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Prison Legal News: December, 2020

Issue PDF
Volume 31, Number 12

In this issue:

  1. Debit Card Issuers Still Prey on People Released from Prisons and Jails: HRDC Lawsuits Challenge Companies in Court (p 1)
  2. Arkansas Governor Hutchinson Grants Commutation for Blind Mother (p 9)
  3. From the Editor (p 10)
  4. $6 Million Payout in Montana Wrongful Conviction Case (p 11)
  5. NBA Owner Capitalizes on Mass Incarceration; Players Silent (p 12)
  6. University of Florida Still Using Prison Labor, But End in Sight (p 12)
  7. Texas Disguising Deaths in Custody (p 14)
  8. Administrator of “Whitey” Bulger’s Estate Sues BOP Over His Murder (p 16)
  9. North Carolina Case Involving Death of Black Prisoner: “I Can’t Breathe,” Revisited (p 18)
  10. Cost of Communicating with Prisoners Breaking Family Budgets During Pandemic (p 20)
  11. New Jersey Releases 2,258 Prisoners to Combat COVID-19 Spread (p 20)
  12. Pennsylvania Prisoner Off Death Row After 33 Years (p 22)
  13. Innovative Vermont Prison Superintendent’s Demotion for Sexist Language Proves Controversial (p 22)
  14. Another Prisoner’s Needless Death, Another Lawsuit at LaSalle-Run Texarkana Jail (p 24)
  15. Federal Judge Approves $25 Million Class Action Settlement Against Global Tel*Link (p 24)
  16. The Latest on COVID-19: Will Vaccines be Available Soon? (p 26)
  17. Former Prisoners Testify on Abuse at Notorious New Jersey Women’s Prison (p 28)
  18. Fifth Circuit Order Denies Texas Prisoners Hand Sanitizer and Cleaning Supplies (p 28)
  19. The Role of Prosecutors in Mass Incarceration (p 30)
  20. California Passes Bill Allowing ICE Detainees to Sue Private Contractors (p 30)
  21. COVID-19 Deaths in Jails, Prisons Exceed Number of Deaths by Execution From 1990 to Present (p 32)
  22. Missouri Executes Prisoner During COVID-19 Crisis (p 32)
  23. For Some Faiths in Los Angeles County Jails, Volunteer Chaplains Are in Short Supply (p 34)
  24. $5.9 Million Settlement in Death of Transgender Prisoner at New York’s Rikers Island (p 34)
  25. Connecticut Prisoner Commits Suicide With COVID-19 Protective Mask (p 36)
  26. Prisoners Exonerated in Michigan After Police Misconduct Revealed (p 36)
  27. Woman Sues Mississippi Parole Board for Discrimination and Retaliation (p 38)
  28. Maine Jail Gets a Pass for Using Pepper Spray on Mentally Ill Prisoners (p 38)
  29. Privatized Food Service Problems at Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Jail (p 40)
  30. $177,500 Settlement in Lawsuit Over Five Louisiana Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed While Handcuffed (p 40)
  31. California Appellate Court Orders 50% Reduction in San Quentin Population Over Fears of COVID-19 Spread (p 42)
  32. COVID-19 Lockdowns in Prisons Affecting Post-Secondary Education (p 43)
  33. Indiana Prisoner Has First Amendment Retaliation Claims Rejected by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (p 44)
  34. Nine Months Later, DOJ Still Hasn’t Provided Senator Rubio With Answers About Rampant Sexual Abuse at Women’s Prisons (p 44)
  35. Members of Congress Probe Pentagon on Accreditation of Military Prisons (p 45)
  36. COVID-19 in the Country’s Largest Female Prison (p 46)
  37. $11 Million Settlement in Illinois for Three Men Freed From Prison in Wrongful Convictions (p 46)
  38. Activists Call to Shut Down Illinois Prison (p 47)
  39. Suicides in New York SHUs Surge to Epidemic Levels (p 48)
  40. California Jail Prisoner Loses Limbs, but Faces Setback in Lawsuit Alleging Medical Neglect (p 48)
  41. Teen Spends 17 Months in Mississippi Jail Without Indictment (p 50)
  42. COVID-19 Strikes Alaskan Prison (p 50)
  43. California First State to Eliminate Post-Prison Fees (p 52)
  44. Julian Assange’s Potential Fate in U.S. Prisons (p 52)
  45. Families Must Pay for Cremation Bill of Loved Ones Who Die in Prison (p 53)
  46. Fifth Circuit Reinstates Texas Jail Suicide Lawsuit (p 54)
  47. Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Alleging Dental Care Negligence (p 54)
  48. Former Transgender Prisoner Fights for LGBTQ Rights in Massachusetts Prisons (p 55)
  49. Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Iowa Prisoner’s ADA Claim (p 56)
  50. Third Circuit Reinstates Claims by Immigration Detainee in GEO-Operated Prison Seeking to Marry U.S. Citizen (p 56)
  51. Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Execution Drug Documents Subject to Disclosure (p 58)
  52. DC Circuit Court: “Three Strike” Prisoners Must Show Imminent Danger to File Lawsuits (p 58)
  53. Whistleblower Claims Female Detainees at Privately Run Georgia ICE Facility Had Forced Hysterectomies (p 60)
  54. New Documentary Released on Forced Sterilizations of Female Prisoners (p 60)
  55. Maine Superspreader: Few Masks at Wedding Lead to Big Problems at Prison (p 62)
  56. News in Brief (p 62)

Debit Card Issuers Still Prey on People Released from Prisons and Jails: HRDC Lawsuits Challenge Companies in Court

Arkansas Governor Hutchinson Grants Commutation for Blind Mother

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson agreed to commute Willie Mae Harris’ sentence after 34 years in prison for accidentally shooting her abusive husband. She was released on June 5, 2020.

Harris, 72, from Bradley, Arkansas was charged with murder in 1985 after an argument with then-husband Clyde. She tried to beat ...

From the Editor

Welcome to the last issue of PLN for 2020. It has been an eventful year that no one expected or planned for in January. Two companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have announced vaccines for COVID-19 claiming effectiveness rates of over 90%. So far, we have seen nothing about plans to ensure ...

$6 Million Payout in Montana Wrongful Conviction Case

NBA Owner Capitalizes on Mass Incarceration; Players Silent

University of Florida Still Using Prison Labor, But End in Sight

Florida is one of ...

Texas Disguising Deaths in Custody

Administrator of “Whitey” Bulger’s Estate Sues BOP Over His Murder

North Carolina Case Involving Death of Black Prisoner: “I Can’t Breathe,” Revisited

Cost of Communicating with Prisoners Breaking Family Budgets During Pandemic

Most prisons have curtailed visitation, leaving families to communicate via phone calls, video ...

New Jersey Releases 2,258 Prisoners to Combat COVID-19 Spread

The total number of releases announced represents ...

Pennsylvania Prisoner Off Death Row After 33 Years

Innovative Vermont Prison Superintendent’s Demotion for Sexist Language Proves Controversial

by Jayson Hawkins

Former Vermont prison Superintendent Ed Adams has found himself the subject of repeated media scrutiny over the last few years, and his story is illustrative of the problems that surround prison reform, public records availability, and bridging the often jarring disconnect between societal norms and prison reality. ...

Another Prisoner’s Needless Death, Another Lawsuit at LaSalle-Run Texarkana Jail

Federal Judge Approves $25 Million Class Action Settlement Against Global Tel*Link

The Latest on COVID-19: Will Vaccines be Available Soon?

Former Prisoners Testify on Abuse at Notorious New Jersey Women’s Prison

Fifth Circuit Order Denies Texas Prisoners Hand Sanitizer and Cleaning Supplies

The Role of Prosecutors in Mass Incarceration

California Passes Bill Allowing ICE Detainees to Sue Private Contractors

In ...

COVID-19 Deaths in Jails, Prisons Exceed Number of Deaths by Execution From 1990 to Present

There the comparison ends. While executions come ...

Missouri Executes Prisoner During COVID-19 Crisis

For Some Faiths in Los Angeles County Jails, Volunteer Chaplains Are in Short Supply

$5.9 Million Settlement in Death of Transgender Prisoner at New York’s Rikers Island

Connecticut Prisoner Commits Suicide With COVID-19 Protective Mask

His death made national news because it is the third suicide this year within the Connecticut Department of Corrections. Human ...

Prisoners Exonerated in Michigan After Police Misconduct Revealed

Wayne County prosecutor ...

Woman Sues Mississippi Parole Board for Discrimination and Retaliation

Maine Jail Gets a Pass for Using Pepper Spray on Mentally Ill Prisoners

The review by ...

Privatized Food Service Problems at Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Jail

$177,500 Settlement in Lawsuit Over Five Louisiana Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed While Handcuffed

by Matt Clarke 

Thanks to a public records request by The Associated Press, news broke in March 2020 that Louisiana-based private prison firm LaSalle Management Company had settled for $177,500 a lawsuit over a 2016 incident in which five prisoners were pepper-sprayed while handcuffed and kneeling.

Adley T. Campbell, ...

California Appellate Court Orders 50% Reduction in San Quentin Population Over Fears of COVID-19 Spread

COVID-19 Lockdowns in Prisons Affecting Post-Secondary Education

Indiana Prisoner Has First Amendment Retaliation Claims Rejected by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Nine Months Later, DOJ Still Hasn’t Provided Senator Rubio With Answers About Rampant Sexual Abuse at Women’s Prisons

Members of Congress Probe Pentagon on Accreditation of Military Prisons

“The importance of ...

COVID-19 in the Country’s Largest Female Prison

$11 Million Settlement in Illinois for Three Men Freed From Prison in Wrongful Convictions

Demarcus Hanson, 8, was fatally shot while ...

Activists Call to Shut Down Illinois Prison

The letter was sent to IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Exile on June 10, 2020. It claims ...

Suicides in New York SHUs Surge to Epidemic Levels

California Jail Prisoner Loses Limbs, but Faces Setback in Lawsuit Alleging Medical Neglect

The former inmate, Perry Belden, ...

Teen Spends 17 Months in Mississippi Jail Without Indictment

COVID-19 Strikes Alaskan Prison

California First State to Eliminate Post-Prison Fees

Julian Assange’s Potential Fate in U.S. Prisons

Assange is under a 17-count indictment in the U.S. for violations of the ...

Families Must Pay for Cremation Bill of Loved Ones Who Die in Prison

Fifth Circuit Reinstates Texas Jail Suicide Lawsuit

Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Alleging Dental Care Negligence

Illinois prisoner Aaron Murphy had a molar in his upper-left jaw extracted on May 4, ...

Former Transgender Prisoner Fights for LGBTQ Rights in Massachusetts Prisons

Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Iowa Prisoner’s ADA Claim

Newton Correctional Facility (NCF) former prisoner Michael T. Rinehart had been diagnosed with diverticulitis, a chronic colon condition that causes ...

Third Circuit Reinstates Claims by Immigration Detainee in GEO-Operated Prison Seeking to Marry U.S. Citizen

Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Execution Drug Documents Subject to Disclosure

DC Circuit Court: “Three Strike” Prisoners Must Show Imminent Danger to File Lawsuits

Whistleblower Claims Female Detainees at Privately Run Georgia ICE Facility Had Forced Hysterectomies

New Documentary Released on Forced Sterilizations of Female Prisoners

Maine Superspreader: Few Masks at Wedding Lead to Big Problems at Prison

News in Brief

Alabama: Chanting “not one more,” about 30 carloads of protesters from “Alabamians Who Care” caravanned to the governor’s mansion in Montgomery on August 1, 2020, protesting a plan by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to build three new “mega-prisons.” According to a report by Montgomery TV station WSFA, the protesters demanded ...