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Exceptional Punishments
by Kate Weisburd
No one should be made to give up their rights in exchange for being spared from prison.
The same scene unfolds in criminal courtrooms across the country every day. After someone has been found guilty by a jury or pled guilty, a judge imposes a sentence. The ...
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More from this issue:
- NaphCare: More Proof That Privatized Healthcare Deals Death and Misery to the Incarcerated to Enhance Profits, by David Reutter
- Woman Denied Cardiac Care in Federal Prison in Texas—Despite Personal Assurance of BOP Medical Director
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- With Push to Empty North Carolina’s Death Row Comes Another to End Life Without Parole
- Drunken “Karen” Jail Guard in Michigan Invades Former Home, Demands to Speak to Prosecutor When Cops Arrive
- Alaska Prisons Report Three Deaths in Three Days
- Months-Long Wisconsin Prison Lockdown Prompts Lawsuits
- Florida County Makes Free Jail Phone Calls Available
- Colorado Prisoners Disciplined for Not Working Despite Ban on Prison Slavery
- From Prison Cook to Praised Pizza Chef
- Louisville Jail Records 15 Detainee Deaths, 16 Employees Fired
- 428 Georgia Prison Employees Criminally Charged in Five Years
- California Prisons Locked Down After Massive Riot Hospitalizes Prisoner, Eight Guards
- One Detainee Dying Every Week in L.A. County Jails
- Sentencing Project Finds “Important Inroads” Against Mass Incarceration, Racial Inequality Behind Bars
- Condemned Texas Prisoner Ruled Too Mentally Ill to Execute, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Awarded Over $130,000 in Legal Costs and Fees for Defendant’s “Bad Faith” in Maine Records Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Oregon Prisoner’s Parole Deferral Based on “Dangerous Offender” Statute Reversed
- Maryland Compensates Exonerated Prisoner Over $340,000
- Seventh Circuit Again Rejects Challenge to Three-Book Limit at Cook County Jail by Now-Dead Detainee, by David Reutter
- $33 Million Awarded to Family of Oklahoma Jail Detainee Mocked By Nurse and Guards As He Died Begging for Help, by Douglas Ankney
- $9,000 Settlement in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Heat-Related Illness Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Refuses Michigan Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Despite Guard’s Conviction for Battery, by David Reutter
- Lights, Camera, Action! “Dead Man Walking” Comes to Sing Sing
- Parole and Probation Accused of Driving Prison Growth, by David Reutter
- Louisiana Supreme Court Springs Prisoner From Death Row
- $1.75 Million Settlement Reached in Washington Jail Suicide, by David Reutter
- Grand Jury Slams Sacramento County for Delaying Jail Improvements Mandated in Consent Decree, by Douglas Ankney
- Kansas DOC Claims Discrimination Against Wiccans Was “Inadvertent”, by Douglas Ankney
- California Adds Statewide Detention Monitors Overseeing Local Jails
- Massachusetts High Court Calls Denial of Prisoner’s Medical Parole without Risk Assessment Arbitrary and Capricious, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Revives Disabled New Jersey Prisoner’s Claim for Deprivation of Walking Cane, by Douglas Ankney
- Nine Employees Arrested at Troubled South Carolina Jail
- Missouri Moms Jailed After Kids Miss Too Much School
- Two Kansas Prison Guards Fired, Six Disciplined for Mocking Injured Prisoner and Refusing Her Help
- Exceptional Punishments, by Kate Weisburd
- N.J. Prison Guard Sacked Over Mock George Floyd Killing
- Third Circuit Unhappy with Federal Detainee’s Denied Marriage Request at Pennsylvania GEO Group Lockup
- Russian Opposition Leader Dies in Prison
- Oklahoma Jail Withholds Death Records, Fails to Report Five Since 2018, by Matthew Clarke
- $8.5 Million Settlement After Pretrial Detainee Suffocated by Guards and Medical Staff at Virginia Psychiatric Hospital, by David Reutter
- $11.6 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Debit Release Card Case in Washington; California Victory Remanded
- Georgia Sheriff Resigns After Groping TV Judge’s Breast
- North Carolina Court of Appeals Reinstates Parolee’s Parental Rights, Says Parole Conditions Barred Him from Visiting Minor Daughter, by Matthew Clarke
- Finding Indiana Grievance Process “Unavailable,” Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment to 22 Prisoners on Same Day
- Alabama Denies Parole to Former Sheriff Convicted of Corruption
- Massachusetts Prisoners Again Stage Hunger Strike Against Solitary Confinement
- Eleventh Circuit Calls Georgia Prisoner’s Dismissed Suit Outside PLRA “Strike Zone”
- $19.3 Million Awarded to Former Illinois Prisoner Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted by Prison Counselor
- Missouri Expands Prison Mail Ban to Include Books Sent by Family, Friends
- Federal Prisoners Released Under First Step Act Show 37% Reduction in Recidivism, by Matthew Clarke
- Arizona Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment for Corizon Health in State Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Diabetes, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington DOC Outfits Guards with Narcan
- Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Use of Presumptive Drug Tests by Washington DOC
- Fifth Circuit Finds Louisiana Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Not Sufficiently “Atypical” to Violate the Constitution, by David Reutter
- Connecticut DOC Held Liable for Failure to Treat Transgender Prisoner’s Gender Dysphoria, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Missouri Prison Chief in Sexual Abuse Claims Against Former Guard, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Says Federal Prisoner in California May Have Bivens Claim for Delays in Medical Care Allegedly to Cover Up Assault by BOP Guard
- $2,000 Paid to Former Arkansas Jail Detainees Given Horse Dewormer for COVID-19, by Douglas Ankney
- At BOP California “Rape Club” Prison: Historic Ruling, FBI Raid, Warden Removed
- News in Brief
More from Kate Weisburd:
- Exceptional Punishments, April 1, 2024
More from these topics:
- Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row, Jan. 15, 2025. Alternative Sentencing, Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.
- Demonstrable Remorse, Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Alternatives to Incarceration, Aug. 1, 2024. Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- California Court of Appeal Explains Qualification for Mental Health Diversion Under Pen. Code § 1001.36, Rules Defendant Qualified for Pretrial Mental Health Diversion, July 15, 2024. Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health.
- Despite Unemployment Spike, Alabama Refuses Prisoners Work-Release Paroles, July 1, 2024. Work Release.
- Other Jails Study Miami Diversion Program to Keep Mentally Ill from Repeated Incarceration, June 1, 2024. Alternative Sentencing, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Involuntary Treatment/Drugging.
- Colorado Law Creates “Rebuttable Presumption” Against Incarcerating Pregnant Women, June 1, 2024. OB/GYN, Bail, Alternative Sentencing, Mothers in Prison, Bail/Pretrial Release, Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- $700,000 Jury Verdict for Wisconsin Prisoner Denied Due Process in Disciplinary Hearing, June 1, 2024. Work Release, Hearing Officers, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Escapes, Damages.
- Sick Georgia Prisoners Forced to Choose Between Treatment and Early Release, March 1, 2024. Work Release, Commentary/Reviews, Medical, Hepatitis, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Florida Pastor Accused of Running Shoplifting Ring With DUI Diversion Program Participants, March 1, 2024. Contractor Misconduct, Alternative Sentencing.
- The Problem with Some Non-Carceral Punishments, Feb. 15, 2024. Commentary/Reviews, Crime/Demographics, Alternative Sentencing, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Conditions of.