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Litigation Heats Up Over Extreme Temperatures in Prisons, Jails

Article • June 29, 2018 • from PLN July, 2018

Filed under: Statistics/Trends, Exposure to Heat, Class Certification

Litigation Heats Up Over Extreme Temperatures in Prisons, Jails by Matthew Clarke, Christopher Zoukis by Matt Clarke and Christopher Zoukis During a heat wave in the summer of 2017, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Medium Security Institution in St. Louis, Missouri and chanted “shut it down,” after a video …

Settlement in Lawsuit Over Missouri Jail Prisoner’s Death

Article • June 8, 2018 • from PLN June, 2018

Filed under: Cardiovascular, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Settlement in Lawsuit Over Missouri Jail Prisoner’s Death by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The family of a prisoner who died at a Richland Heights, Missouri jail after untreated deep vein thrombosis caused a fatal pulmonary embolism has settled a lawsuit brought against the jail, two hospitals and hospital employees. …

Transgender Prisoner Issues Result in Litigation, Policy Changes

Article • June 8, 2018 • from PLN June, 2018

Filed under: Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender)

Transgender Prisoner Issues Result in Litigation, Policy Changes by In two recent settlements, corrections officials were forced to pay for their failure to honor the chosen gender identity of transgender prisoners and where they were housed. But in a third case, a court’s refusal to second-guess a housing decision by …

MacAuthur Justice Center Files Lawsuit Over Missouri Parole Revocations

Article • June 5, 2018 • from PLN June, 2018

Filed under: Parole

MacAuthur Justice Center Files Lawsuit Over Missouri Parole Revocations by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In August 2017, the MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) in St. Louis filed a federal civil rights suit against the Missouri Department of Corrections and its Division of Probation and Parole (Parole Board). At issue were …

Betz v. Bearden, MO, Complaint, Sexual Assault, 2018

Brief • June 5, 2018

Betz v. Bearden, MO, Complaint, Sexual Assault, 2018 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI LYNNSEY BETZ, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, v. EDWARD BEARDEN, VEVIA STURM, JOHN OR JANE DOE #1, and JOHN OR …

Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Report, 2018

Publication • June 1, 2018

Filed under: Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Crime/Demographics, Statistics/Trends, Census, Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Rural Prisons, Bail, Bail Bonds, Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab

Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Report, 2018 The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Jacob Kang-Brown, Oliver Hinds, Jasmine Heiss, and Olive Lu June 2018 From The Director The turn of the century marked a new direction for the nation’s prisons and jails: after three decades of …

Families Against Mandatory Minimums: Everywhere and Nowhere -- Compassionate Release in the States, 2018

Publication • June 1, 2018

Filed under: Geriatric Classification, Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Release and Reentry, Parole, Rehabilitation Act, Mental Health

Families Against Mandatory Minimums: Everywhere and Nowhere -- Compassionate Release in the States, 2018 Everywhere and Nowhere Compassionate Release in the States By Mary Price June 2018 1 About the Author Mary Price is general counsel of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). She directs the FAMM Litigation Project and advocates …

Keil v. MHM Services, INC, MO, Complaint, Sexual Assault, 2018

Brief • May 29, 2018

Filed under: Sexual Assault

Keil v. MHM Services, INC, MO, Complaint, Sexual Assault, 2018 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI KAREN BACKUES KEIL, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, v. MHM SERVICES, INC., a Virginia Corporation, …

NY petition for approval to transfer control of Inmate Calling Solutions, LLC d/b/a ICSolutions to Securus Technologies, Inc., 2018

Publication • May 17, 2018

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

NY petition for approval to transfer control of Inmate Calling Solutions, LLC d/b/a ICSolutions to Securus Technologies, Inc., 2018 BEFORE THE NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Joint Petition of TKC Holdings, Inc., Inmate Calling Solutions, LLC d/b/a ICSolutions Matter/Case No. - - - - - and Securus Technologies, Inc. for …

$437,500 Settlement for Brutal Beating at Missouri Jail

Article • May 9, 2018 • from PLN May, 2018

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements

$437,500 Settlement for Brutal Beating at Missouri Jail by A pretrial detainee who was brutally beaten without cause by guards at Missouri’s Jackson County Detention Center (JCDC) accepted $437,500 to settle his civil rights suit. James J. Ramirez was being held in the medical wing at JCDC after his arrest …

Court Certifies Class of Missouri Prisoners Denied Hepatitis C Treatment

Article • May 7, 2018 • from PLN May, 2018

Filed under: Hepatitis, Failure to Treat, Class Certification

Court Certifies Class of Missouri Prisoners Denied Hepatitis C Treatment by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On July 26, 2017 (two days before World Hepatitis Day), the ACLU of Missouri and the MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) announced the certification of a class of Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) prisoners who …

Jury Awards Missouri Man $35,000 for Traffic Stop Assault

Article • May 7, 2018

Filed under: Excessive Force, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Excessive Force (Police)

Jury Awards Missouri Man $35,000 for Traffic Stop Assault by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis   A federal jury found that Dunklin County, Missouri, deputies used excessive force against a man who ran a stop sign, and awarded him $35,000.      On June 11, 2006, Herman Taylor was pulled over …

Federal Jury Awards $25,000 Against Missouri Police for False Arrest

Article • April 20, 2018

Filed under: Retaliatory Searches, Searches, Police, First Amendment, rights, Fourth Amendment, rights, Fourteenth Amendment, rights

Federal Jury Awards $25,000 Against Missouri Police for False Arrest by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis  A federal jury awarded $25,000 to a Missouri woman after it found that a constitutional violation of her freedom of speech resulted in her false arrest.      On January 23, 1998, Springfield police arrived …

Missouri: $75,000 Settlement for Detainee’s Death Due to Untreated Ulcer

Article • April 2, 2018 • from PLN April, 2018

Filed under: Gastrointestinal, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Missouri: $75,000 Settlement for Detainee’s Death Due to Untreated Ulcer by A $75,000 settlement was reached in a civil rights action alleging denial of medical care to a pretrial detainee who died from complications related to a peptic ulcer. The death of Robert Breeding, 32, came only five days after …

California Prisoners File Class-action Suit Seeking Hepatitis C Treatment

Article • April 2, 2018 • from PLN April, 2018

Filed under: Medication, Hepatitis, Failure to Treat, Class Certification

California Prisoners File Class-action Suit Seeking Hepatitis C Treatment by Greg Dober by Gregory Dober In 2013, the FDA approved two new life-saving hepatitis C (HCV) drugs known as simeprevir (brand named Olysio) and sofosbuvir (brand named Sovaldi). The drugs, a new class of medication called direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), were …

The Campaign to Close the Workhouse and Promote a New Vision for St. Louis, 2018

Publication • March 20, 2018

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Exposure to Cold, Jail Specific, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Bail, Bail Bonds, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

The Campaign to Close the Workhouse and Promote a New Vision for St. Louis, 2018 -EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- The City of St. Louis condemns hundreds of mostly poor and Black people to suffer in unspeakably hellish and inhumane conditions at the “Workhouse,” officially known as the Medium Security Institution. Over 95% …

Missouri Prison Litigation Reform Act's Fee Requirement Affirmed

Article • March 19, 2018

Filed under: PLRA

Missouri Prison Litigation Reform Act's Fee Requirement Affirmed by Edward Lyon by Edward B. Lyon Twenty-one Jefferson City, Missouri Correctional Center prisoners filed a class action challenge to the state's Prison Litigation Reform Act's (MPLRA) fee requirement for habeas corpus petitions in Cole County's circuit court. The court denied service of process, dismissed the …

State of Missouri v. Douglass, MO, Opinion, Evidence, Insufficient Search Warrant, 2018

Brief • February 13, 2018

Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Search and Seizure, Warrantless Searches, Evidence - Admissibility

State of Missouri v. Douglass, MO, Opinion, Evidence, Insufficient Search Warrant, 2018 SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI en banc STATE OF MISSOURI, Appellant, v. PHILLIP DOUGLASS, Respondent, and JENNIFER M. GAULTER, Respondent. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Opinion issued February 13, 2018 …

Missouri Supreme Court: Restitution Must be for Losses “Due to” Crime of Conviction

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Sentencing, Probation, Restitution

Missouri Supreme Court: Restitution Must be for Losses “Due to” Crime of Conviction by The en banc Missouri Supreme Court held that a trial court may order restitution only for “losses ‘due to’ the offense for which the defendant has been found (or pleaded) guilty.” Under Mo. Rev. Stat. 559.105.1, …

Eighth Circuit Upholds $1.25 Million Jury Award for Missouri Prisoner’s Death

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

Eighth Circuit Upholds $1.25 Million Jury Award for Missouri Prisoner’s Death by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 22, 2017, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of more than $1.25 million in a lawsuit over a Missouri prisoner’s death. Danial Letterman was held at the …