Fifth Circuit: Prisoner Who was Raped May Proceed with Lawsuit against Lock Company
by Matt Clarke
In a July 9, 2013 opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the statute of limitations in a federal lawsuit against a manufacturer of cell door locks at a county jail, brought ...
Massachusetts: Acquittal on Additional Sex Offense Doesn’t Trigger Reevaluation of Sex Offender Classification
by Matt Clarke
On September 11, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that a prisoner who had been convicted of a sex offense, then given a level three classification by the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) due ...
New Report Cites Fewer HIV-Positive State and Federal Prisoners
by Matt Clarke
A recent study revealed that the number of HIV-positive prisoners in both state and federal facilities nationwide is declining and, for the first time, the AIDS mortality rate for prisoners has fallen below the national average among the ...
Texas: Unconstitutional to Revoke Probation Due to Refusal to Self-Incriminate During Polygraph or Therapy
by Matt Clarke
On May 8, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that a probationer’s term of community supervision cannot be revoked because he had refused to answer incriminating questions while taking a lie ...
Report: Prisons in Honduras are Dangerous, Violent and Corrupt
by Matt Clarke
When a February 2012 fire at a prison in Comayagua, Honduras killed 361 prisoners after guards abandoned their posts – leaving the prisoners to die in their cells – there was hope that the resulting international attention focused ...
Fifth Circuit Upholds Qualified Immunity in Medical Neglect Death of Texas Detainee
by Matt Clarke
In a case involving the death of a pretrial detainee due to lack of medical treatment, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s order granting qualified immunity to a contract doctor at ...
Heat-related Deaths in Texas Prisons Lead to Lawsuits, Reluctant Changes
by Matt Clarke and David M. Reutter
Prisoners across the nation are currently experiencing the oppressive heat of summer – particularly in the Southern states. Those incarcerated in Texas, however, have not just been sweating due to high temperatures. They ...
CCA Guard Killed During Riot was on Prisoners’ “Hit List”
by Matt Clarke
A federal lawsuit filed by the family of a guard murdered during a riot at a Mississippi facility claims that prison officials knew the guard was on a “hit list” compiled by prisoners when he was called ...
Despite Reforms, Juvenile Offenders in Texas Remain Endangered
by Matt Clarke
Two studies by the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin found that juveniles held in Texas jails while awaiting trial as adults are often isolated with no access to education programs, and that ...
Jails Face Backlash, Class-action Lawsuits Over Debit Card Fees
by Matt Clarke
The sheriff of Dallas County, Texas had a good reason for giving prepaid debit cards to prisoners containing the balance of their trust fund accounts when they were released from jail.
“There was too much money handling,” said ...
