Welcome to the first issue of Prison Legal News for 2012. If you have not yet donated to our annual fundraiser, it is not too late to do so. We rely on donations from our readers to fund the work we do on behalf of human rights in the U.S. ...
Welcome to the last issue of PLN for 2011. Since we began publishing PLN, the issue of prisoner rape and sexual assault has been an important priority. There has been some improvement, at least as far as raising public awareness around this issue, over the past two decades. But the ...
In April 1990, the month before PLN published its first issue, Washington state enacted the nation’s first civil commitment law targeting sex offenders for indefinite imprisonment once they had completed their criminal sentences. Our results-oriented judiciary has upheld civil commitment against assorted legal challenges, finding it is a civil matter ...
Tropical storm Irene caused serious damage in Vermont on August 27 and 28, including in Brattleboro where our offices are located. We received a lot of phone calls, e-mails and inquiries asking if we were okay, and the good news is that our office is safe and sound and none ...
By Paul Wright
There are two types of lawyers, those who love the media, promptly return calls, are proactive about publicizing their cases, causes and clients, and those who fear the media. Some lawyers see the media as an enemy, hostile to their clients and cause while others do not ...
The modern era of prison reform in the United States was ushered in 40 years ago this month in a hail of blood and gunfire at Attica State Prison in New York. Afterwards the refrain was that every prison was Attica and Attica was every prison. Today it is hard ...
By Paul Wright
“Americans on the frontlines - our first responders, military forces, sheriffs, policemen, firefighters, and civil defense volunteers - must have the very best equipment, training and support possible. Our safety and freedom are the envy of the world and John Kerry and John Edwards will ensure this ...
Danny Trejo is one of the best-known American actors living today. His scarred face is among the most recognized in action movies and he has appeared in over 200 films, including Heat, Machete, Predators, From Dusk Till Dawn and many others. Less well known is the fact that Danny spent ...
Over the years some readers have said they find Prison Legal News depressing because we don’t report any good news, or not much anyway. One reason for that, of course, is because there has been precious little “good news” emanating from the American criminal justice system over the past several ...
Over the past 20 years PLN has reported the various conditions class-action lawsuits in California concerning the lethal health care administered to prisoners. After decades of non-compliance with dozens of court orders the prison system’s health care was put into a federal receivership, yet that still did not resolve the ...
