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Articles by Edward Lyon

Prisoner Loses Suit Against Jail Officials for Disclosure of His Medical Condition

by Ed Lyon

Joseph Leiser was in an Illinois jail pending extradition to Coffey County, Kansas. Because Leiser had been Tased by federal marshals, Coffey County jail administrator Shannon Moore asked Illinois officials to have him thoroughly examined, including chest X-rays and a CT scan, to see if he suffered ...

Washington State Prisoners Protest Poor Food

by Ed Lyon

During April 2018, prisoners in six housing units at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla participated in a hunger strike that lasted up to 10 days. Over 1,300 prisoners reportedly took part – around half the facility’s population, excluding those who were elderly or ill. Their ...

Ohio County Jail Faces Increased Liability Due to Numerous Lawsuits

by Ed Lyon

The Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, Ohio faces liabilities exceeding $10 million, as lawsuits continue to multiply.

Former chief deputy Scott Landis testified to having no memory of any of the incidents that gave rise to a spate of lawsuits over issues ranging from wrongful deaths and ...

Correct Care Solutions Redux: Poor Medical Care Leads to More Deaths, Lawsuits

by Ed Lyon

Correct Care Solutions (CCS) is one of the nation’s largest for-profit healthcare providers for prisoners, with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion. The Nashville, Tennessee-based firm supplies medical and mental health services to more than 100 state and federal prisons and 330 jails in 38 states, plus immigration ...

Mentally Ill Wisconsin Prisoners Held in Solitary Improperly Reclassified

by Ed Lyon

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has employed a unique method to reduce the number of seriously mentally ill prisoners being housed in solitary confinement: Their mental health classification competency levels were administratively changed without an assessment or input from mental health professionals.

When Wisconsin DOC psychologist Bradley ...

Under “In-House Parole,” New Mexico Prisoners Remain in Prison

by Ed Lyon

Parole is generally defined as conditional release from prison before a sentence has expired. But in New Mexico, every month dozens of “release-eligible” offenders join a pool of paroled state prisoners who nevertheless remain incarcerated. Called “in-house parole,” the practice affects nearly 1,000 prisoners a year at ...

Indiana Prisoner Obtains $85,000 Settlement After Being Beaten and Tased

by Ed Lyon

Brandon Garwood was incarcerated at a jail in Cass County, Indiana in October 2015. He was being held on a charge of endangering another person while driving drunk.

On October 2, 2015, video cameras showed Garwood peacefully laying on his concrete slab bed when five jailers entered ...

Female Texas Prison Guards Allege Sexual Harassment, Abuse, Discrimination

by Ed Lyon

During the 10-year period ending in 2017, over 3,500 complaints of sexual harassment and gender bias were filed against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The state’s largest agency, TDCJ employs 37,000 people, including more than 22,000 guards – 38 percent of whom are female. Women ...

New Mexico Prisoners Suffer and Die Under Privatized Health Care

by Ed Lyon

Since it first contracted out prisoner medical care to a private company in 2004, the New Mexico Corrections Department (DOC) has been named along with its contractors in over 220 lawsuits filed by prisoners or their estates.

In 2007, the DOC switched from Wexford Health Sources, based ...

#MeToo Movement, Misconduct Claims Impact Federal and State Judges

by Ed Lyon

The #MeToo movement seeks to expose incidents of sexual harassment and sexual abuse by men against women. The movement has resulted in accusations against a number of high-profile figures, including actors, businessmen and politicians. Members of the judiciary have not been excluded from claims of sexual misconduct, ...