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Articles by Chuck Sharman

Immigrants in California CoreCivic Detention Center File Complaints Over Staff Mistreatment, Sexual Misconduct

By Chuck Sharman

Four men held for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by private prison firm CoreCivic at its Otay-Mesa Detention Center in San Diego filed complaints after a staff member allegedly ogled them on March 22, 2022. That was less than two weeks after another group …

Guard Accused of Organizing Prisoner “Sex Shows” at Tennessee Jail

By Chuck Sharman

A former jailer was fired and the sheriff is now being sued after two women detained at the Grainger County Jail complained they were forced to stage “sex shows” at the Tennessee lockup on more than 30 occasions over a two-month period beginning in February …

CFPB Report: ‘Criminal Justice Financial Ecosystem Exploits Families at Every Stage’: Finds ‘Products and Services Rife with Burdensome Fees and Lack of Choice’

by Chuck Sharman

A report released on January 31, 2022, by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) shows the financial burden that falls disproportionately on poor families as a result of interaction with the private companies in the criminal justice system.

CFPB was created in the …

Private Prison Firm Revenues Soar on “Tailwind” of Immigrant Detainees

by Chuck Sharman

In a filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 5, 2022, Florida-based GEO Group—the nation’s largest private prison operator—laid bare its strategy to keep federal dollars flowing into the company’s coffers, despite a Presidential Executive Order that bars the U.S. Department …

$325,000 Paid by Colorado County to Jail Detainee Brutalized by Guards Equipped with Controversial Training

by Chuck Sharman

On October 28, 2021, a Colorado man dismissed his suit against Weld County after agreeing to accept a $325,000 settlement for injuries allegedly inflicted on him by guards at the county jail, where he was held as a pre-trial detainee. The settlement also includes an …

$1 Million Paid by Santa Clara County to Estate of Alzheimer’s Patient Killed When He Wandered onto Interstate Highway after Release from County Jail

By Chuck Sharman

A $1 million settlement was signed on April 14, 2018, by attorneys for Santa Clara County, California, to settle a wrongful death claim made by the surviving heir of an Alzheimer’s patient who was killed when he wandered onto an Interstate highway after being released …

$1,250,000 Paid by Santa Clara County to Family of Man Who Died after Being Denied Oxygen at County Jail

By Chuck Sharman

 

On April 20, 2018, a settlement was entered into by Santa Clara County, California, agreeing to pay $1,250,000 to the survivors of a man who died after being denied medically necessary oxygen treatment at the county jail.

The dead man, Ryan Bascos, …

$12,000 Paid by Santa Clara County to Disabled Prisoner Who Suffered Seizure and Fell from Top Bunk, Permanently Injuring His Wrist

By Chuck Sharman

A settlement was fully executed on August 19, 2020, by Santa Clara County, California, in which it agreed to pay $12,000 to a prisoner at the county jail who, despite a history of seizures, was assigned to a top bunk, from which he fell during …

$65,000 Paid by Santa Clara County to Disabled Man Medically Ignored and Roughed Up by Guards at County Jail

By Chuck Sharman

On December 31, 2020, a settlement was fully executed by Santa Clara County, California, in which it agreed to pay $65,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a disabled former prisoner at the county jail who alleged that he was harassed and roughed up …

$42,500 Paid by Santa Clara County to Guard Harassed by Fellow Guard at County Jail

By Chuck Sharman

Under a settlement executed on May 2, 2018, Santa Clara County, California, agreed to pay $42,500 to a guard at the county jail who allegedly suffered sexual and gender harassment at the hands of a fellow guard.

After she was hired by the county …