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Violence, Security Lapses and Media Attention Lead to Reforms at Georgia Prison
A series of investigative news reports by Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Joy Lukachick, published from February to December 2013, revealed numerous problems in Georgia’s prison system – particularly at Hays State Prison (HSP), located around 40 miles south of Chattanooga, Tennessee – and resulted in lawsuits, security improvements and …
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More from this issue:
- Violence, Security Lapses and Media Attention Lead to Reforms at Georgia Prison, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Prison Phone Justice Campaign: Recent Developments
- Bankruptcy Injunction Covers Pre-petition Incarceration Costs, but Not Those that Accrue Afterwards
- What Are the Odds of Complete Reversal After Conviction in the Second Circuit?, by Peter Schmidt
- The Effects of Private Prison Confinement in Minnesota on Offender Recidivism
- Confronting Prison Slave Labor Camps and Other Myths, by James Kilgore
- Ninth Circuit: 9-Year Detention Pending Civil Commitment Proceeding Warrants Habeas Relief
- Possession of Rape Video Warrants Restitution; Victim Awarded Over $1 Million Thus Far; Supreme Court Grants Cert.
- California: Felons with Prior Juvenile Strikes Excluded from County Jail Placement Under Realignment Act
- PA Prison Lieutenant Fired After Assisting in Criminal Investigation
- PLN Settles Censorship Suit Against Texas County Jail for $175,000
- New Trial Granted in Jail Strip Search Case Following Jury Verdict; $385,000 Settlement, by Matthew Clarke
- California: State Prisoner Cannot Serve Concurrent Sentence in County Jail
- Iowa: Bad Faith or Misconduct can Overcome Mental-Process Privilege in Disciplinary Case
- Prisoner Assaulted in Tennessee Jail Settles Suit for $530,000, by Derek Gilna
- Arrested: What to do When Your Loved One’s in Jail, by Wes Denham, by John Dannenberg
- California: Sexually Violent Predator Entitled to Jury Trial on Petition Seeking Conditional Release
- Medical Parole for Texas Prisoners on the Decline, by Matthew Clarke
- Qualified Immunity Denied to Prison Psychiatrist who Prescribed Lethal Drug Combination; $450,000 Settlement
- Court Employee Fired for Helping Wrongfully Convicted Prisoner Prove His Innocence, by Christopher Zoukis
- NY Prisoner’s Youthful Age Considered in Modifying Prison Disciplinary Sanction
- Eighth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Excessive Use of Force, Retaliation
- Islamic Organization Petitions to Let Muslim Women Prisoners Wear Hijabs, by Christopher Zoukis
- West Virginia Sex Offender Does Not Have Right to Attend Specified Church
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Wiccan Prisoners’ Establishment Clause Claim
- Rules Governing Lethal Injections Not Required under Georgia Law
- Deliberate Indifference Medical Claim Accrues Upon Discovery of Injury and its Cause
- Private Corrections Institute Issues First Annual Awards for Activism, Advocacy and Reporting on Private Prisons
- Criminal Background Checks Criticized for Incorrect Data, Racial Discrimination, by Derek Gilna
- Former Kansas Prisoner’s Sexual Misconduct Suit Overcomes Qualified Immunity
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Six-Day Contraband Watch Conditions
- Reflections on the No More Jails Campaign in Champaign County, Illinois, by James Kilgore
- Ninth Circuit Questions Constitutionality of Requiring Jail Prisoners to Wear Pink Underwear, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Jail Official Indicted for Groping Co-workers, by Christopher Zoukis
- Solitary Confinement’s Invisible Scars, by Five Oman Mualimm-ak
- Lawsuit, Whistleblower Allege Rape by Guards at New Mexico Prison
- Ninth Circuit: Immigration Detainees Must be Afforded Opportunity to Challenge Continued Detention after Six Months
- Discretionary Immunity Dismissal of Ohio Prisoner’s Negligence Claims Reversed
- Restitution Not Owed for Arrest Costs, West Virginia Court Holds, by Derek Gilna
- Washington: No Public Funds for Deferred Prosecution Treatment Programs
- Short-term Deprivation of Toilet Paper Does Not Violate Detainee’s Rights
- Justice Department Reports: Correctional Populations Declining at Slower Pace, by Derek Gilna
- Jails Market Electronic Cigarettes to Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- Crime Declines while Anti-crime Funding Increases, by Christopher Zoukis
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025
- Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay for Non-Medical Reasons, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, Aug. 1, 2025
- First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court, Aug. 1, 2025
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025. Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- Now Under Federal Receivership, New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Eighth Amendment.
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Sexual Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Stun Guns/Tasers.
- Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025. War on Terror, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Terrorism.
- $2.6 Million Paid for Detoxing Washington Jail Detainee Allowed to Leap to His Death, Additional NaphCare Payout Undisclosed, Aug. 1, 2025. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care, Aug. 1, 2025. Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Former Maine Prison Guard Arrested and Detained by ICE Agents, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Guards/Staff, Immigration Law/Offenses.

