News in Brief by Alabama: According to a report by the Alabama Political Reporter, a state prisoner was fatally stabbed by another man incarcerated with him at Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore on May 4, 2021—just one day before his scheduled release, which would also have been his twenty-fourth birthday. …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Transfer Lawsuit by Suicidal Prisoner by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 15, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a prisoner who had consented to being transferred to a psychiatric unit after a suicide attempt could not sue …
Robinson v. Midland County, TX, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2021 Case 7:21-cv-00111 Document 1 Filed 06/16/21 Page 1 of 71 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MIDLAND-ODESSA DIVISION ANGELA ROBINSON, individually; CLARA BUSBY, as next friend, guardian, and parent of and for minors L.H. and T.H.; and …
News in Brief by Australia: A February 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court in the Australian province of Victoria presented “a rare win” for a prisoner contesting prison procedures, according to a report by The Conversation. The convict, 56-year-old Craig Minogue, argued that Barwon Prison’s random drug testing and strip-searching …
Texas Republican Representative Proposes Renaming Prisons With Names Honoring Enslavers, Oppressors and Convict Leasers by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke It may not be surprising to readers of Prison Legal News that many prisons throughout the US are named after people who were slave owners, officers in the Confederate Army, …
State Auditor Report Critical of Texas Prison Agribusiness by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The State Auditor of Texas issued a report in March 2021 about the sale and production of food and fiber by the Agribusiness, Land and Minerals Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The …
Outbreak of Delta Variant Infections Among Incarcerated Persons in a Federal Prison, TX, 2021 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant Infections Among Incarcerated Persons in a Federal Prison — Texas, July–August 2021 Liesl M. Hagan, MPH1*; David W. McCormick, MD1,2*; Christine Lee, PhD1; Sadia Sleweon, …
University of TX, Dead Man Waiting - Profile of Deaths in TX Prisons Among People Approved for Parole Release, 2021 COVID, Corrections, and Oversight Project ~~, June 2021 DEAD MAN WAITING: A brief profile of deaths in Texas prisons among people approved for parole release Michele Deitch, Destiny Moreno, and …
TX State Auditor, Agribusiness at the Dept of Criminal Justice, 2021 Lisa R. Collier, CPA, CFE, CIDA First Assistant State Auditor An Audit Report on Agribusiness at the Department of Criminal Justice March 2021 Report No. 21-016 State Auditor’s Office reports are available on the Internet at http://www.sao.texas.gov/. An Audit …
Austin v. City of Pasadena, TX, Complaint, Excessive Force-Death, 2021 Case 4:21-cv-00774 Document 15 Filed on 05/04/21 in TXSD Page 1 of 77 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON DIVISION SHAMARIAN AUSTIN, as dependent administrator of, and on behalf of, ILIANA CLAIRE HEJLIK, J.S. #1, …
News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2021, Huntsville TV station WHNT reported a delay in the trial on theft and ethics charges of Mike Blakely, sheriff of Limestone County, Alabama. According to the report, retired Colbert County Circuit Judge Pride Tompkins, who had been appointed to hear the case …
Texas Prisons Close Amid Pandemic by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) shuttered its Wayne Scott Unit in Brazoria County on December 15, 2020. Its Neal Unit in Amarillo and Gurney Unit outside Palestine were also closed by the end of 2020. TDCJ said …
Texas Moves to Deny Housing for Released Prisoners by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Two facts concerning prison are apparent to those who have been there, as well as to their loved ones: assimilating into prison is difficult at best but re-assimilating back into society after release can be exponentially …
Cheek v. Hill County, TX, Complaint, Wrongful Death - Suicide, 2021 Case 6:21-cv-00396-ADA-JCM Document 1 Filed 04/22/21 Page 1 of 74 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS WACO DIVISION GWYNNE CHEEK, individually and as independent administrator of, and on behalf of, the ESTATE OF DAVID BRIAN …
New Research on Texas Diversionary Programs Shows Lower Crime Rates by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso A new study using data from the Houston, Texas area shows that the use of diversionary programs results in overall lower crime, including among high-risk demographic groups. The study, “Diversion in the …
Texas Winter Storm Freezes Plumbing, Power and Prisoners by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 14, 2021, a winter storm with temperatures far below freezing swept through Texas causing an unprepared electrical grid to falter and resulting in at least 57 deaths. The storm caused widespread power outages and …
COVID-19 Inspired Ban on Prison Visits in Texas Ends by Chad Marks by Chad Marks At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas prison officials stopped all visits in the prison system between prisoners and families. Stopping the visits seemed to have little effect on keeping both prisoners and staff …
Greedo Still Influencing From Texas Prison by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins His Texas ID card identifies him as Jason Jackson, Offender #2208297. The black ink etched in his skin and white clothing he must wear mark him as little different from 140,000 others in the state’s prison system, yet …
Roppolo v. Linthicum, TX, Settlement, HepC Treatment, 2021 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI DIVISION MATTHEW ROPPOLO, ET AL., Plaintiffs, v. C.A. No. 2:19-CV-00262 DR. LANNETTE LINTHICUM, ET AL., Defendants. PRIVATE COMPROMISE AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT Subject to Final Approval, the following is …
News in Brief by Afghanistan: As fighting continued between Taliban forces and the Afghan military on September 3, 3020, both parties announced they had nearly completed a prisoner exchange negotiated the previous February. According to a report by Japan’s public broadcasting company, HNK, the Taliban said all 1,000 Afghan prisoners …
