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To What End, Assessing the Impact of the Knox County Jail's Ban on In-Person Visits

Publication • January 29, 2018

Filed under: Visiting, Attorney Visits, Extended Family Visiting, Video Visitation

To What End, Assessing the Impact of the Knox County Jail's Ban on In-Person Visits To What End?: Assessing the Impact of the Knox County Jail’s Ban on In-Person Visits Face To Face Knox Knoxville, TN January 29, 2018 Introduction Since April 2014, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office has banned …

Private Prison CEO Heads Search for United Way Leader

Article • January 8, 2018 • from PLN January, 2018

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic

Private Prison CEO Heads Search for United Way Leader by Until recently, Damon Hininger, president and CEO of CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville (UWMN). CoreCivic is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. After UWMN CEO …

Willful Violation of Tennessee FOIA Occurs by Requiring Unauthorized Fees

Article • December 22, 2017

Filed under: Freedom of Information Act

Willful Violation of Tennessee FOIA Occurs by Requiring Unauthorized Fees by A Tennessee state appellate court reversed a trial court’s ruling that a custodian of records’ denial of access to public records was “not willful." The court found the denial was “willful." Where the prior ruling prevented the trial court from …

Tennessee’s Death Penalty on Hold

Article • December 22, 2017

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row

Tennessee’s Death Penalty on Hold by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Capital punishment is on hold in Tennessee. The Tennessee Supreme Court halted execution to allow lower courts to hold hearings on the new lethal injection protocol. Meanwhile, attorneys for death row prisoners are arguing the death penalty is …

BOP Prison Guard's 30 Day Suspension for Biting Inmate Reversed in Arbitration

Article • December 11, 2017

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

BOP Prison Guard's 30 Day Suspension for Biting Inmate Reversed in Arbitration by Christopher Zoukis By Christopher Zoukis The 30-day suspension of Kenneth O. Davis for biting a prisoner was overturned by federal arbitrator Michael L. Allen on December 12, 2002. Davis, a senior officer specialist (prison guard), was working …

Tennessee: High Cost of Drugs Cited as Reason to Deny Prisoners Hep C Treatment

Article • December 5, 2017 • from PLN December, 2017

Filed under: Medical Expenses, Hepatitis, Failure to Treat

Tennessee: High Cost of Drugs Cited as Reason to Deny Prisoners Hep C Treatment by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Tennessee prison officials “turn a blind eye” to the medical needs of prisoners infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a class-action lawsuit filed in July 2016 alleges. While …

Tennessee DOC Prison Audit

Publication • November 17, 2017

Tennessee DOC Prison Audit STATE OF TENNESSEE COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION Performance Audit Report November 2017 Justin P. Wilson, Comptroller Division of State Audit Sunset Performance Section DEBORAH V. LOVELESS, CPA, CGFM, CGMA Director JOSEPH SCHUSSLER, CPA, CGFM Assistant Director DENA W. WINNINGHAM, CGFM Audit Manager Vincent …

USA v. Harper, TN, Opinion, "Crime of Violence," 2017

Brief • November 9, 2017

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Firearms

USA v. Harper, TN, Opinion, "Crime of Violence," 2017 RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 17a0254p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellant, ┐ │ │ > v. ADARIUS HARPER, Defendant-Appellee. │ │ │ │ │ ┘ …

Robinson v. Purkey, TN, Memo Re TRO Mot, Driver's License Suspensions, 2017

Brief • October 15, 2017

Filed under: Indigent Defense, Money/Property

Robinson v. Purkey, TN, Memo Re TRO Mot, Driver's License Suspensions, 2017 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE NASHVILLE DIVISION FRED ROBINSON, ASHLEY SPRAGUE, and JOHNNY GIBBS, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) DAVID W. …

Beck v. Hamblen County, TN, Complaint, Unsafe Jail Conditions, Assault, 2017

Brief • October 3, 2017

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Pain, Injury -- Misc., Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Jail Specific, Security Systems, Attorney Fee Awards, Alien Tort Claims Act, Suicides, Fourth Amendment, rights, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Beck v. Hamblen County, TN, Complaint, Unsafe Jail Conditions, Assault, 2017 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE NORTHEASTERN DIVISION ZACKERY BECK, Plaintiff, vs. Case No. HAMBLEN COUNTY, Tennessee, a governmental entity, ESCO R. JARNAGIN, Hamblen County Sheriff, JOHN and JANE DOES, employees of the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department, …

Rodriguez v. Providence Community Corrections, TN, Settlement, Private Probation, 2017

Brief • September 18, 2017

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Probation, Money/Property

Rodriguez v. Providence Community Corrections, TN, Settlement, Private Probation, 2017 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Release is entered into by named plaintiffs Cindy Rodriguez, Steven Gibbs, Paula Pullum, Yolanda Carney, Jacqueline Brinkley, Curtis Johnson, and Fred Robinson (“Named Plaintiffs”), defendant Rutherford County, Tennessee (“Rutherford County”), defendant Providence …

TN Prison Counselor Suspended for Posting Insults on Facebook

Article • August 30, 2017 • from PLN September, 2017

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Guards/Staff

TN Prison Counselor Suspended for Posting Insults on Facebook by Joe Watson by Joe Watson A counselor at the Turney Center Industrial Complex (TCIX), a close-security prison located in southwestern Tennessee, was suspended for three days after she posted profanity-laced insults on the Facebook page for the Tennessee Department of …

Nearly $57,000 Attorney Fee Award in Tennessee Public Records Case

Article • August 24, 2017

Filed under: Public Records, Public Records Act

Nearly $57,000 Attorney Fee Award in Tennessee Public Records Case by David Reutter by David Reutter The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County was found to be in willful noncompliance with the Tennessee Public Records Act. It was order to pay $56,884.55 in attorney fees and expenses as a …

Jails Market E-Cigarettes to Detainees to Generate Revenue

Article • August 10, 2017

Filed under: Smoking, Commissary

Jails Market E-Cigarettes to Detainees to Generate Revenue by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson Prisons and jails across the country went tobacco-free years ago, to avoid second-hand smoke lawsuits and rising medical care costs. Now, impoverished jails are selling prisoners e- cigarettes, in hopes of profiting off their addiction. “Hope …

$153,955 Jury Award for TN Jail Guard Fired Over Support for Sheriff’s Election Foe

Article • August 4, 2017

Filed under: First Amendment, Employee Litigation

$153,955 Jury Award for TN Jail Guard Fired Over Support for Sheriff’s Election Foe by Joe Watson by Joe Watson A mom who was fired from her job as a Tennessee jail guard because she supported the county sheriff’s election foe was awarded $153,955 in August 2008 by a U.S. …

Tennessee Sheriff Settles Lawsuit over Religious Proselytization

Article • July 28, 2017 • from PLN August, 2017

Filed under: Proselytizing

Tennessee Sheriff Settles Lawsuit over Religious Proselytization by The Bradley County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) in Tennessee agreed to a settlement to resolve a lawsuit and end the use of its Facebook page to promote or further religious statements. In addition to the settlement terms that regulate Facebook postings, the Sheriff’s …

Tennessee Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Sexual Misconduct, Excessive Force Charges

Article • July 28, 2017 • from PLN August, 2017

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Tennessee Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Sexual Misconduct, Excessive Force Charges by A Tennessee sheriff has admitted to using his authority to have sex with jail prisoners on several occasions and using excessive force on another prisoner. Fentress County Sheriff Charles Scott “Chucky” Cravens, 47, pleaded guilty on April 20, 2017 …

PLN Obtains $50,000 Settlement in Tennessee Jail Censorship Suit

Article • July 28, 2017 • from PLN August, 2017

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship

PLN Obtains $50,000 Settlement in Tennessee Jail Censorship Suit by On March 16, 2016, a Tennessee federal district court granted PLN’s motion for a preliminary injunction to protect its Fourteenth Amendment rights from infringement by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. The county subsequently agreed to pay a $50,000 settlement. PLN’s …

One of Tennessee’s Most Pristine Rivers Contaminated with Prison Sewage

Article • July 28, 2017 • from PLN August, 2017

Filed under: Sewage

One of Tennessee’s Most Pristine Rivers Contaminated with Prison Sewage by Panagioti Tsolkas by Panagioti Tsolkas It's a rare case when one state agency penalizes another with more than a slap on the wrist. This year, in a move that surprised local environmentalists, Tennessee joined the growing list of states …

Norris v. Bryant, TN, Complaint, Restraint Chair, 2017

Brief • July 21, 2017

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Restraints

Norris v. Bryant, TN, Complaint, Restraint Chair, 2017 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE NASHVILLE DIVISION JORDAN NORRIS, PLAINTIFF ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) vs. MARK BRYANT, JOSH MARRIOTT, and JEFF KEY, DEFENDANTS. CASE NUMBER _________ COMPLAINT Comes now Plaintiff …