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Articles by Christopher Zoukis

Studies Suggest Parental Incarceration is More Damaging to Children than Death of a Parent

A study published in the September 2014 issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior found much higher rates of significant health and behavioral problems among children of incarcerated parents as opposed to children with similar demographic, socioeconomic and familial characteristics. The research, conducted by Prof. Kristin Turney at ...

Book Review: The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (2nd Edition)

The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (2nd Edition), by Brandon Sample and Alissa Hull (PLN Publishing, 2016). 275 pages, $49.95 (softcover)

Book review by Christopher Zoukis

The much-anticipated second edition of The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by Brandon Sample and Alissa Hull, is the fifth book to ...

Exonerated Prisoner Appointed to Connecticut’s Parole Board

In an unusual turn of events, a former prisoner was appointed to Connecticut’s Parole Board. While ex-prisoners are typically not considered as parole board members, state officials decided that Kenneth F. Ireland was a qualified candidate.

In 1989, when he was 18 years old, Ireland was convicted of raping and ...

New Study Debunks Common Beliefs of Children of Incarcerated Parents

by Christopher Zoukis

A study released by the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, and in conjunction with the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated, debunks commonly cited statistics concerning children with incarcerated parents, calling the statistics "unsupported by the data and potentially stigmatizing[.]"

According to ...

Federal Clemency Initiative Granting Relief At Slow Pace

The Obama administration's "Clemency Initiative 2014," a highly-touted program designed to grant clemency to non-violent offenders and other federal prisoners, has yet to make a substantial impact on the exploding federal prison population. While some 16 percent of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' 218,000 prisoners have applied for clemency, less ...

Sexual Discrimination Suit Against Bureau of Prisons Settled

A complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding sexual harassment, abuse and intimidation brought against the Bureau of Prisons has been settled.

Lynda Kay Laurin, a Human Resource Specialist at Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood, Pennsylvania, filed her EEOC complaint on November 21, 2000. Laurin alleged that Assistant Inmate ...

Discrimination Complaint Against Bureau of Prisons Settled

A discrimination complaint filed by a Mexican-American female employee of the Bureau of Prisons was settled in August 2001.

Maria Elena Carnera, a Mexican-American woman, was employed as a prison guard at Metropolitan Correctional Center New York when she filed her discrimination complaint. Carnera alleged that she was terminated in ...

Bureau of Prisons Pays $300,000 for Claim Relating to Beating of Prisoner

The Bureau of Prisons agreed to settle claims relating to the severe beating of one inmate by another in February 1993.

The plaintiff, Mark D. Lang, was beaten unconscious on the first day of an 18 month sentence for fraud and conspiracy to grow marijuana. Lang had reported to Federal ...

Bureau of Prisons Pays $40,000 to Settle Prisoner's Injury Claim

Lai Chiem Saelee, a prisoner at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, California, settled her claim for injuries caused by the negligence of the Bureau of Prisons in July 1999.

Saelee sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2671 et seq., and alleged that Warden Loy Hayes and ...

BOP Settles Sexual Orientation and Reprisal Discrimination Claims

The Bureau of Prisons settled multiple claims of discrimination brought by an employee in July 2001.

Kimberly Ann Chermock filed a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation at Federal Correctional Institution Pekin, Illinois in December 1998. Chermock, a GS-10 ...