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Pennsylvania Judge Verdict: A Potential Death Sentence for Shoplifting Conviction

Article • July 1, 2020 • from PLN July, 2020

Filed under: Cancer, Pardons/Clemency, Compassionate Release

Pennsylvania Judge Verdict: A Potential Death Sentence for Shoplifting Conviction by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Thirty-six-year-old Ashley Via Menser of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, is battling both cervical and ovarian cancer from prison after being convicted and sentenced in January 2020 for shoplifting $109.63 worth of groceries. As her case progressed …

$2,800 Verdict As Jury Finds Pennsylvania Jail Discriminated Against Women Prisoners in Reentry Center

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

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Settlements, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry

$2,800 Verdict As Jury Finds Pennsylvania Jail Discriminated Against Women Prisoners in Reentry Center by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Pennsylvania state court jury found on November 19, 2019 that the Berks County Jail violated the constitutional rights of women by denying them the same access to reentry privileges …

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 …

New ACLU Study Says COVID-19 Deaths in Prison Will Soar Without More Releases, Fewer Arrests

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

Filed under: COVID-19, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

New ACLU Study Says COVID-19 Deaths in Prison Will Soar Without More Releases, Fewer Arrests by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna An April 22, 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, with the collaboration of researchers from Washington State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Tennessee, …

Third Circuit Upholds Federal False Liens Conviction and 48-Month Sentence

Article • May 5, 2020

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Federal Tort Claims Act

Third Circuit Upholds Federal False Liens Conviction and 48-Month Sentence by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson  The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a Pennsylvania man’s federal false liens convictions. The court concluded that 18 USC § 1521 is not unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and the …

Third Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Pennsylvania Prisoners’ Dry Cell Suit

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

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Deprivation of Federal Rights

Third Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Pennsylvania Prisoners’ Dry Cell Suit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgement alleging prison officials lacked a penological interest in extending a prisoner’s duration in a dry cell. On January 15, 2020, it …

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.” …

Recent Exonerees Give the Public Advice on Being Locked Down: You Have No Idea

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

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Recent Exonerees Give the Public Advice on Being Locked Down: You Have No Idea by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Now the whole country is incarcerated,” Theophalis “Binky Bilal” Wilson said after being released in January 2020, exonerated after 28 years wrongfully in prison, only to find himself locked in …

Prison Postcards: Prisoners Write About Fears, Incompetence, at Their Facilities

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

Filed under: COVID-19

Prison Postcards: Prisoners Write About Fears, Incompetence, at Their Facilities by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein On April 15, President Donald Trump announced that the coronavirus pandemic had peaked in the United States. That same day, nearly 2,300 people in the country died from COVID-19, the disease cause by the …

Order of the Governor, PA, COVID-19 Release, 2020

Publication • April 10, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Order of the Governor, PA, COVID-19 Release, 2020 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR ORDER OF THE GOVERNOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA REGARDING INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED IN STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS WHEREAS, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared the coronavirus disease 2019 …

Graham v. Allegheny County, PA, Class Action Complaint, COVID-19 Release, 2020

Brief • April 7, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Graham v. Allegheny County, PA, Class Action Complaint, COVID-19 Release, 2020 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA MICHAEL GRAHAM; ALEXUS DIGGS; and HEATHER CONNOLLY, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Petitioners, v. ALLEGHENY COUNTY; ORLANDO HARPER, Warden of Allegheny County Jail, …

All 50 States Report Prison Understaffing