$35,000 Settlement for CCA Prisoner Forced to Act as Guard’s Gladiator
by David M. Reutter
Corrections Corporation of America paid $35,000 to settle a lawsuit that alleged guards forced a prisoner to be a “kapo” and inflict punishment on other prisoners.
On December 6, 2006, prisoner Gary D. Thompson was ...
$4,000 Settlement for CCA Prisoner Injured During Transport
by David M. Reutter
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) paid $4,000 to settle a negligence claim stemming from a prisoner being injured during a transport from a drug and rehabilitation facility to CCA’s Silverdale Detention Center in Hamilton County, Tennessee.
The settlement ...
Legislation Removes Secrecy from Georgia Parole Board’s Proceedings, Decisions
by David M. Reutter
Unlike any other state agency, Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles (GBPP) makes its major decisions behind closed doors, and virtually all the information contained in its files is considered a “confidential state secret.”
That secrecy was ...
Mandamus Improper Remedy to Challenge Illinois DOC’s “Violating at the Door” Policy
by David Reutter
On November 20, 2014, the Illinois Supreme Court refused to assume jurisdiction over a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to declare the state prison system’s practice of “violating at the door” unconstitutional. The rationale ...
Alabama: Settlement to Integrate HIV-Positive Prisoners Finalized
by David M. Reutter
An Alabama federal district court has approved a settlement that integrates HIV-positive prisoners into the state prison system’s general population, finding it “fair, adequate, and reasonable.” The change in the status of HIV-positive prisoners came after decades of litigation ...
$290,000 Judgment for Failure to Treat Ruptured Appendix Affirmed
by David Reutter
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $290,000 judgment in a civil rights action alleging deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious medical needs. The appellate court’s order affirmed a Louisiana federal district court judgment concerning a ...
Mental Health Care in South Carolina Prisons Found Unconstitutional
by David M. Reutter
On January 8, 2014, a South Carolina state court entered judgment in a decade-long class-action lawsuit, finding that mental health care in the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) exposed seriously mentally ill prisoners to a substantial ...
Federal Court Orders Cameras to Cover Blind Spots at North Carolina Prison
by David Reutter
On August 22, 2013, a North Carolina federal district court ordered attorneys representing the state prison system to present a plan to ensure adequate security camera coverage at the Central Prison in Raleigh. The court’s ...
Rejecting Foreign Language Letters after Interpretation May Violate Prisoner’s Rights
by David M. Reutter
A Michigan federal district court denied summary judgment to prison officials in a civil rights action involving First Amendment violations. State prisoner Ali Musaid Muthana alleged that his incoming and outgoing mail was destroyed because it ...
Michigan: Perjured Testimony at Trial Results in Habeas Relief, but Reversed on Appeal
by David M. Reutter
A Michigan federal district court ordered the immediate release of a man convicted in a “sham” trial that involved the police, prosecutor and a trial judge who knowingly allowed witnesses to perjure themselves. ...
