by Anthony W. Accurso
Randall Morris was held in Arkansas’ Miller County Detention Center (MCDC) from January 20, 2020, until he was transferred to Saline County Detention Center (SCDC) on March 24, 2021. During this time, the 55-year-old disabled veteran allegedly suffered 17 violations of his constitutional rights, …
by Anthony W. Accurso
Spit hoods are a type of restraint used by prison and jail guards, as well as other law enforcement and custodial healthcare professionals, ostensibly to protect themselves from the bites and spit of detainees. The instructions are simple: place the hood over a detainee’s …
by Anthony W. Accurso
Since reporting a federal Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation was opened in September 2024 into sexual abuse of prisoners at two California lockups, PLN has obtained documentation of $4 million in settlement payouts to five victims of a former guard at Central California Women’s …
by Douglas Ankney and Anthony W. Accurso
Prisoners have lost two chances to rein in abuses of solitary confinement in the past year, most recently with a toothless advisory from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). That followed a refusal …
by Anthony W. Accurso
By the end of 2024, North Carolina’s Division of Community Supervision (DCS) will expand its Specialty Mental Health Probation (SMHP) to 56 of the state’s 100 counties. Employing 78 specially trained probation officers and 58 chief probation officers, SMHP represents the state’s attempt to …
by Anthony W. Accurso
A federal civil rights suit filed on March 12, 2024, accused a guard at South Carolina’s Marlboro County Detention Center of brutalizing a homeless mentally ill detainee—even stomping on his head. “Stories like this, where men and women are beaten, brutalized, dehumanized and even …
by Anthony W. Accurso
With the Harris County Jail (HCJ) short 139 guards, minimum staffing ratios set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) have mathematically capped the number of beds that can be filled at the Houston lockup. As a result, the County has been shipping …
by Anthony W. Accurso
After a dozen years of fighting over a mass strip-search conducted during a training exercise in an Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) prison for women, the federal court for the Central District of Illinois approved a settlement on December 28, 2023. The successful conclusion …
by Anthony W. Accurso
A report issued by California’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on January 29, 2024, harshly criticized the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for taking prisoner grievances that contained allegations of staff misconduct and reclassifying them as “routine grievances.”
Of the …
by Anthony W. Accurso
On April 18, 2022, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed dismissal of a suit filed by Kansas prisoner Kenneth D. Leek, holding that he met the standard for alleging an access-to-the-court claim in his complaint.
Leek, a prisoner in …
