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Texas Prison Population Drops as Guard Shortage Persists

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Overcrowding, Staffing, Sentencing

Texas Prison Population Drops as Guard Shortage Persists by Matthew Clarke Texas Prison Population Drops as Guard Shortage Persists by Matt Clarke In spite of a three-year downward trend, Texas continues to lead the nation with the largest state prison population. At the same time, the state has pursued a …

Audit Finds Significant Increase in Fraudulent Tax Returns Filed by Prisoners

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Crime, Tax Law

Audit Finds Significant Increase in Fraudulent Tax Returns Filed by Prisoners by Audit Finds Significant Increase in Fraudulent Tax Returns Filed by Prisoners Prisoners are filing phony federal income tax returns in record numbers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) continues to pay refunds despite repeated warnings from the Treasury …

When Attorneys Fumble, Defendants Face Consequences

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders, Malpractice (Attorneys), AEDPA, Death Penalty, Criminal Procedure

When Attorneys Fumble, Defendants Face Consequences by David Reutter When Attorneys Fumble, Defendants Face Consequences by David M. Reutter The right of defendants facing criminal charges to be represented by counsel is the bedrock of our criminal justice system, expressly enshrined in the Sixth Amendment. An underlying doctrine to that …

Agreement to Limit Solitary Confinement in New York State Prisons Applauded

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Ad-Seg Hearings, Mental Health, Juveniles, Mothers in Prison

Agreement to Limit Solitary Confinement in New York State Prisons Applauded by Agreement to Limit Solitary Confinement in New York State Prisons Applauded Civil rights groups and New York State officials are hailing as “historic” an agreement to enact sweeping reforms in the way the state’s prison system uses solitary …

Reenergized D.C. Corrections Information Council Targets Jail and Prison Conditions

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Mental Health, Suicides

Reenergized D.C. Corrections Information Council Targets Jail and Prison Conditions by Derek Gilna Reenergized D.C. Corrections Information Council Targets Jail and Prison Conditions by Derek Gilna The number of suicides at the District of Columbia Jail was cited as the top concern of an independent agency whose mission is to …

Education is Better than Punishment: Something We Can All Support!

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Statistics/Trends, Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Release and Reentry

Education is Better than Punishment: Something We Can All Support! by Vivian D. Nixon Education is Better than Punishment: Something We Can All Support! by Vivian D. Nixon I learned in the harshest way possible that in the United States of America, every felony conviction, no matter what the judge …

Ninth Circuit Affirms Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to California’s CASE Act

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Internet, State Legislation

Ninth Circuit Affirms Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to California’s CASE Act by Ninth Circuit Affirms Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to California’s CASE Act On November 7, 2012, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the implementation of parts of the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act (“CASE Act”), …

Debtors’ Prisons Prevail in Las Vegas, Thanks to Prosecutors and Casino Markers Law

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Money/Property, State Legislation

Debtors’ Prisons Prevail in Las Vegas, Thanks to Prosecutors and Casino Markers Law by Derek Gilna Debtors’ Prisons Prevail in Las Vegas, Thanks to Prosecutors and Casino Markers Law by Derek Gilna Anyone who has ever been threatened with jail or actually locked up for passing a bad check or …

Former Florida Guard Accused of Workers’ Comp Fraud Dies Before Trial

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Guard Misconduct

Former Florida Guard Accused of Workers’ Comp Fraud Dies Before Trial by Former Florida Guard Accused of Workers’ Comp Fraud Dies Before Trial Less than eight weeks before a former Florida prison guard was scheduled to go to trial on charges of fraudulently collecting nearly $3 million in workers’ compensation, …

Disabled California Juvenile Detainees Entitled to Special Education Services in Jail

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Education (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons

Disabled California Juvenile Detainees Entitled to Special Education Services in Jail by Mark Wilson Disabled California Juvenile Detainees Entitled to Special Education Services in Jail by Mark Wilson The California Supreme Court held on December 12, 2013 that state law requires disabled juvenile offenders to continue receiving special education services …

Despite Reforms, Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners Persists

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: OB/GYN, Restraints, Mothers in Prison

Despite Reforms, Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners Persists by Despite Reforms, Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners Persists In 2011, Valerie Nabors was serving a sentence at Nevada’s Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas for stealing more than $250 in casino chips. She was pregnant and went into labor while incarcerated. …

$690,000 Settlement in HRDC Suit Over Death of Prisoner’s Baby at CCA Jail

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, OB/GYN, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, PLN Litigation, Mothers in Prison

$690,000 Settlement in HRDC Suit Over Death of Prisoner’s Baby at CCA Jail by Derek Gilna $690,000 Settlement in HRDC Suit Over Death of Prisoner’s Baby at CCA Jail by Derek Gilna In August 2014, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest for-profit prison firm, settled a federal lawsuit …

New York False Imprisonment Claim Revived; Administratively-Imposed PRS Term Invalid

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Parole Conditions

New York False Imprisonment Claim Revived; Administratively-Imposed PRS Term Invalid by Mark Wilson New York False Imprisonment Claim Revived; Administratively-Imposed PRS Term Invalid by Mark Wilson On December 26, 2013, a New York appellate court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s false imprisonment claim. In 2000, Francis Moulton …

Ninth Circuit: Prisoner Validated as Gang Member May Challenge Debriefing Procedures

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Gang Policies, Ad-Seg Hearings

Ninth Circuit: Prisoner Validated as Gang Member May Challenge Debriefing Procedures by Mark Wilson Ninth Circuit: Prisoner Validated as Gang Member May Challenge Debriefing Procedures by Mark Wilson On January 15, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a prisoner’s claim related to “debriefing” with respect …

Los Angeles County Jail Exploits Prisoners, Families with High Phone Costs

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Telephone Rates

Los Angeles County Jail Exploits Prisoners, Families with High Phone Costs by Los Angeles County Jail Exploits Prisoners, Families with High Phone Costs by Derek Gilna Officials with Los Angeles County’s jail system have been criticized by County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky for exploiting prisoners and their families by charging excessive …

Ethics Charge Against Former U.S. Marshal Ends in Pre-Trial Diversion

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Police Misconduct

Ethics Charge Against Former U.S. Marshal Ends in Pre-Trial Diversion by Derek Gilna Ethics Charge Against Former U.S. Marshal Ends in Pre-Trial Diversion by Derek Gilna A criminal ethics charge filed against a former U.S. Marshals Service agent in Arizona who had applied for a job with a private prison …

Texas Prison Homicides Rise Sharply in 2012, Decline in 2013

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Prison/Jail Murders, Statistics/Trends

Texas Prison Homicides Rise Sharply in 2012, Decline in 2013 by Texas Prison Homicides Rise Sharply in 2012, Decline in 2013 Texas officials said they were at a loss to explain an unexpected surge in prison homicides during 2012, when the number of murders rose to the highest level in …

Overtime Pay for New York Prison Guards, Nurses “Out of Control”

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing

Overtime Pay for New York Prison Guards, Nurses “Out of Control” by Overtime Pay for New York Prison Guards, Nurses “Out of Control” Some blame prison understaffing on a weak talent pool or an inability to hire sufficient staff in the rural areas where prisons are often located. Others theorize …

Battling the Administration: An Inmate’s Guide to a Successful Lawsuit, by David J. Meister

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Reviews, Resources

Battling the Administration: An Inmate’s Guide to a Successful Lawsuit, by David J. Meister by Gary Hunter Battling the Administration: An Inmate’s Guide to a Successful Lawsuit, by David J. Meister (Wynword Press, April 2014). 566 pages, $34.95 paperback Book review by Gary Hunter When asked what the first step …

California Law Denying Good Time Credits to Gang Members in SHUs Held Constitutional

Article • December 3, 2014 • from PLN December, 2014

Filed under: Gang Policies, Good Time, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

California Law Denying Good Time Credits to Gang Members in SHUs Held Constitutional by David Reutter California Law Denying Good Time Credits to Gang Members in SHUs Held Constitutional by David Reutter The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held on April 25, 2014 that a California law which denies good …