As Numbers Rise, Some Prison Systems Admit Defeat, Others Try to Ignore Death Toll
by Christopher Zoukis, MBA
As nations across the world battle the coronavirus plague, American prisons continue to fail at managing this pandemic, not unlike many communities across the United States. For what appears to be primarily ...
by David M. Reutter
What a politician believes about the impact of restoring the vote to a convicted felon often depends on which side of the aisle they stand on. A common belief amongst politicians is that felons are liberals who would vote Democratic. A survey of 8,266 prisoners by ...
by Dale Chappell
Every week, more than 10,000 people leave prison and 200,000 are released from jail across the country, after being convicted. And the rules and regulations preventing them from jobs, housing, and education — often called “collateral consequences” of being convicted of a crime — can last many ...
by Paul Wright
As summer wears on, the pandemic continues to take its toll behind bars. Our cover story reports the latest developments on COVID-19 in prisons and jails. Thanks to all the prisoner readers who are sending us reports and updates about coronavirus in their facilities. We are especially ...
A firsthand account from FCI Seagoville in Texas, one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic
by Anthony W. Accurso
[Editor’s note: As of July 22, the Bureau of Prisons website reported 1,220 prisoners had tested positive for coronavirus at Seagoville, the highest number at any BOP prison. ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
Last January, Koch Industries, through the Charles Koch Institute, announced a partnership with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) to develop the Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative, a program that educates businesses on the benefits of hiring ex-offenders.
“We have to figure out how ...
by Derek Gilna
Although California is in the middle of a pandemic with the governor ordering the lock-down of the state’s economy and encouraged people to “stay home-save lives,” California prison medical director Dr. R. Steven Tharratt decided to transfer over 100 COIVD 19-positive prisoners from one prison to others, thereby ...
by David M. Reutter
On January 16, 2020, a New York federal magistrate judge awarded $273,246.88 to a Sing Sing Correctional Facility prisoner who alleged a guard brutally beat him and lied about the incident.
The civil rights action was brought on May 3, 2017, by prisoner Morgan Greenburger. His ...
by Ken Silverstein
We’re now nearly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and geographically the coronavirus epicenter has shifted from its origins in the United States in New York and New Jersey, where case rates have now fallen dramatically. During the past few months, coronavirus has swept across the country ...
by Michael Fortino, Ph.D.
A January 23, 2020, report from the Office of the State Auditor reveals poor oversight by the Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) of its Inmate Placement Program (IPP), which places state prisoners in local jails rather than one of two state prisons. The audit found deficiencies ...
by Matt Clarke
On January 24, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in California federal court challenging the application to the federal government of a new state law — Assembly Bill 32 (A.B. 32) — which phases out all privately-operated prisons and jails inside state ...
by David M. Reutter
A Nevada federal district court found on February 7, 2020 that prison officials were liable for failing to provide evidence to a prisoner during disciplinary proceedings. The Court’s grant of summary judgment to Nevada prisoner John Melnik ordered a trial to determine damages.
The order accepted ...
by Douglas Ankney
On January 28, 2020, the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island found the state’s Department of Corrections (DOC) in violation of a 38-year-old consent order limiting stays in solitary confinement to 30 days for a single offense with a unilateral decision to change the limit to 31 ...
by David M. Reutter
A California federal district court granted a temporary restraining order that requires the defendants to take steps to end the retaliation against two class members housed at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD) near San Diego.
The court’s July 2, 2020, order found that the plaintiffs ...
by David M. Reutter
After what officials are calling coordinated fights, six Oklahoma prisons were placed on lockdown status for over a week. One prisoner died and 36 prisoners and several staff were injured in the melees.
The lockdowns began on September 15, 2019, after fights between gangs at prisons ...
by Ed Lyon
Nearly every resident of a prison will quickly tell anyone who asks that what passes for food there leaves a lot to be desired. It is a good bet that the moniker “mystery meat” originated in a prison chow hall somewhere.
In the early 2000s, the Texas ...
by Dale Chappell
With nearly one in four of the state’s frontline firefighters being state prisoners during peak wildfire season, California has been scrambling to find enough qualified firefighters to staff its fire crews for the upcoming season. This is because the state has locked down its prisoners, including all ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
On January 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado granted the habeas corpus petition of a parolee who had been re-confined for the remainder of his prison term after the Court found the applicable parole statute limited his confinement to 90 days.
In ...
by Michael D. Cohen, M.D.
There is growing concern that communities that host jails and prisons will never be able to control the coronavirus unless the epidemic in correctional institutions is well controlled.
If staff continue to get infected and introduce the virus back into the community, there will still ...
by David M. Reutter
A guilty plea to conspiracy and wire fraud charges was entered in a Michigan federal district court on December 4, 2019, by Tony Tuan Pham, also known as Anh Nguyen, in his role of coaching prospective and current federal prisoners on how to qualify for the ...
by Ken Silverstein
Unlock the Box supports education and advocacy efforts on the national, state, and local levels to advance the goal of ending solitary confinement in the United States. The coalition defines solitary confinement for adults as “confinement for more than 20 hours per day, alone or with a ...
by David M. Reutter
The Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC) agreed to pay $5,400 to resolve a former prisoner’s claim that alleged religious discrimination and failed equal opportunities for women.
The November 7, 2019 Conciliation Agreement resolved complaints brought by prisoner May Simmons, who was held at the Montana Women’s ...
by David M. Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held on March 6, 2020 that prison officials did not retaliate against a prisoner by transferring him to another prison where the transfer was a response to the prisoner’s grievances concerning confinement conditions.
Indiana prisoner Robert Holleman was described by ...
by Kevin Bliss
In March 2020, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced it would transfer guard Jermaine Darden to Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Fort Dix, where he will serve as the emergency preparedness officer for the low-security federal prison in Burlington County, New Jersey.
Darden, 48, was a jail captain ...
by David M. Reutter
An Ohio prisoner received a $110,518.94 settlement in a civil rights action that alleged guards used excessive force on him. The settlement, finalized on February 13, 2020, further provided for reversal of misconduct reports related to the incident.
While at Southern Correctional Facility on January 21, ...
by Matt Clarke
According to a secret report by the Investigation & Intelligence Division of the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC), guards beat and hog-tied a prisoner who was seeking medical attention for what turned out to be fatal injuries he received when he was beaten by another prisoner. The ...
by Sharon Dolovich and Brendan Saloner
Most Americans across states with spiking infection rates are choosing to recommit to social distancing to keep themselves safe. But one group of Americans does not have the luxury to make that choice: people in prison.
In the United States, the incarcerated typically live ...
by Kevin W. Bliss
Sex offenders who had completed their criminal sentences in the state of New Jersey were being civilly committed to a facility that had a higher death rate due to COVID-19 than any prison in the United States as of early June.
The Sexually Violent Predator Act ...
by Dale Chappell
In any Michigan prison right now, trading a package of ramen soup for just about anything else might be a deal nobody will make. That’s because the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus shut down a plant that produces the beloved prison staple in early June ...
by Kevin Bliss
Arkansas’ Cummins Unit prison facility had 11 confirmed deaths due to coronavirus as of June 9, 2020. Families were concerned over a lack of communication and delayed notification from the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADOC), often not knowing their loved ones lives were in danger until it ...
by Dale Chappell
While filing a notice of appeal on time is a mandatory, jurisdictional requirement that may not be waived or ignored, there is a provision that allows a motion for an extension of time to file the notice. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held ...
by Matt Clarke
A man who taught female Kansas state prisoners how to make dentures was convicted on March 6, 2020 of molesting a prisoner, sentenced to 32 months in prison and required to register as a sex offender for 25 years.
Thomas Co, 73, was the supervisor of the ...
by David M. Reutter
On February 28, 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the parties’ conflicting self-serving statements precluded the grant of summary judgement for defendants in a lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution.
Before the court was the appeal of Michigan prisoner Chris Davis, who is housed at ...
by Mark Wilson
On March 25, 2020 an Oregon federal court held that the statute of limitations for filing a federal civil rights action is tolled during Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) exhaustion.
Anthony Sam White is a paraplegic prisoner of the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC). He was denied ...
by Dale Chappell
I have to admit that the idea of a citebook in the age of searchable databases was a little lost on me. “Who needs a citebook these days,” I would say. But then Richard, managing editor at Criminal Legal News, asked me to take a look at ...
by Dale Chappell
It seems the best way to move up through the ranks within the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is to be a problem child. Personnel records reviewed by Injustice Watch show that prison guards who participate in and promote violence and abuse against prisoners get promoted despite ...
by Douglas Ankney
According to a June 30, 2020, report from The New York Times, until recently San Quentin had zero cases of COVID-19. However, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) transferred infected prisoners to San Quentin from the California Institution for Men (CIM) in ...
by Matt Clarke
New Mexico’s Otero County Prison Facility is unusual in that half of it is used by the federal government and half by the New Mexico Department of Corrections (DOC). Both sides are run by private prison operator Management & Training Corporation, or MTC. The state side has ...
by Jessica Lipscomb, originally published in Miami New Times, June 23, 2020
Eight years ago, today, Florida prison guards locked 50-year-old Darren Rainey inside a shower room, set the water temperature to scalding-hot, and turned it on. Roughly two hours later, Rainey collapsed and died inside that 3-by-8.5-foot room. ...
by Matt Clarke
On October 10, 2019, a former Michigan Department of Corrections (DOC) prison guard, who is Hispanic and openly gay, settled a lawsuit over her discriminatory treatment at a DOC prison for $135,000.
Twelve months after starting work at the DOC in January 2016, Ashley Menchaca transferred to ...
by Douglas Ankney
On February 25, 2020, student members of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign (HPDC) filed suit in the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, seeking to force the university to divest its charitable trust investments from entities that directly or indirectly profit from the “prison-industrial complex” (PIC) ...
by Matt Clarke
On February 28, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589(a), 1595, or TVPA, applies to privately operated immigration detention centers. The Act prohibits forced labor and it subjects violators to criminal and civil liability.
Plaintiffs Wilhen ...
by Bill Barton
According to Department of Justice (DOJ) statistics, Alabama’s prisons have the highest homicide rate among U.S. state prison systems, and it appears that rate is continuing to rise. A 2019 DOJ report said, “An excessive amount of violence, sexual abuse and prisoner deaths occur within Alabama’s prisons ...
by Chad Marks
On February 24, 2020 lawyers filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Dante Taylor’s estate after he was found dead in his prison cell at Wende Correctional Facility.
The lawsuit alleges that prison guards beat Taylor until he was unconscious. Shortly afterward, Taylor committed suicide. Court filings ...
by Dale Chappell
"Our work has changed. It’s shifted.” That statement was made by Jessica McArdle, a public defender in Springfield, Massachusetts, who says she and her co-workers have had to get creative in representing clients during the coronavirus pandemic. “Everything’s done remote now,” Kate Malone, another public defender and ...
by David M. Reutter
Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail (CCJ) agreed to a $140,000 settlement on February 14, 2020 in a civil rights action alleging a prisoner was subjected to excessive force and retaliation by guards.
Corrionne Lawrence was booked into CCJ on September 16, 2018, for a probation violation.
When ...
by Chad Marks
Kevin Younger was a prisoner at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center (MRDCC) when he was viciously assaulted by prison guards. The beating was in retaliation for an assault on one of the guards. Richard Hanna, Jemiah Green, and Kwasi Ramsey were part of a “goon ...
by Derek Gilna
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is seeking to block state and federal prisoners from receiving any of the $2.2 billion in coronavirus relief checks authorized by Congress and mailed out by the Treasury Department, despite there being no language in any of the legislation preventing incarcerated individuals ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held on February 19, 2020, that a totality of the circumstances must be considered in determining whether a “policy or custom” of a government agency caused an injury in order to file a Monell claim in federal court. ...
by Daniel A. Rosen
When those who have been incarcerated run for office, they can speak with authority about prison reform. They bring credibility that others simply can’t. In 2020, more ex-inmates than ever are coming out of the shadows and running for office, viewing their time behind bars as ...
by Dale Chappell
On November 15, 2019, the Utah Department of Corrections (DOC) settled lawsuits with four former prisoners who were tortured at the hands of Daggett County Jail guards, agreeing to pay out a total of $122,000. The abuse, which led to the closure of the jail, occurred between ...
by David M. Reutter
On January 30, 2020, a Michigan federal district court found the state Department of Corrections (MDOC) “places a substantial burden” on Jewish prisoners’ “religious beliefs by mandating a vegan diet for inmates approved for kosher.” Its order found that injunctive relief was required to cure the ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 1, 2020, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) began enforcing sweeping new restrictions on the mail received in its 104 prisons. The new policy basically bans prisoners from receiving anything except letters written on plain white paper mailed in plain white envelopes.
The mail ...
Loaded on
Aug. 1, 2020
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2020, page 62
California: Beyond Prison Walls, now in its eighth year with Playwrights Project partners at San Diego State University, spotlights the works of prisoner playwrights participating in Out of the Yard programs at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, Centinela State Prison and Community Transition Center. This year, San Diego State ...
