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Articles by Chuck Sharman

$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 …

$50,000 Paid by Santa Clara County, California, to Prisoner Brutalized by Guards at County Jail

By Chuck Sharman 

In a settlement fully executed on June 4, 2018, Santa Clara County, California, agreed to pay $50,000 to a former prisoner who suffered a cruel beating at the hands of guards inside the county lockup.

The incident began on the evening of July 23, …

USDA Gives $1,000,000 Grant to Corizon to Treat More Sick Prisoners Remotely

by Chuck Sharman

Tennessee-based Corizon Health, one of the nation’s largest private for profit health care providers to prisons, with annual revenues of at least $800 million, announced on November 3, 2021, that it had received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “to expand distance …

$15,379,091 Judgment Entered Against Delaware DOC’s Former Health Care Provider for Narcotics and Medicare Fraud

by Chuck Sharman

Under a pair of consent judgments filed in federal court on October 29 and November 1, 2021, troubled former Delaware Department of Corrections (DOC) health care contractor Connections Community Support Programs (CCSP) agreed to pay the federal and state governments a total of $15,379,091.60 to …

Sherburne County, MN, Settles with HRDC for $98,000 Plus New Jail Publications Policy

by Chuck Sharman

A settlement was reached on May 11, 2021, in a censorship complaint filed in August 2020 against Sherburne County, Minnesota, and its Sheriff, Joel Brott, by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the Florida nonprofit that publishes Prison Legal News (PLN) and Criminal Legal News …

Indiana DOC Settles HRDC Mail Censorship Suit

by Chuck Sharman

On September 21, 2021, the Indiana Department of Corrections (INDOC) agreed to a slate of policy reforms embodied in a consent decree to settle a censorship lawsuit filed by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), publisher of Prison Legal News (PLN)and Criminal Legal …

HRDC Represents Wrongfully Convicted Florida Man Who Spent 37 Years in Prison for a Rape Murder He Did Not Commit

by Chuck Sharman

A Florida man who spent 37 years in prison on a wrongful rape murder conviction filed a federal lawsuit on October 4, 2021, against the Tampa Police Department (TPD) officers who mishandled his prosecution, along with the city and a forensic odontologist who provided “expert” …

CFPB Hits JPay with $6 Million in Fines and Restitution Over Fee-Heavy “Debit Release Cards”

by Chuck Sharman

In an order and settlement agreement released on October 19, 2021, by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), prison financial giant JPay, LLC agreed to pay $6 million in fines and restitution, after its prepaid debit cards were found to have taken unfair advantage …

Michigan DOC Eases Up on Pregnant Prisoners, Limits Shackles and Solitary Confinement

by Chuck Sharman

Under a new policy announced on October 19, 2021, pregnant prisoners held by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MIDOC) will be restrained less and will also have more time to spend with their newborns once delivered.

When it takes effect November 22, 2021, the …

California Slashes High Call Rates in Prisons and Jails

by Chuck Sharman

On the heels of a May 2021 decision by federal regulators that sharply lowered rates prisoners and their loved ones pay for interstate calls, the California Public Utilities Commission (CAPUC) adopted a rule on August 19, 2021, which takes a hatchet to rates on intrastate