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$420,000 Settlement in Lawsuit Over Opioid Withdrawal Death in Georgia Jail

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$420,000 Settlement in Lawsuit Over Opioid Withdrawal Death in Georgia Jail by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Wilkinson County, Georgia, agreed on January 2, 2020 to pay $420,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the son and estate of a woman who died five years earlier of apparent prescription opioid …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2020, a grand jury in Limestone County, Alabama, returned an indictment for “possession/receipt of a controlled substance” against Travis Wales, a former guard at the Limestone County Correctional Facility in Harvest. According to Columbus, Georgia, TV station WBRL, Wales was arrested in September …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California:In June 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) commuted 21 state prisoners’ sentences, a dozen of them were for murder convictions, patch.com reported. Seven were committed when the prisoner was 22 or younger. Half of the prisoners are now 59 or older. One commutation went to …

$550,000 Settlement in Georgia Prisoner’s Starvation Death

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: Settlements, Wrongful Death, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

$550,000 Settlement in Georgia Prisoner’s Starvation Death by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A $550,000 settlement was reached in a civil rights lawsuit alleging 19-year-old Jimmy Lucero laid in a catatonic state at Augusta State Medical Prison (ASMP) as he starved to death with little to no medical care …

Jones v. Ward, GA, Complaint, Retaliation, 2020

Brief • August 24, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

Jones v. Ward, GA, Complaint, Retaliation, 2020 Case 5:20-cv-00336-CAR-MSH Document 1 Filed 08/24/20 Page 1 of 6 IN THE UNITED STAT ES DISTR ICT COUR T FOR THE MIDD LE DISTR ICT OF GEOR GIA J\\n<:&Q ·A\\$.-; co/ r i ,, t~ ~~1 " \.) DMS ION f.:- \..l QUES …

Jones v. Hill, GA, Plf. Response in Opposition to Def. Motion to Dismiss, COVID-19 Release, 2020

Brief • August 17, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Hygiene Supplies

Jones v. Hill, GA, Plf. Response in Opposition to Def. Motion to Dismiss, COVID-19 Release, 2020 Case 1:20-cv-02791-JPB-CCB Document 37 Filed 08/17/20 Page 1 of 48 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION RHONDA JONES et al., Plaintiffs, CIVIL ACTION v. VICTOR HILL …

Former Prisoners Are Running for Office In 2020

Article • August 1, 2020 • from PLN August, 2020

Filed under: Prison Reform, Restrictions, discrimination, Voting Rights

Former Prisoners Are Running for Office In 2020 by Daniel A. Rosen by Daniel A. Rosen When those who have been incarcerated run for office, they can speak with authority about prison reform. They bring credibility that others simply can’t. In 2020, more ex-inmates than ever are coming out of …

Eleventh Circuit Holds Trafficking Victims Protection Act Applies to CoreCivic “Voluntary Work Program”

Article • August 1, 2020 • from PLN August, 2020

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Labor, Immigration Detention

Eleventh Circuit Holds Trafficking Victims Protection Act Applies to CoreCivic “Voluntary Work Program” by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 28, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589(a), 1595, or TVPA, applies to privately operated immigration detention centers. …

Jones v. Hill, GA, Complaint, COVID-19 Release, 2020

Brief • July 1, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Jones v. Hill, GA, Complaint, COVID-19 Release, 2020 Case 1:20-cv-02791-ELR Document 1 Filed 07/01/20 Page 1 of 112 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION RHONDA JONES; RANDOLPH MITCHELL; MICHAEL SINGLETON; and BARRY WATKINS, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, …

Audit of the United States Marshals Service's Contract Awarded to the GEO Group, Incorporated to Operate the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General,...

Publication • July 1, 2020

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Corrections Audits

Audit of the United States Marshals Service's Contract Awarded to the GEO Group, Incorporated to Operate the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, 2020 RE D A CT ED FOR PUB L IC REL EAS E L IM ITE D O F F …

Thinking in a Pandemic: Let the People Go

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: Criminal justice system reform, COVID-19, Conditions of

Thinking in a Pandemic: Let the People Go by Joseph Margulies States should release from prison far more than the very small percentage of low-level, nonviolent offenders they hold. by Joseph Margulies, Boston Review, April 20, 2020 http://bostonreview.net/law-justice/joseph-margulies-prisons-and-pandemics COVID-19 spreads where people congregate. With rare exception, it preys on the …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2020 • from PLN May, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: On March 28, 2020, death row prisoner Lonnie Franklin Jr., 67, aka “Grim Sleeper,” was found unresponsive in his San Quentin cell. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton told reporters, “There were no signs of trauma. They don’t know why he died.” …

Chatham County Jail Reverses On Book Ban But Limits Number of Publications

Article • May 1, 2020 • from PLN May, 2020

Filed under: Publications/Books, Banned Book Lists, First Amendment

Chatham County Jail Reverses On Book Ban But Limits Number of Publications by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Following a letter from the ACLU of Georgia, the Chatham County sheriff rescinded a jail policy that banned detainees from receiving books and magazines from outside sources. The ACLU still took …

$1 Million Settlement in Atlanta Detainee’s Death From Untreated Diabetes

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Diabetes, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$1 Million Settlement in Atlanta Detainee’s Death From Untreated Diabetes by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A $1 million settlement was reached in May 2019 in a lawsuit alleging the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) left a pretrial detainee in an unlit confinement cell to die from untreated diabetes. …

Muslim Georgia Prisoner Wins RLUIPA Reversal in 11th Circuit Over Vegetarian Meals

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: RLUIPA, Religious Diet

Muslim Georgia Prisoner Wins RLUIPA Reversal in 11th Circuit Over Vegetarian Meals by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, reversed the dismissal of a Georgia prisoner’s First and Eighth Amendment damage claims that alleged he was denied a vegan diet …

$1.5 Million Settlement in Georgia Youth’s Rape at Juvenile Detention Center

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Protect (Juveniles)

$1.5 Million Settlement in Georgia Youth’s Rape at Juvenile Detention Center by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) agreed to a $1.5 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging a 14-year-old was the target of several beatings and attacks and was raped in a …

Emory CHIC, Coronavirus and the Correctional Facility, 2020

Publication • March 9, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Emory CHIC, Coronavirus and the Correctional Facility, 2020 Coronavirus COVID-19 and the Correctional Facility For the Correctional Healthcare Worker Anne C. Spaulding MD MPH March 9, 2020 Emory Center for the Health of Incarcerated Persons Aspauld@emory.edu Development of these slides was supported under cooperative agreement, the Centers for Disease Control …

Emory CHIC, Coronavirus for Justice-Involved Persons, 2020

Publication • March 9, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Emory CHIC, Coronavirus for Justice-Involved Persons, 2020 What’s Coronavirus? And how will it affect people living in correctional facilities? A presentation for justice-involved persons Anne C. Spaulding MD MPH March 9, 2020 Emory Center for the Health of Incarcerated Persons Aspauld@emory.edu Development of these slides was supported under cooperative agreement, …

Emory CHIC, Coronavirus for Correctional Staff Leadership, 2020

Publication • March 9, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Emory CHIC, Coronavirus for Correctional Staff Leadership, 2020 Coronavirus and the Correctional Facility For Correctional Staff Leadership Anne C. Spaulding MD MPH March 9, 2020 Emory Center for the Health of Incarcerated Persons Aspauld@emory.edu Development of these slides was supported under cooperative agreement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s …

Fulton County Ordered to Clean Up Repulsive Jail Conditions for Mentally Ill Women

Article • March 4, 2020 • from PLN March, 2020

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Fulton County Ordered to Clean Up Repulsive Jail Conditions for Mentally Ill Women by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter A Georgia federal district court ordered the Fulton County Sheriff to give more out of cell time and to provide sanitary confinement conditions for women at the South Fulton …