by David M. Reutter
One month after a November 2015 investigative report by the New Orleans Advocate, Louisiana State Penitentiary warden Burl Cain, 73, announced his retirement. He stepped down from his longtime position at the Angola prison effective January 1, 2016.
The report outlined a …
by David M. Reutter
Florida is moving to privatize all of its state-run juvenile detention centers. The move comes despite allegations of abuse at two of the state’s private juvenile detention centers.
“These programs offer unique services and facilities that should be maintained. We are therefore committed …
by David M. Reutter
A Florida legislator who was disturbed by publicized accounts of violence being inflicted on the state’s juvenile prison is using his experience as an auditor to get to the bottom of the problem and recommend change. To his surprise, The Secretary of Florida’s Department …
by David Reutter
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) agreed to an interim settlement in a class action lawsuit that requires it to implement suicide prevention measures. The agreement was approved on January 12, 2017, by the federal district court overseeing the action.
The prisoners, who were …
by David M. Reutter
Capital punishment is on hold in Tennessee. The Tennessee Supreme Court halted execution to allow lower courts to hold hearings on the new lethal injection protocol. Meanwhile, attorneys for death row prisoners are arguing the death penalty is arbitrarily imposed, and a new U.S. …
by David Reutter
The Eighth Circuit of Appeals reversed and remanded a federal district court's denial of prisoner James Walker's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 petition seeking his transfer to a federal prison or some other state's prison because he had a reasonable fear that his life was in …
by David Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court's summary judgment granted in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit. The suit was brought by the Simpson estate, against Sheriff Mark E. Gorbett and Deputies Lehman, Williams, York Tindell, and Harbaugh in their official …
by David Reutter
The Ohio Supreme Court held that an Ohio prisoner's mandamus, alleging that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRS) failed to comply with its clear legal duty to properly assess his parole eligibility, lacked merit.
In 1995, Harold Stith was sentenced to serve …
by David Reutter
An Illinois federal jury awarded $50,001.00 in damages to the plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging First and Fourteenth Amendment violations related to abuse and harassment of the plaintiff.
On April 2, 2017, Craig A. Childress filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action …
by David Reutter
A Louisiana federal district court excluded the expert testimony of Dr. David Thomas in a class action brought by Louisiana prisoners who alleged substandard medical care.
Joseph Lewis, Jr. sued the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) alleging violations of his Eighth Amendment rights and the …
