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Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative Final Report, VERA, 2016

Publication • October 1, 2016

Filed under: Retaliatory Segregation, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Administrative Detention/Segregation

Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative Final Report, VERA, 2016 December 2016 The Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative: Findings and Recommendations for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Jessa Wilcox, Léon Digard, PhD, and Elena Vanko © 2016 Vera Institute of Justice. All rights reserved. Additional copies can be obtained …

Sledge v. Little, NC, Amended Complaint, Wrongful Conviction, 2016

Brief • September 14, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Witnesses, Wrongful Conviction

Sledge v. Little, NC, Amended Complaint, Wrongful Conviction, 2016 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHERN DIVISION File No. 7:15-cv-180-D JOSEPH SLEDGE, JR., Plaintiff, vs. PHILLIP LITTLE, in his individual and official capacities; EARL STORMS, in his official capacity; STEPHEN BUNN, in his …

North Carolina Man Awaits Compensation Four Years After Death Row Exoneration

Article • September 9, 2016

Filed under: Release and Reentry, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Collateral consequences of prison, Family

North Carolina Man Awaits Compensation Four Years After Death Row Exoneration by Matthew Clarke Glen Edward Chapman's conviction for two Hickory, North Carolina murders was reversed and a new trial ordered because lead investigator Dennis 'Money had lied during his trial testimony and detectives had "lost, misplaced or destroyed" evidence …

Justice Department Impedes Release of "Legally Innocent" Prisoners

Article • September 9, 2016

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Release and Reentry, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Overdetention

Justice Department Impedes Release of "Legally Innocent" Prisoners by Derek Gilna Despite several recent high-profile cases where the U.S. Justice Department has urged the release of prisoners who all parties agreed were "legally innocent, dozens more remain behind bars.in North Carolina. The cases arise in instances where men were imprisoned …

4th Circuit Overturns Dismissal of Adam Walsh Civil Commitment Case

Article • September 9, 2016

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Appeals, Civil Commitment

4th Circuit Overturns Dismissal of Adam Walsh Civil Commitment Case by Derek Gilna The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the dismissal of the Adam Walsh case against Walter Wooden, finding that the application of that Act to the defendant did not violate the Due Process and Equal Protection …

"Mere Possession" of a prison shank found sufficient for finding of "crime of violence'

Article • September 8, 2016

Filed under: Classification, Standard of Proof, Evidence

"Mere Possession" of a prison shank found sufficient for finding of "crime of violence' by Derek Gilna Jermaine Mobley was sentence to 37 months in the Eastern District of North Carolina in 2010 for possession of a prohibited object in prison as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 1791(a)(2), after being …

$81,200 for North Carolina Prisoner’s Estate in Breach of Duty Suit

Article • September 2, 2016 • from PLN September, 2016

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Cardiovascular, Failure to Treat

$81,200 for North Carolina Prisoner’s Estate in Breach of Duty Suit by The North Carolina Industrial Commission awarded $81,200 to the estate of a prisoner who died after a guard at the Greene Corr. Institution denied him medical care. The estate alleged that prisoner Thomas Sellars, 51, went to the …

Suicides Plague North Carolina Prison System

Article • September 2, 2016 • from PLN September, 2016

Filed under: Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Train/Supervise, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides

Suicides Plague North Carolina Prison System by Four suicides occurred in North Carolina state prisons during a 17-day period from April 19 to May 5, 2016, bringing the total number of self-inflicted prisoner deaths to five this year and surpassing last year’s total of three. An investigation by The Charlotte …

North Carolina Prisoners and Former Employees Describe “Boom-Boom Room”

Article • September 2, 2016 • from PLN September, 2016

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Train/Supervise

North Carolina Prisoners and Former Employees Describe “Boom-Boom Room” by Inside the Lumberton Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison near Fayetteville, North Carolina, there is said to be an isolated office known as the “boom-boom room.” There, according to prisoners and former staff members alike, unlucky prisoners were taken by guards …

North Carolina Prisoner Who Sustained Injuries in Suspicious Circumstances Dies

Article • August 25, 2016

Filed under: Skeletal Injury, Injury -- Misc., Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

North Carolina Prisoner Who Sustained Injuries in Suspicious Circumstances Dies by A North Carolina state prisoner who was found in his segregation cell with a smashed skull in August 2008 has died. The cause of his injuries, officially, remains unknown. Alexander Correctional Institution prisoner Timothy Helms, 49, died in the …

Fourth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Police Shooting Homeowner without Warning

Article • August 11, 2016

Filed under: Shootings, Qualified Immunity

Fourth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Police Shooting Homeowner without Warning by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to police who repeatedly shot a homeowner without warning. Just after 11 p.m., on May 2, 2007, a 911 call reported "that an altercation was occurring …

Results from Seven States Shows Program-Driven Recidivism Reduction

Article • August 10, 2016

Filed under: Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Release and Reentry

Results from Seven States Shows Program-Driven Recidivism Reduction by The National Reentry Resource Center has published a new study of seven states showing that with proper pre-release programming, recidivism rates can be reduced by a significant amount.  The study, which covered the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, …

Fourth Circuit Holds Private Prison Guards to be Under Supervision of DOJ

Article • August 4, 2016

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct

Fourth Circuit Holds Private Prison Guards to be Under Supervision of DOJ by Derek Gilna Some enterprising prison guards at the River Correctional Institution set up a profitable smuggling operation for several years, accepting bribes from prisoners to smuggle cell phones and other contraband such as tobacco products into the …

Sentenced to Stigma - Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in AL and SC, ACLU HRW, 2010

Publication • August 3, 2016

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS

Sentenced to Stigma - Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in AL and SC, ACLU HRW, 2010 United States Sentenced to Stigma Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H Sentenced to Stigma Segregation of …

BOP Pays $20,000 to Settle Sex Discrimination Complaint

Article • August 1, 2016

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Gender Discrimination -- Men, Failure to Train/Supervise, Employee Litigation, Failure to Protect (Staff)

BOP Pays $20,000 to Settle Sex Discrimination Complaint by The federal Bureau of Prisons paid $20,000 and agreed to review policies to settle a sexual discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On February 3 and 4, 1999, while working as a guard at FCC Butner Medium in North …

10-Month Lockdown at North Carolina Prison Caused by Fights or Understaffing

Article • July 28, 2016

Filed under: Staffing, Showers, Lockdowns, Prisoner Privileges

10-Month Lockdown at North Carolina Prison Caused by Fights or Understaffing by About 600 prisoners at North Carolina’s Scotland Correctional Institution (SCI) were on a 10-month lockdown as of September 2014.  The lockdown proceeded in stages from total isolation to a few privileges. The lockdown began on December 28, 2013, …

$1,000 Settlement in BOP Employee’s Age Discrimination Complaint

Article • July 28, 2016

Filed under: Employee Litigation, Age Discrimination

$1,000 Settlement in BOP Employee’s Age Discrimination Complaint by The federal Bureau of Prisons paid $1,000 to settle an employee’s age discrimination complaint. Ronald Riggs, 51, worked at FCI Milan in Michigan when he applied in December of 1999 for a position as Supervisory Clinical Psychologist at FCI Butner in …

Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner Commits Suicide

Article • June 3, 2016 • from PLN June, 2016

Filed under: Advocacy, Prison Reform, Wrongful Conviction, Death Penalty/Death Row, Suicides

Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner Commits Suicide by Anti-death penalty advocate Darryl Hunt, who was wrongfully convicted and served almost 20 years in North Carolina prisons before being exonerated in 2004, was found dead on March 13, 2016 in a car near the Wake Forest University campus. Police officials revealed that …

ICE Detention Standards Compliance Audit - Alamance County Detention Center, Graham, NC, ICE, 2008

Publication • June 2, 2016

Filed under: Corrections Audits, Immigration

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ICE Detention Standards Compliance Audit - Alamance County Detention Center, Graham, NC, ICE, 2012

Publication • June 2, 2016

Filed under: Corrections Audits, Immigration

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