Maryland Prison Guards Busted for Helping Gang Members by Gary Hunter In April 2009, four Maryland prison guards were indicted for participating in a variety of illegal activities involving the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) at the Metropolitan Transition Center (MTC) in Baltimore. Guards Asia Burrus, Musheerah Habeebullah, Takevia Smith and …
Fourth Circuit Holds Individual Capacity Damage Claims Unavailable Under RLUIPA by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc et seq., does not authorize individual capacity damages actions. The Court’s ruling came in the appeal of …
Maryland: Parole Supervision Fee Likely Does More Harm than Good by Bob Williams In a 2009 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank and public interest advocacy group at New York University School of Law, the authors conclude that the state of Maryland’s assessment of a $40 …
Settlement Promises Improvements at Baltimore City Jail by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On August 18, 2009, a settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit over conditions of confinement at the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). The lawsuit dates back to 1971 and had been on the federal district court’s …
$100,000 Settlement in Assault and Battery Claim During Baltimore Youth’s Arrest by A $100,000 settlement was reached in a lawsuit that claimed a Baltimore City police officer was too aggressive when subduing a teenager, causing serious internal injuries. While patrolling an area on January 27, 2007, which had experienced a …
New Jersey DOC Report: Megan’s Law Costly and Ineffective by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In December 2008, the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) submitted a research report on the practical and monetary effects of Megan’s Law to the U.S. Department of Justice. The report concluded that Megan’s Law, …
Mental Illness Prevalent Among County Jail Prisoners, Especially Women by Gary Hunter A random sampling of 2,000 prisoners in five county jails found that, on average, nearly 15 percent of male prisoners and 31 percent of female prisoners suffer from serious mental illness. The study was headed by Dr. Henry …
$42,500 Settlement By City of Baltimore in Excessive Force Arrest Suit by The City of Baltimore, Maryland paid $42,500 to settle the excessive use of force claim during arrest brought by Anthony E. Chase. On December 3, 2005, around midnight, Chase was arrested by officer Eric L. Thomas and another …
$100,000 Settlement in Tort Suit Over Assault by Baltimore Police Officer by The City of Baltimore, Maryland, paid $100,000 to settle a tort claim of assault and assault and battery for injuries sustained by teenager Donald Kosh during a foot chase and subsequent arrest. While on patrol on January 27, …
Maryland Prisoners Make Flags by Made in the U.S.A. got a whole new meaning with the passage of a recent Maryland law that requires all Maryland and United States flags to be produced in the United States. For many years in Maryland, all but one flag that flies at the …
Maryland Prisoners Receive Kosher Food by Brandon Sample Beginning on April 9, 2009, The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) started providing kosher meals to state prisoners with religious dietary needs. The decision to provide kosher food came after a meeting between the Secretary of the DPSCS …
15 Guards Charged with Assaulting Maryland Prisoners by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has charged 15 former prison guards with assaulting prisoners. The charges come nearly a year after the guards were fired from the North Branch Correctional Institution and Roxbury Correctional Institution; another …
Jury Awards $1.8 Million for False Arrest and Malicious Prosecution by In April, 2008, five Maryland men were awarded more than $1.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages in a civil rights suit alleging false arrest and malicious prosecution by Baltimore police officer Robert Cirello. Plaintiffs' attorneys, James L. Rhodes …
Prisoner’s Death, Abusive and Incompetent Guards Give Black Eye to Maryland Prisons & Jails by Gary Hunter Prisoner’s Death, Abusive and Incompetent Guards Give Black Eye to Maryland Prisons & Jails by Gary Hunter On June 27, 2008, Ronnie L. White, 19, was arrested for the death of Maryland State …
Executioner Banned in Missouri but Available for Hire Elsewhere by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg A former Missouri prison doctor and participant in lethal injections, who was banned from performing executions in that state, is still for hire to conduct executions in other jurisdictions. With over 40 death sentences …
Dismissal of Suit Challenging Loss of Diminution Credits Upheld by On May 8, 2008, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the dismissal of a prisoner suit challenging the loss of diminution credits. Alfred Fraction and Gregory Nutter, Maryland prisoners, sued the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and …
Baltimore Settles Officers’ Lawsuit in Rogue Unit Scandal by The City of Baltimore has issued an apology and agreed to a $290,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed by two Baltimore police officers wrongfully accused of illegal acts related to a rogue police unit. The City’s rare public apology was a …
Entire Texas Prison System Locked Down to Search for Phones; Prison Cell Phone Problem is Pandemic by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 20, 2008, Texas Governor Rick Perry placed all 112 prisons and 155,000 prisoners in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) on lockdown to search for …
Maryland Prison Employees Strip Searched After False Alert by Drug Scanning Machine by Derick Limberg Maryland Prison Employees Strip Searched After False Alert by Drug Scanning Machine by Derek Limburg Nine prison employees at the Maryland Correctional Training Center (MCTC) received the same treatment as prisoners upon their arrival at …
Georgia Judges, Other Officials Indicted on Corruption and Human Trafficking Charges by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Federal authorities have been investigating Georgia state court judges and county officials for the past several years. The result thus far is numerous indictments and three guilty pleas on charges ranging from …
