Crime Labs Still in Crisis
by Matt Clarke
The October 2010 Prison Legal News cover story, “Crime Labs in Crisis: Shoddy Forensics Used to Secure Convictions,” provided an extensive examination of problems at crime labs nationwide. Apparently, and unfortunately, little has changed since that time.
In 2012, the U.S. Department ...
Dismissal of Challenge to Texas City’s Sex Offender Restrictions Reversed
by Matt Clarke
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the dismissal of a challenge to the constitutionality of a city’s sex offender residency restrictions.
In 2008, Lewisville, Texas enacted an ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders whose offenses involved ...
Civilly Committed Sex Offenders Increasingly Released in Wisconsin
by Matt Clarke
he State of Wisconsin is releasing more violent sex offenders who were civilly committed following their prison sentences, in part, officials say, because the state’s treatment program is working and the offenders are less likely to recidivate than previously ...
San Antonio, Texas Leads the State in Jail Suicides
by Matt Clarke
A 2013 study of jail deaths in four densely-populated Texas counties found that Bexar County leads the state in the number of prisoners who commit suicide. From 2009 through 2013, Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, reported 12 ...
Fifth Circuit Dismisses Female Immigration Detainees’ Sexual Assault Claims
by Matt Clarke
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held on May 6, 2014 that federal employees responsible for overseeing immigration detainee contracts were entitled to qualified immunity even if they knew that female detainees were being transported by a single ...
Doctor of Death: Former Jail Physician Leaves Trail of Prisoner Deaths, Injuries
by Matt Clarke
An Illinois doctor whose medical care – or lack thereof – was linked to the deaths of prisoners in multiple states has lost his license to practice medicine, has been fined at least $50,000 by ...
Second Circuit: Requiring Pretrial Detainees to Perform Forced Labor Unconstitutional; $15,000 Settlement on Remand
by Matt Clarke
On August 3, 2012, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held it is unconstitutional to force a pretrial detainee to perform labor other than that associated with personal housekeeping chores.
Finbar Patrick McGarry ...
Lost and Improperly Destroyed Evidence Thwarts Post-Conviction DNA Testing
by Matt Clarke
While crime labs across the country have been in the news for improper testing of forensic evidence in criminal cases, the problem with misplaced and improperly destroyed evidence is much more widespread.
Not just crime labs, but local ...
$66,000 Jury Award in New Mexico CCA Sexual Abuse, Retaliation Case
by Matt Clarke
On November 15, 2012, a New Mexico federal jury awarded $66,000 to a woman formerly incarcerated at a prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a Correctional ...
Exonerated Texas Prisoner’s Ex-Wife Not Entitled to Compensation
by Matt Clarke
In a May 12, 2014 opinion, a Texas Court of Appeals held that the former wife of a prisoner who spent over 24 years in prison was not entitled to a portion of the $2 million he received in ...
