by Matt Clarke
On February 5, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner cannot waive challenges to portions of his prison discipline to circumvent the requirements of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994) and Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641 …
by Matt Clarke
On January 8, 2019, Montgomery County, Ohio agreed to pay $115,000 to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by a former jail prisoner who was pepper-sprayed while “largely strapped into” a seven-point restraint chair.
Charles Wade was being booked into the Montgomery County …
by Matt Clarke
In December 2018, the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) released surveillance video of a major riot that occurred at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Yuma’s medium-security Cheyenne Unit on March 1, 2018. The ADC had previously issued a report on the disturbance, in which one prisoner …
by Matt Clarke
Two reports on long-term recidivism among prisoners released from state and federal prisons showed very high arrest rates. The rate for state prisoners was 83% over a nine-year study period, while it was 39.8% for nonviolent and about 64% for violent federal prisoners over …
by Matt Clarke
On December 7, 2018, a federal district court awarded a Kansas Department of Corrections (DOC) prisoner $250,000 in a lawsuit over a guard’s excessive use of force.
Wesley L. Adkins filed a pro se civil rights action after he was assaulted by …
by Matt Clarke
On February 15, 2019, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s denial of qualified immunity to an Ohio jail guard who allegedly ordered a prisoner to expose herself and masturbate for him.
Michele L. Rafferty and Katie L. Sherman were in …
by Matt Clarke
On February 11, 2019, the non-profit Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) issued a report on the “State of Phone Justice,” noting progress on reducing state prison phone rates but fewer reforms in local jails, where high rates and fees persist.
Since the Federal …
by Matt Clarke
On December 7, 2018, a New Mexico federal district court denied a warden’s motion to dismiss a claim that his policy of denying transportation to off-site medical appointments during prison lockdowns delayed a prisoner’s medical treatment, resulting in serious injury.
Todd Jager was incarcerated …
by Matt Clarke
On November 28, 2018, a New York Court of Claims found the state liable in a claim filed by a prisoner over an assault by a prison guard.
Roy Harriger, 71, who walked with a cane, was serving a sentence at the Attica …
by Matt Clarke
In a consent decree filed in federal district court on January 3, 2019, Illinois agreed to overhaul medical care in its Department of Corrections (DOC).
The resolution of the nine-year-old litigation was prompted by repeated reports of preventable prisoner deaths. The agreement includes …
