by David M. Reutter
On April 6, 2021 a Washington State federal district court granted summary judgment to the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) in a lawsuit seeking to obtain documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
On March 20, 2018, …
by David M. Reutter
Artwork that appeared on the side of Reading Prison in Berkshire, England, according to curator Vince John, appears to be a “new Banksy.”
The painting shows a prisoner in stripped garb escaping on a rope made of bedsheets as he repels down the wall with a …
by David M. Reutter
Massachusetts is one of just a few states to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to prisoners. The governor’s office, however, put an end to prison officials offering ‘‘good time’’ to prisoners who elect to be vaccinated. As of February 3, 2021, there were 95 positive cases at …
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on December 9, 2020, filed a lawsuit alleging that the state of Alabama is “deliberately indifferent” to unconstitutional conditions persisting at its state prisons, facilities that “are riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence,” according to Assistant U.S. Attorney General for …
by David M. Reutter
Michael Raymond Riley, a former Florida prison guard, was charged with second-degree murder for killing a prisoner “by causing blunt force trauma to be inflicted on the victim’s neck or head area,” charged an indictment on November 10, 2020.
The charge stems from the death of …
by David M. Reutter
Over six months after concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person visitation at Michigan state prisons in March 2020, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) launched a pilot program of video visitation on October 9 to offer an avenue for prisoners and their families to connect …
by David M. Reutter
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections paid $105,000 to settle a prisoner’s excessive use of force lawsuit. The December 2, 2020, settlements resolves the suit brought by prisoner Kuan Barnett.
Barnett’s civil rights action stemmed from events that occurred at Columbia Correctional Institution. While locked in his …
by David M. Reutter
In reversing a district court’s judgment, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that a deaf prisoner be allowed “access to point-to-point videophone calls because the evidence at trial established that the detainee [otherwise] lacked any ability to communicate with the Deaf.”
The Fourth Circuit held …
by David M. Reutter
An Illinois federal district court awarded $300,000 to a prisoner who alleged a female food supervisor coerced him into sexual activity.
The court’s September 29, 2020, order was issued following a damages bench trial. The lawsuit was filed by Illinois prisoner Donald Quickle. He was represented …
by David M. Reutter
Citing Mississippi’s refusal to invest in prison facilities and staff, private medical vendor Centurion pulled out of its contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) to provide medical and mental health care to prisoners. The move was hailed as a “significant victory” by Team Roc. …
