U.S. Citizens without Remedy in Military Torture Case
by Derek Gilna
In an 8 to 3 decision, the en banc Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by Illinois U.S. District Court Judge Wayne Anderson, as well as an appellate panel that had partly affirmed that ruling, and held ...
Report: Increase in Federal Prison Population, Overcrowding
by Derek Gilna
A government study revealed that overcrowding in the federal prison system worsened over the five-year period from 2006 through 2011, affecting facilities of all security levels.
The study, conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), warned that ...
Massachusetts DOC, Hospital Officials Disciplined in Prisoner’s Death
by Derek Gilna
An investigative report ordered by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick into what he termed the “disgusting” death of a mentally-ill prisoner at Bridgewater State Hospital found not only numerous policy violations, but also evidence of a cover-up of ...
Nicholas T. Christie, incarcerated at the Lee County jail in Ft. Myers, Florida, died on March 31, 2009 after being repeatedly pepper sprayed by deputies while strapped to a restraint chair. Following three years of litigation, Lee County officials agreed in May 2013 to pay a record settlement of $4 ...
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is outlined in various sections of Chapter 28 of the United States Code, which describe the steps necessary to file and maintain a tort action against the U.S. government.
The FTCA is the exclusive remedy for monetary damages for injuries “caused by the negligent ...
When a powerful U.S. Senator takes interest in an issue, even a bureaucratic government agency like the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) pays attention.
Kurt Wilson, an executive with American Apparel, Inc., an Alabama company that makes military uniforms, and Michael Marsh of Kentucky-based Ashland Sales and Service Co., found that ...
Curtis Dressman, a former pre-trial detainee, has settled his § 1983 lawsuit against jail officials in Nashville, Tennessee after a judge denied the jail’s motions for summary judgment. The district court found that Dressman had “a clearly established constitutional right to be [free] from deliberate indifference of inmate-on-inmate violence.”
The ...
A July 2013 study by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) found that widespread errors in FBI arrest data – which is increasingly relied upon by employers conducting criminal background checks – has reached alarming proportions. According to NELP staff attorney Madeline Neighly, the FBI records used for background checks ...
Petitioner Michael John McGill appealed his December 2010 state conviction for escape from home confinement while on bail and the sentencing judge’s order that he pay $8,261.56 in “restitution to the State for costs associated with apprehending him following his unauthorized departure from home confinement.”
According to a decision by ...
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has published two new reports, “Correctional Populations in the United States, 2012” and “Probation and Parole in the United States, 2012.” Both indicate that although correctional populations continue to drop, the rate of decrease has slowed.
Approximately 6.9 million people were under correctional supervision in ...
