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Articles by Chuck Sharman

Condemned Alabama Prisoner Now Spared Twice

by Chuck Sharman

When his death warrant expired at 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2022, condemned Alabama prisoner Alan Eugene Miller was still alive, capping a wild few days during which his execution was stayed by a federal judge and then reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court before executioners tried ...

Deaf Detainee Found Murdered in Baltimore Jail

by Chuck Sharman

A diminutive detainee who was deaf and communicated by sign language was found unresponsive at Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center early on October 9, 2022. Officials from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) have since announced that the death of Javarick Gantt, ...

After $90,000 Settlement for Sexual Abuse of Oregon Juvenile Detainee, Second Suit Filed Against Now-Imprisoned Former Youth Counselor

by Chuck Sharman

On December 30, 2021, a second suit was filed in Oregon state court accusing former state youth worker Frank Milligan of sexually assaulting a juvenile detainee. Milligan, 53, was imprisoned for 30 years in 2001 for sexually abusing and attempting to murder another boy. He received an ...

Mom Sues After She Was Forced to Give Birth to Doomed Baby in “Georgia’s Toughest Para-Military Jail”

By Chuck Sharman

On September 2, 2022, the federal court for the Northern District of Georgia accepted an amended complaint from a former detainee in the Clayton County Jail who spent 13 hours in labor there because jailers allegedly thought her infant would be stillborn. Only when Tiana Hill finally ...

HRDC Sues Indiana Sheriff Over Censorship at County Jail

by Chuck Sharman

On June 27, 2022, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the nonprofit that publishes PLN, filed suit in federal court for the Northern District of Indiana under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, accusing St. Joseph County Sheriff William J. Redman of violating the firm’s First Amendment and ...

Supreme Court Passes on Case of New York Sex Offender Imprisoned Past Release Date for Lack of Compliant Housing

by Jory Smith and Chuck Sharman

On February 22, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a writ of certiorari to hear an appeal by an impoverished New York sex offender who was forced to remain in prison two years after his release because state restrictions made finding housing ...

After 49 Years in Prison for a Murder in Which He Didn’t Pull the Trigger, Former Black Liberation Army Member Sundiata Acoli Wins Parole

On May 10, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed a state parole board decision and granted release to Sundiata Acoli, whose involvement with a radical group that advocated overthrow of the U.S. government was repeatedly cited to keep him incarcerated for nearly a half century. In doing so, the ...

Three Whistleblower Claims Filed Over Leaked Video of LA Deputy Kneeling on Detainee’s Head, Sheriff Forced to Walk Back Threats Against Reporter

By Chuck Sharman

On April 26, 2022, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva walked back comments made at a press conference hours earlier, when he suggested a journalist was under investigation for covering a leaked video showing one of his deputies kneeling on a restrained detainee’s head.

“All parties to ...

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 2021.

According ...

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 of 12 ...