by David M. Reutter
“Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime,” said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, ...
by David M. Reutter
When 27-year-old Jonathan Magbie entered the District of Columbia Jail to serve a 10-day sentence, he was a quadriplegic confined to a mouth-operated wheelchair. Four days later he was dead.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin sentenced Magbie to jail after he pleaded guilty to ...
by David M. Reutter
Population: 52. That’s how many sex offenders have been forced to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami, Florida as of March 2009. In late 2007, the population was only 19. [See: PLN, June 2008, p.1].
With city and county laws creating restricted residency zones, ...
by David M. Reutter
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that pepper spraying a prisoner, keeping him in a small cell for longer than necessary to gain his compliance, and not allowing him to decontaminate properly or receive medical care after being sprayed can constitute excessive force and deliberate ...
Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials
by David M. Reutter
A pro se Virginia prisoner has entered into a settlement agreement with prison officials that provides him a $2,250 cash payment and a change in policies surrounding the provision to allow prisoners to ...
Lawsuits Challenge Prohibition on Prisoner Pen-Pal Services in Indiana, Florida
by David M. Reutter
To the extent that an Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) policy “denies prisoners the right to advertise for pen-pals and receive material so they can advertise for pen-pals, the [policy] violates the First Amendment to the ...
$1.4 Million Settlement in Three-Day Long Sexual Assaults of Alaska Prisoners
by David M. Reutter
Two male Alaska prisoners who were sexually assaulted by other prisoners have reached a $1.4 million settlement in a lawsuit filed against prison officials. The incident occurred at the Yukon Kuskokwin Correctional Center in September ...
Michigan Jail Officials Lied and Hid Documents in Lawsuit Over Prisoner’s Death
by David M. Reutter
On the eve of trial, a Michigan U.S. District Court adjourned a civil rights suit to reopen fact finding in the case. That rare development resulted after it was revealed that officials at the ...
by David M. Reutter
Finding that a guard at Massachusetts’ Suffolk County House of Correction (SCHC) had violated a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights and committed assault and battery, a federal jury awarded the prisoner $875,001 in damages.
The 121-page complaint in this U.S. District Court action named 54 plaintiffs and ...
Florida U.S. District Court Rescinds Policy Restricting Access to Plea Agreements
by David M. Reutter
The Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has entered an order that rescinds a previous policy of limiting access to plea agreements in criminal cases. The former interim ...
