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Articles by David Reutter

Cell Workout, by L.J. Flanders (LC Books, 2015)

231 pages, $35.00 softcover

Book review by David M. Reutter

“In prison, people can discover new things and improve themselves in many ways; faith, fitness, a new language, education, skills and qualifications that may lead to job opportunities,” writes author L.J. Flanders. “In my case, I decided to make use ...

Multiple Suicides at Florida Jail a Cause for Concern

Suicide is the leading cause of death among jail detainees according to an August 2015 report by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. While 80% of jails in the U.S. reported no deaths in 2013, six percent reported two or more. Florida’s Alachua County Jail (ACJ) fell into the latter ...

Florida Drug Court Judge’s Relapse Results in Removal from Bench

In an ironic twist, a Florida drug court judge was removed from the bench after enrolling in a substance abuse treatment program herself.

In December 2013, Broward County Judge Gisele Pollack, 57, took a two-week leave to participate in a substance abuse program after admitting to consuming alcohol before work. ...

Former Pennsylvania Prison Guard and Prisoner Charged with Child Sex Trafficking

An unlikely alliance between a prison guard and a former prisoner ended in both being charged with enslaving two teenagers and forcing them into prostitution.

While serving time for a parole violation and drug offense from February 2007 to September 2008, Pennsylvania prisoner Rasul Abernathy, 32, met guard Postauntaramin Walker, ...

Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions

by David Reutter and Joe Watson

Former Louisiana death row prisoner John Thompson has spearheaded an organization that aims to help the wrongfully convicted and former prisoners successfully rebuild their lives.

Thompson was sentenced to death for the 1984 fatal shooting of a hotel executive from a prominent New Orleans ...

Florida Prison’s “Widespread Retaliation” Against Writ Writers Claim Proceeds Forward

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment in a prisoner’s civil rights action alleging the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) has a widespread practice and custom of transferring prisoners in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights.

Glenn Smith, who the Eleventh Circuit described as ...

Death Penalty Opponent Delbert Tibbs Dies at 74

Delbert Tibbs, a peaceful advocate to abolish the death penalty, has lost his battle against cancer and died at the age of 74. His advocacy was borne of personal experience of being wrongfully convicted.

Tibbs was born on June 19, 1939, in Shelby, Mississippi. At the age of 12, he ...

Georgia Sentencing Reform Saving $20 Million a Year

Georgia’s 2012 sentencing reform law is saving taxpayers $20 million annually, said Gov. Nathan Deal during a speech to a University of Georgia alumni group.

The top priority for Deal going into the 2012 legislative session was House Bill 1176. In the end, it made it through the legislative process ...

Proposals Aim to End Debtor’s Prison in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania courts are frequently imprisoning people who are unable to pay fines. Proposed rule changes aim to end debtor’s prisons, but the real problem may be a lack of oversight for the local courts that oversee such cases.

Ann Lisa Wodarski has been sent to jail six times by Judge ...

Louisiana Drug Offender Program Leaves $5 Million Shortfall

A 2013 law passed by Louisiana lawmakers was expected to save $6 million by diverting drug offenders to treatment and shortening the prison sentences of such offenders by having them complete a drug treatment program. The law has not worked as planned, leaving the Louisiana Department of Corrections (LDOC) with ...