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Archive: 2023
March
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With “Fox in Charge of the Henhouse,” Almost All Misconduct Accusations Against BOP Staff Result in No Discipline
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 1)
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Tenth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Utah Jailers After Detainee’s Withdrawal Death
by David Reutter
(p 10)
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Riot and Escape at Nevada Prison Lead to Charges Against Four Guards, Firings or Resignations of Top Officials
by David Reutter
(p 12)
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From the Editor
by Paul Wright
(p 12)
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In an Ominous Pattern, People Are Dying Once Transferred to Louisiana Prison
by Victoria Law
(p 14)
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Alabama County Ends Controversial Policy Using Women’s Pregnancies to Jail Them
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 17)
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Former California Prison Warden and Guard Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Two Dozen Prisoners and Coworkers
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 18)
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California Governor Vetoes State’s Humane Solitary Confinement Bill
by Kevin Bliss
(p 18)
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Fifth Circuit: Texas Prison Property Rules Withstand Scrutiny Under Religious Free-Exercise Clause
by David Reutter
(p 20)
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Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim He Was Wrongfully Fired From Prison Commissary for Attending Religious Service
by David Reutter
(p 21)
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“Acres of Skin” – Redux
by Gregory J. Dober
(p 22)
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Illinois Supreme Court Orders State DOC to Fund Required Treatment and Housing for Sex Offender’s Conditional Release
by David Reutter
(p 22)
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SCOTUS Helps Revive Malicious Prosecution Claim Against Chicago Police Officers
by David Reutter, Kevin Bliss
(p 24)
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Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Over Flesh-Eating Infection
by David Reutter
(p 24)
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Eighth Circuit Affirms Conviction and Sentencing of Former Arkansas Sheriff for Assaulting Detainees
by Harold Hempstead
(p 26)
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$1.455 Million Settlement for Discrimination Against Black Minnesota Jail Guards Barred from Watching Floyd Killer
by David Reutter
(p 26)
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Pennsylvania Guards and Their Attorneys Spanked for Discovery Abuse in Prisoner’s Excessive-Force Suit
by David Reutter
(p 28)
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Pennsylvania County Commissioner Barred from DA’s Email After Own Prison Record Is Purged and Jail Key Copied
by Kevin Bliss
(p 28)
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Seventh Circuit Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Require Bail Hearing Within 48 Hours of Arrest
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 30)
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Fifth Circuit Greenlights Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Held in Local Jails Beyond Release Date
by Matthew Clarke
(p 30)
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More Drugs Seized by Florida DOC During COVID-19 Lockdowns Than Before
by David Reutter
(p 32)
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Fifth Circuit: No Liability for Texas County that Improperly Relied on Polygraph to Imprison Released Sex Offender Additional 13 Years
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 32)
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Second Circuit Reinstates N.Y. Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, Finding Grievance Procedure ‘Unavailable’ in Mental Health Unit
by David Reutter
(p 34)
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Federal Court Holds Illinois DOC in Contempt for Failing to Remediate Substandard Healthcare
by Douglas Ankney
(p 34)
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After 13 Jail Deaths in Eight Months of 2022, California Sheriff Finally Reveals How They Happened
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 36)
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$175,000 Paid by California County to Escaped Prisoner Mauled By K-9 During Recapture
by Keith Sanders
(p 36)
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Tenth Circuit Revives Kansas Prisoner’s Claim That He Was Denied Access to Court
by Anthony Accurso
(p 38)
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$87,000 Paid to Virginia Prisoner Kicked in Testicles by Guard
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 38)
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Alabama Supreme Court Says Prisoner Who Didn’t Return From Work Release Punishable Under Felony Escape Statute
by David Reutter
(p 39)
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Ex-Felon “Dirtbags” Accused of Ordering Hit on Detainee at Florida Jail, But Questions Linger
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 40)
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Third Former Guard at Troubled Federal Prison in Brooklyn Sentenced After Retrial and Conviction for Raping Prisoner
by Chuck Sharman
(p 40)
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Hospitalized California IST Defendants Entitled to Jail Conduct Credits
by Mark Wilson
(p 42)
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Seventh Circuit Sides With Muslim Prisoner, Bars Strip Search by Transgender Wisconsin Guard
by David Reutter
(p 42)
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Florida DA Reopens Cold Murder Case, Exonerates Wrongly Imprisoned Man, Finds Real Killers – and Gets Axed by Governor
by David Reutter
(p 44)
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Judge Dismisses Suit Filed by California Town to Keep State Prison Open
by Keith Sanders
(p 44)
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18 Stabbings in Less Than Nine Months at Oklahoma CoreCivic Prison
by Keith Sanders
(p 45)
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$14,000 Paid by California to Mentally Ill Prisoner Who Alleged Repeated Maulings by Guards
by Douglas Ankney
(p 46)
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Hypothermia Kills Prisoner in Cold Pennsylvania Jail Cell, One of 17 Deaths Since 2019
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 46)
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North Dakota Guard Fired After Suicide of Convicted Quadruple Murderer
by Justin McFatridge
(p 48)
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Smuggling Ring Busted in Georgia Jail, 11 Arrested Including Four Guards and Former Nurse
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 48)
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After Botched Lethal Injection, Alabama Will Execute Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia
by David Reutter
(p 50)
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Massachusetts High Court: Lawmakers Haven’t Stopped Sheriffs From Taking Kickbacks from Jail Phone Calls, and Neither Will We
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 50)
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Elderly Prisoners Catch a Break on Medicare Part B
by Eike Blohm, MD
(p 51)
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Another Prisoner Dies in Another Fire at Indiana Prison
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 52)
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Second Hunger Strike Met With Pepper Spray at Washington GEO Group Lockup Where ICE Detainees Allege Widespread Sexual Abuse
by Keith Sanders
(p 52)
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$350,000 Settlement Reached in Florida Prisoner’s Murder
by David Reutter
(p 54)
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Alabama Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Dies for Lack of Proper Affidavits
by David Reutter
(p 54)
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Colorado’s Halfway Houses Returning Half of Residents to Prison
by Keith Sanders
(p 56)
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Transgender Idaho Prisoner Who Won Gender Conforming Surgery Awarded Over $2.6 Million in Legal Fees
by Eike Blohm, MD
(p 56)
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Parents Losing Children Because They Can’t Repay Foster Care Costs Incurred During Incarceration
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 57)
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CoreCivic Still Accruing Fines for Short-Staffing Florida Jail Where Developmentally Disabled Teen Was Raped
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 58)
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Second Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Connecticut Cops who Sicced K-9 on Suspect in His Holding Cell
by Casey Bastian
(p 58)
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$857,500 Paid by California County for Jail Detainee’s Death, While Cellmate Who Beat Him Is Now in State Prison
by David Reutter
(p 60)
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Over $298,000 Awarded to Alabama Jail Detainee with Heart Disease After Guards, Nurses Ignored Firing Defibrillator
by David Reutter
(p 60)
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Nebraska Assistant Warden Avoids Prosecution for Sexually Abusing Prisoner, Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge and Gets a Year in Jail
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 61)
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Former PLN Editor Settles Suit Over Detention in Tennessee ‘Iron Man’ Cell, Gets 40-Year Prison Term for Vandalizing Nashville Jail
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 62)
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After Eleventh Circuit Says ICE Detainee Is Not “Prisoner” Subject to PLRA, He Goes Missing from Georgia
by David Reutter
(p 62)
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News in Brief
(p 63)
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GTL Ordered to Pay $18.675 Million in Attorney Fees and Costs in Prison Phone Class Action
by Anthony Accurso
(p 63)
February
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Convictions at Any Cost: DOJ Report Slams Three Decades of Snitches and Due Process Violations in California’s Orange County
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 1)
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New BOP Director Clears Up First Step Act Implementation
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 10)
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From the Editor
by Paul Wright
(p 10)
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Incarcerated People Have Few Ways to Fight Back Against Censorship in Prisons
by Tamar Sarai
(p 12)
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Burning Tires Left Louisiana Prisoners With Migraines, Breathing Problems, and Minimal Medical Care As black smoke poured out of a burning tire dump in Louisiana, people inside the prison next door struggled to keep the fumes out.
by Alleen Brown
(p 16)
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Ninth Circuit Says Statements Relayed at Criminal Trial By Nurse and Doctor Are Admissible, Not Hearsay
by David Reutter
(p 18)
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$959,000 Paid by Pennsylvania County in Deaths of Two Detainees, Plus at Least $750,000 from PrimeCare
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 20)
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Fourth Circuit Reinstates Virginia Prisoner’s Spoliation Motion for Lost Video of His Alleged Assault by Guards
by David Reutter
(p 22)
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Federal Judge in Pennsylvania Rules BOP Must Honor Transgender Prisoner’s Legal Name Change
by Casey Bastian
(p 22)
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Seventh Circuit: Indiana Prisoner Who Failed to Formalize Grievance Also Failed to Exhaust Remedies
by David Reutter
(p 24)
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Tenth Circuit Says Prison Work Assignment Covered Under ADA Protections
by Kevin Bliss
(p 24)
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Investigation Reveals “Black Market in Broad Daylight” for Prison Food
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 26)
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Record Deaths at Rikers Island Blamed on Guards’ Absenteeism, Abuse and Corruption
by David Reutter, Anthony Accurso
(p 28)
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$20,000 Paid by Centurion and MHM Health Professionals to Arizona Prisoner for Alleged Deliberate Indifference and Medical Negligence
by Jacob Barrett
(p 29)
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Third Circuit Strips Qualified Immunity From Delaware Guards Who Held Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary for Seven Months
by David Reutter
(p 30)
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Too Many Alabama Prisoners Still Dying with Too-Few Guards, Many Corrupt
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 32)
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Former Tennessee Police Chief Sentenced to Six Years for Abusing Arrestees
by Kevin Bliss
(p 33)
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Florida Jailers Leave Detainees Out of Evacuation Plans During Hurricane
by David Reutter
(p 34)
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Ninth Circuit Revives Failure-to-Protect Claim of Arizona Prisoner Beaten by Gang
by David Reutter
(p 34)
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Ninth Circuit Says California Felons Can Fight Fires While Imprisoned, But Not After
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 36)
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Arizona DOC Accused of Cheating Both Guards and Prisoners Out of Hourly Wages
by Keith Sanders
(p 36)
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Fourth Circuit Says Prisoners with Gender Dysphoria not Excluded from ADA Protection
by Harold Hempstead
(p 38)
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Former Texas Prisoner Wins 12-Year Fight for Justice
by Kevin Bliss
(p 39)
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Arizona Resumes Executions
by Chuck Sharman, Eike Blohm, MD
(p 40)
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Student Loan Debt and Prisoners
by Edward Lyon
(p 40)
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New Report Estimates U.S. Prisons Hold Nearly 50,000 People in Solitary Confinement
by Jennifer Taylor
(p 42)
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After Federal Judge Censors Lawyer’s Tweets About CoreCivic, Company Settles Suit Over Tennessee Prisoner’s Murder by Cellmate
by Harold Hempstead
(p 42)
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Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Derivative Sovereign Immunity for Jail Physician
by Matthew Clarke
(p 44)
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Fourth Circuit Says Three-Strikes Federal Prisoner’s Imminent Danger Claim Must Be Evaluated on ‘Totality of Circumstances’
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 44)
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Nevada Federal Court Says Prisoner’s § 1983 Suit Should’ve Been a Habeas Petition, But Returns Filing Fee
by David Reutter
(p 46)
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Fifth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Mississippi Sheriffs in Suit Over Mentally Ill Man’s Years-long Unlawful Detention
by Matthew Clarke
(p 46)
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Georgia Jails Faulted in Struggle With High COVID-19 Infection Rates
by Kevin Bliss
(p 48)
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PLN Contributor’s Retaliation Suit Against Oregon Prison Officials Survives
by Jacob Barrett
(p 48)
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Seventh Circuit Trims What Indiana Prisoner Owes Jail Doctor in Lost Lawsuit
by David Reutter
(p 50)
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Prisoner Health Update: Hepatitis C
by Eike Blohm, MD
(p 52)
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Under New Mississippi Law, State Chooses Execution Method
by David Reutter
(p 52)
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Award Slashed for Delaware Prisoner Sexually Groped by Guard
by Kevin Bliss
(p 54)
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Florida Makes Parolees Criminally Liable for Accidental Voter Registration Fraud
by David Reutter
(p 54)
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Oklahoma Jail Guard Gets 46 Months for Setting Up White Supremacist Attack on Black Detainees
by David Reutter
(p 55)
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DOJ Releases Special Report on U.S. Prison COVID-19 Response
by Eike Blohm, MD
(p 56)
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Federal Judge Refuses to Shorten Corruption Sentence for Former Head of New York City Jail Guards’ Union
by Matthew Clarke
(p 56)
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Former Judges in Pennsylvania ‘Kids for Cash’ Scandal Must Pay $206 Million in Damages
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 57)
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$60,000 Paid by Pennsylvania County to Jail Detainee Savagely Beaten by Cellmate While Guards Allegedly Ignored Cries for Help
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 58)
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$300,000 Paid by Colorado to Prisoner Sexually Harassed by Guard with Foot Fetish
by Harold Hempstead
(p 59)
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$98,000 Paid by BOP to Immigrant Detainees Racially Profiled as Terrorists in New York City Lockup
by Kevin Bliss
(p 60)
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$480,000 Paid by California County to Detainee Whose Newborn Died After Guards Stopped at Starbucks en Route to Hospital
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 60)
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Former BOP Warden Convicted of Sexually Abusing Prisoners in California ‘Rape Club’ Scandal
by Kevin Bliss
(p 62)
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Fifth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Mississippi Cops Who Let Injured Hemophiliac Bleed Out in Jail
by Matthew Clarke
(p 62)
-
News in Brief
(p 63)
January
-
Cages Without Bars Are Widening the Net: The Explosion of Electronic Monitoring
by Brian Dolinar, James Kilgore
(p 1)
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From the Editor
by Paul Wright
(p 12)
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Amended Consent Decree Entered in 11-Year-Old Class-Action Challenging Prisoner Healthcare in Illinois DOC
by Douglas Ankney
(p 12)
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Hawaii Inmate Deaths Are The Highest In 10 Years. But The State Can’t Say Why Corrections officials still aren’t providing a cause of death for 20 of the 23 prisoners who died in Hawaii prisons and jails last year.
by Kevin Dayton
(p 14)
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Arizona Prisoners Win Preliminary Injunctions Requiring Centurion To Treat Them
by David Reutter
(p 16)
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Minnesota Department of Corrections Searching for Tattooist for New Prison Program
by Jacob Barrett
(p 16)
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Florida Arrests Ex-Felons for Voter Fraud
by David Reutter
(p 18)
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Music Stops in Fifth Circuit’s Qualified Immunity ‘Dance,’ Leaving Plaintiffs With Shortened Discovery Period
by Matthew Clarke
(p 20)
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Plastic Surgery Has a Troubled History Inside Prisons. Some Advocates Want It to Make a Comeback. Should cosmetic procedures be part of how society prepares prisoners to reenter it?
by Zara Stone
(p 22)
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Louisville Jail Counts 12 Deaths in Ten Months
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 24)
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Third Circuit Agrees With Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Access-to-Courts Claim, But Grants Defendants Qualified Immunity
by David Reutter
(p 26)
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Rhode Island Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike, Staff Denies It
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 27)
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$3 Million From Forsyth County, No Stay in Civil Case Against Wellpath Nurse Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter of N.C. Jail Detainee
by Eike Blohm, MD
(p 28)
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California City Ends Private Jail Operator’s Contract After Mass Employee Resignations
by Keith Sanders
(p 28)
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Eighth Circuit Revives Missouri Prisoner’s Claim Against Prison Food Manager for Denying Renal Diet
by David Reutter
(p 29)
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Nevada Muslim Prisoner Wins Suit Over Denial of Jumu’ah Prayer
by Harold Hempstead
(p 30)
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Guards Fleeing Texas Prisons
by Matthew Clarke
(p 31)
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‘Qualified Immunity Cannot Shield Them’: Fourth Circuit Advances Suit by Virginia Prisoners for Overlong Solitary Confinement
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 32)
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California Prison Guards Sentenced for Assaulting Prisoners
by Jacob Barrett
(p 32)
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Eleventh Circuit Says Passover Sign-Up Requirement in Florida Jail Passes Constitutional Muster
by David Reutter
(p 34)
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Ohio Supreme Court Grants Records but No Damages for Prisoner Making Request
by Jacob Barrett
(p 34)
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Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Kill the Right to Abortion Under BOP Policy?
by Dale Chappell
(p 35)
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Second Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Wardens Accused of Violating Religious Freedom of Muslim Prisoners in Connecticut
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 36)
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California Guards Kill Two Prisoners Who Attacked a Third
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 36)
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Idaho Cancels Execution Because It Cannot Obtain Lethal Injection Drugs
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 38)
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Prisoner Health Update: MRSA Infections
by Eike Blohm, MD
(p 38)
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Arizona Jail Racks Up Four Deaths And Two Escapes In Less Than Two Months
by Chuck Sharman
(p 39)
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Fifth Circuit Holds PLRA’s ‘Three-Strikes’ Provision Does Not Apply to Actions Removed From State Court
by Matthew Clarke
(p 40)
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BOP Settles for $4.18 Million With Six Prisoners Raped by Guard at Now-Shuttered Manhattan Federal Jail
by Casey Bastian
(p 40)
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Incarceration Exacerbates Obesity in America
by Keith Sanders
(p 42)
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Ohio Pays $185,000 to State Prisoner Bitten in Genitals by K-9
by Keith Sanders
(p 42)
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Former Felons Elected to Rhode Island Legislature
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 44)
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Investor Lawsuit Against GEO Group Trimmed
by David Reutter
(p 44)
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Federal Judge in South Carolina Holds BOP Liable for Delayed Treatment That Left Federal Prisoner Partially Blinded
by Casey Bastian
(p 45)
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California Prison Officials Cleared After Prisoner Murders Two Sex Offenders
by David Reutter
(p 46)
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$450,000 Settlement to Illinois Prisoner Whose Untreated Boil Left Him Paraplegic
by Harold Hempstead
(p 46)
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$3.5 Million Paid To Estate Of Iowa Jail Detainee Who Suffered Seizure And Died When Left Unattended
by Keith Sanders
(p 47)
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Daughter of Condemned Missouri Prisoner Unsuccessfully Sues to Witness His Execution
by Jo Ellen Nott
(p 48)
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New Connecticut Law Restricts Use of Solitary Confinement
by David Reutter, Keith Sanders
(p 48)
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Former South Carolina Sheriff Begins 46-Month Prison Term for Corruption
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 49)
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‘Tragic and Wholly Unacceptable’ Gang Violence Erupts at Georgia Women’s Prison
by Jenifer Lockwood
(p 50)
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Virginia Swipes Sentence Credits From 560 Prisoners Just About to Get Out
by David Reutter
(p 50)
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Georgia Prisoner Sentenced to Death for Killing Two Guards Dies by Apparent Suicide
by Keith Sanders
(p 51)
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UCLA Study Finds Over Half of ‘Natural’ Deaths Inside L.A. County Jails Showed Signs of Physical Harm
by Keith Sanders
(p 52)
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GEO Group Gets Another Extension to Biden’s Deadline for USMS at California Prison
by Jenifer Lockwood
(p 52)
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Ex-Prisoner Re-Elected to New York State Assembly
by Keith Sanders
(p 53)
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Fifth Circuit: Martinez Report May Not Override Factual Allegations in Prisoner’s Complaint
by Matthew Clarke
(p 54)
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Over $237,000 Awarded in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Suit Accusing Guard of Unwanted Sexual Advances
by Kevin Bliss
(p 54)
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Potentially Fatal Legionella Bacteria Found at Six Illinois Prisons
by Casey Bastian
(p 55)
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OIG Report Defers Claims That ICE Detainees in Georgia Had Forced Hysterectomies
by Ashleigh Dye
(p 56)
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Second Circuit: N.Y. Detainee Didn’t Fail to Exhaust Administrative Remedies When Jail Grievance Procedure Excluded Matter Forming Basis of Claim
by Matthew Clarke
(p 56)
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‘Time for Me to Go’: Troubled Oklahoma Jail Loses Administrator
by Matthew Clarke
(p 57)
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Mississippi Demands $1.9 Million From MTC For Short-Staffing Private State Prison
by Kevin Bliss
(p 58)
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Oklahoma Raises Pay for Execution Doctors From $300 to $15,000 Per Execution, Still Won’t Say Who They Are or What They Do
by Matthew Clarke
(p 58)
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HRDC Sues Wyoming Jail for Unlawful Censorship
by Douglas Ankney
(p 59)
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Mississippi Reopens Walnut Grove Prison Just in Time for Prison Population Explosion
by Harold Hempstead
(p 59)
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Florida Supreme Court: Trial Courts Have Authority to Correct Sentencing Errors, But Subject to Time Limits
by David Reutter
(p 60)
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$115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner
by David Reutter
(p 60)
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Massive Price Tags and Meager Results: The Legacy of Federal Monitors in New York City
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 62)
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ACLU Accepts $37,500 Settlement Over Redacted Records From New Mexico Prison Healthcare Provider
by Benjamin Tschirhart
(p 62)
-
News in Brief
(p 63)