Flamboyant and controversial Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto, head of Oregon’s largest county jail, has retired in the face of an overwhelming vote to strip him of his badge.
Giusto, a lightning rod for criticism, has been under constant fire for the better part of two years. A 2006 investigation ...
Over 60% of Oregon Prisoner Suicides Linked to Mental Illness, Isolation
by Mark Wilson
Nathan Bashaw, 21, had a mere 259 days left to serve until his April 1, 2008 release date. He was serving a sentence in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) for attempted robbery. ...
During a 2002 interview, Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) Food Services Administrator Farhad “Fred” Monem, 49, shook his head in disgust as he criticized government employees who feel a sense of entitlement. “People work for so many years and feel the taxpayer owes them,” he said. “But to me, nobody ...
On November 1, 2006, the Multnomah County District Attorney?s (DA?s) Office in Portland, Oregon released a blistering 63-page report that found systemic, shocking problems in the state?s largest jail system. ?Conservative? in their findings, the two veteran prosecutors who served as investigators, John Bradley and Chuck French, found a system ...
Nevadas Son of Sam Statute of Violates First Amendment
by Mark Wilson
The Nevada Supreme Court held that the States Son of Sam law violates the First Amendment.
In 1977, New York enacted the nations first Son of Sam law, in response to the possibility that David Berkowitz, a serial ...
Supreme Court Decision Orders Release of 920 Mariel Cubans;
ICE: Dumps them In the Streets Without Aid
By Mark Wilson
In a 7-to-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court expanded upon its earlier decision in Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001), holding that aliens who are ordered removed and ...
Oregon HCV Class Action Settled; Limitations Period
for Individual Damages Actions Tolled
by Mark Wilson
On April 6, 2004, the Class Action suit against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) for failing to properly diagnose and treat the hepatitis C virus (HCV), was resolved by entry of a comprehensive settlement. ...
On April 29, 2002, the tormented life of 45-year-old Oregon prisoner William Owens came to a tragic end in the Disciplinary Segregation Unit (DSU) of the Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI). His death exposed numerous problems with the treatment afforded mentally ill prisoners in Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) facilities, ...
The Montana Supreme Court held that the use of Behavior Modification Plans (BMPs) and the living conditions of A-Block (Max) at the Montana State Penitentiary (MSP) constituted "an affront to the inviolable right of human dignity possessed by [prisoners] and that such punishment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment when it ...
Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization & Human Rights
Edited by Andrew Coyle, Allison Campbell, & Rodney Neufeld,Clarity Press, Inc;
Zed Books (2003) 234 pp. Softback
Review by Mark Wilson
Proponents of prison privatization argue that for-profit prisons make good sense, "promis[ing] reduced costs to governments, better and more cost-effective services to ...
