by Matt Clarke
On January 6, 2009, Wisconsin settled a lawsuit brought by a state prisoner who complained of guards preventing him from receiving his pain medication when he was in intense pain, then retaliating against him when he complained about it and filed a state court investigatory action.
Kenneth ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 9, 2009, attorney Robert J. Powell of Hazeltown, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to charges related to an illegal scheme involving two for-profit juvenile facilities – PA Child Care in Luzerne County and Western PA Child Care in Butler County.
Powell was charged with one count of ...
by Matt Clarke
On May 16, 2008, the Supreme Court of Texas held that an indigent prisoner whose indigence was uncontested may proceed with an appeal despite deficiencies in his affidavit of indigence.
Lawrence Higgins, a Texas state prisoner, filed suit in state district court alleging that county jail officials ...
by Matt Clarke
During last year’s election campaign, President Obama came out forcefully against torture by U.S. officials and in favor of closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which holds approximately 230 alleged “terrorism” suspects. However, what Obama has done on these issues since taking office is another ...
by Matt Clarke
On July 30, 2008, Paepaega Matautia, Jr., 39, a mail room guard at the Special Commitment Center (SCC) for sex offenders on McNeil Island in Washington state, was arrested on federal charges of attempting to possess and distribute crack cocaine at the facility. The next day, SCC ...
by Matt Clarke
Faced with budget cuts due to the down economy, jails across Southern California have turned to a new revenue stream – immigration detention. The federal government paid over $55 million to house immigrant detainees in California jails in fiscal year 2008. That was up from $52.6 million ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 12, 2009, J. Clark Kelso, California’s federal court-appointed receiver over prison medical care, demanded the resignations of his chief of staff, John Hagar; Stephen Weston, Hagar’s assistant; and medical services CEO Dr. Terry Hill. Hagar and Weston both resigned; Hill refused to resign and was ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 24, 2009, a U.S. District Court ruled that hearings held by the Texas parole board before imposing sex offender parole conditions on prisoners not convicted of sex offenses were constitutionally inadequate.
Raul Meza, a Texas prisoner, was convicted of murdering an eight-year-old girl and sentenced ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 3, 2009, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to settle for $500,000 a lawsuit brought by survivors of a man beat to death in the Fourth Avenue Jail of the Maricopa County Jail System. The jail is operated by sheriff Joe Arpaio, ...
by Matt Clarke
A Missouri federal judge issued an injunction against enforcement of a new Missouri law imposing Halloween-related restrictions on registered sex offenders. However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction on October 30, 2008.
As part of the general demonizing and harassment of registered sex offenders ...
