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Articles by Douglas Ankney

Former Oklahoma Undersheriff Gets 22 Months In Prison for Beating Handcuffed Jail Detainee

by Douglas Ankney

On July 13, 2023, Kendall Brian Morgan, 45, a former undersheriff in Oklahoma’s LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, for beating a handcuffed detainee in the county jail.

Morgan was indicted in federal ...

Fifth Circuit Revives Suit Against Texas Jailers Who Tasered Detainee Suffering Epileptic Seizure

On July 18, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to jailers who tasered a detainee suffering an epileptic seizure at the Pasadena city lockup in suburban Houston. Jamal Ali Shaw, 32, died at a hospital on March 29, ...

Ohio Supreme Court Grants Prisoner’s Mother Names of Fellow Prisoners Who Attacked Him

by Douglas Ankney

On April 12, 2023, the Supreme Court of Ohio compelled the Mansfield Correctional Center (MCC) to provide to Amirah Sultaana the names and identification numbers of the prisoners who assaulted her son while he was incarcerated there.

On October 7, 2021, Sultaana requested “the names of the ...

After Winning $15,000 Settlement, California Trans Prisoner Forces CDCR to Replace Missing Trust Account Deposits

by Douglas Ankney

On May 24, 2023, the Court of Appeal of California, Sixth Appellate District, issued a mandate commanding the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to restore over $2,600 to the trust account of state prisoner Mona Salcida Murillo.

She received three money orders in 2021 for ...

Eleventh Circuit Revives Claim Against NaphCare for Wrongful Death of Atlanta Jail Detainee

by Douglas Ankney

“This appeal arises from the tragic death of Antonio May,” began the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on June 7, 2023. As longtime PLN readers know, “tragic” deaths are often those for which no one is held liable. Sure enough, the ...

Prison Walls No Barrier to America’s Deadly Opioid Crisis

by Douglas Ankney

When Missouri prisoner Robert Hebert learned in January 2023 that he had less than two years remaining on his prison sentence, the father of six and his family shared in the excitement. He planned to look for work in the concrete industry. Along with his wife, Rachelle ...

Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $700 From Sheriff Who Failed to Comply with Public Records Request

by Douglas Ankney

On April 19, 2023, the Supreme Court of Ohio awarded prisoner Franklin Woods $700 in statutory damages against the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) for failure to comply with a public-records request.

On August 1, 2022, while Woods was incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, he sent ...

Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Arkansas Guard Accused of Provoking One Prisoner to Attack Another

by Douglas Ankney

On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the judgment of a lower court in favor of Arkansas prisoner Deverick Scott, who claimed that a guard with the state Department of Corrections (DOC) provoked a fellow prisoner to attack Scott in ...

Arizona Governor Creates Independent Prison Oversight Commission

by Douglas Ankney

On January 25, 2023, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed Executive Order No. 6, establishing an Independent Prison Oversight Commission (IPOC). Created to address the “urgent need to provide transparency and accountability of Arizona’s corrections system,” Hobbs said that IPOC’s responsibilities include safeguarding the integrity of the ...

Fourth Circuit: Dismissal of South Carolina Prisoner’s Complaint Cannot Prematurely Be Called a “Strike” Under PLRA

by Douglas Ankney

On April 13, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that a district court cannot dismiss a prisoner’s complaint and at the same time declare it a “strike” for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Under that statute, as amended by the Prison ...