rodrick was ...
Prisoner's Suit Dismissed After Court Finds "Three Strikes" Litigant Not in Imminent Danger
by Matt Clarke
In December 2009, Jeremy Pinson, a federal prisoner serving a 22-year sentence for threatening to kill the president, sued the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) alleging that the conditions of confinement at the Special Management Unit (SMU) at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega "are unconstitutionally violent and dangerous."
However, Pinson is a "three strikes" litigant, meaning that under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), he has filed at least three previous lawsuits which have been dismissed as frivolous. The PLRA requires that a prisoner who has accumulated three strikes cannot file anyfurtherlawsuits unless he either pays the full filing fee up front or shows that he is in "imminent danger of serious physical injury."
Pinson claimed that as a known homosexual and former gang member, his placement at Talladega’s SMU placed him in "a substantial risk of harm." Pinson sought to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
In January 2010, the District of Columbia district court entered an order transferring the case to the Northern District of Alabama where Pinson was incarcerated "because none of the alleged events took ...
At Least $78,000 in Sealed Settlement for Texas Jail Prisoner’s Suicide
by Matt Clarke
On March 11, 2013, a Texas federal court approved the settlement of a lawsuit over the suicide death of a Texas prisoner who hung himself using the phone cord in his isolation cell at the Harrison ...
Texas Supreme Court Holds No Compensation for Wrongly-Convicted Prisoner Imprisoned on Other Charges
by Matt Clarke
On August 23, 2013, the Supreme Court of Texas held that a former death row prisoner who had been wrongfully convicted of the capital crime, but confessed to other crimes before he was acquitted, was not eligible for compensation.
Michael N. Blair, a Texas state prisoner, was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a seven-year-old girl and sentenced to death. He freely admitted to having sexually abused other children, but staunchly maintained his innocence as to the murder. Nine years into his stint on death row, Blair wrote the district court and admitted having molested the children of a witness who testified against him in the murder trial. This led to his indictment and guilty plea for four incidents of indecency with a child for which he was given four life sentences—three consecutive and one concurrent.
In 2008, after he had been on death row for 14 years, DNA testing proved Blair was innocent of the murder. The state dismissed the charge and Blair applied to the state Comptroller for over $1 million in compensation under the Tim Cole Act, Texas Civil Practice and ...
Indictments and Guilty Pleas in Multi-Gang Prison Smuggling Conspiracy in Texas
by Matt Clarke
On February 26, 2013, a 23-page federal indictment was unsealed. It charged 32 people with involvement in a complex conspiracy to smuggle alcohol, tobacco, cell phones and drugs into a Texas prison. Leaders from two prison gangs allegedly cooperated in setting up and running the smuggling ring which also had a money laundering and racketeering-related financial component.
The indictment named 13 former Texas Department of Criminal Justice employees who were working at the McConnell Unit in Beeville. The charges included racketeering, bribery, accepting bribes for smuggling, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, illegal financial activities and money laundering. The contraband smuggled into the prison included alcohol, tobacco, cell phones, marijuana, methamphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine.
The scheme involved leaders of two racial gangs with a strong prison presence cooperating, corrupt employees and facilitators, and financial agents outside the prison, some of whom were related to the three indicted state prisoners. According to the indictment, the employees accepted bribes to smuggle the contraband into the prison and sometimes recruited other employees for smuggling activities while the facilitators gave the employees the bribe money and contraband. ...
