Prison Legal News: January, 2016

Volume 27, Number 1

In this issue:

Are We There Yet? The Promise, Perils and Politics of Penal Reform (p 1)
Getting the Money Out of Prison Reform (p 18)
From the Editor (p 20)
California Officials Reverse Position after Receiving Prison Phone Company Contributions (p 22)
Michigan: Private Prison More Costly than State-Run Prison, Attracts Out-of-State Contracts (p 22)
Utah Judge Orders Jail to Stop Seizing Prisoners’ Money for Pay-to-Stay Fees (p 24)
One of the Largest Solar Power Companies in the U.S. has Ties to Prison Slave Labor (p 24)
Seventh Circuit Rejects Prisoner’s 1983 Claim but Criticizes Controlling Precedent (p 26)
Study Finds Private Prisons Keep Prisoners Longer, Without Reducing Future Crime (p 26)
Seventh Circuit Rules Wisconsin Prisoner’s Religious Rights Must be Honored (p 28)
Prison Legal News Settles New Mexico Jail Suit for $235,000 (p 28)
California Court Upholds Prisoners’ Convictions for Fatal Jail Beating (p 29)
Georgia: $453,000 Jury Verdict against Private Jail Medical Contractor (p 30)
Texas Hospital Settles Suit over Improper Border Patrol Search for $1.1 Million (p 30)
Why are Alameda County Jails Forcing Women to Take Pregnancy Tests? (p 32)
Connecticut Prisoner Obtains Settlement in Civil Rights Case (p 35)
Texas Grand Jury Indicts Two Jailers in Prisoner’s Death; Others Face Discipline (p 36)
Tragic Death at Washington Jail Results in Changes, $1.3 Million Settlement (p 36)
West Virginia Supreme Court Undermines Prisoners’ Right to Sue for Rape (p 39)
Tulsa, Oklahoma Settles Four Wrongful Conviction Lawsuits for $810,000 (p 40)
$130,000 Settlement in Minnesota Prisoner’s Medical Negligence Suit (p 40)
Washington State: Class-action Alleges DOC Policy of Denying Medical Care (p 42)
President Obama “Bans the Box” at Federal Government Agencies (p 42)
California Prisoner Exonerated but Now Faces Deportation (p 43)
Report Calls for End of Welfare and Food Stamp Restrictions for Felony Drug Offenders (p 44)
Criticism of Congressional Mandate to Keep Immigration Detention Centers Full (p 46)
A Clean Slate: Prisoners Taking Advantage of Tattoo Removal Programs (p 48)
Report: Nearly One in Four Exonerations Involves Crimes that Never Occurred (p 49)
Opposition to the Death Penalty Grows with High-Profile Support (p 50)
Pope Francis Calls for Worldwide Prison Reform, Support and Hope for Prisoners (p 52)
PLN Intervenes, Unseals Settlement in CCA Fair Labor Standards Act Case (p 53)
Family of Prisoner Who Died from Allergic Reaction Settles Lawsuit for $2.4 Million (p 54)
Federal Court Certifies Class-action for Thousands of Detroit Prisoners, Enters Default Judgment (p 54)
Numerous Deaths at Nevada Prison Raise Questions, Concerns (p 56)
Denver Wins Sexual Harassment Suit Filed by Former Jail Captain; Tenth Circuit Affirms (p 56)
Two Suicides at Privately-operated Pennsylvania Facility (p 57)
Oklahoma Prisoners Develop Software which Could Save the State Millions (p 58)
$183,000 in Settlements for Sexually Abused Pennsylvania Prisoners (p 58)
Ohio Prisoner’s Estate Awarded $350,000 (p 59)
Colorado Court Finds Book Limitation Policy Violates Prisoner’s Religious Rights, but Case Reversed on Appeal (p 60)
Conn. Guard Gets 90 Days, Probation for Sex with Prisoner (p 60)
News in Brief (p 63)

Are We There Yet? The Promise, Perils and Politics of Penal Reform

Loaded on Jan. 1, 2016 by Marie Gottschalk published in Prison Legal News January, 2016, page 1

Filed under: Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends. Location: United States of America.

Fifteen years ago, mass imprisonment was largely an invisible issue in the United States. Since then, criticism of the country’s extraordinary incarceration rate has become widespread across the political spectrum. The huge prison buildup of the past four decades has few ardent defenders today. But reforms to reduce the number ...