Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Guards Accused of Deliberate Indifference; $5.2 Million Verdict, $450,000 Settlement on Remand by Brandon Sample On August 20, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of qualified immunity to six Garland County Adult Detention …
Prison Pays: Geo Corp Profits from Half-Way House Murder and Mayhem in Texas by Craig Malisow Despite a history of abuse and bad conditions, private-prison corporation GEO Group keeps getting contracts in Texas by Craig Malisow Anthony Ferrell left the Ben A. Reid halfway house in northeast Houston on October …
Purposeful Exposure to Ultraviolet Light Warrants Denial of Qualified Immunity by On March 25, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit affirmed in part a summary judgment denial is a 42U.S.C. §1983 suit that alleges Arkansas prison guards maliciously and out of retaliation exposed a prisoner to …
8th Circuit Upholds 60 Month Sentence for Marijuana, Tobacco found on Federal Prisoner. by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a 60 month sentence for a federal prisoner caught smuggling tobacco and marijuana through visiting. Tony Ray Ferguson was indicted under 8U.S.C. §1791 (a)(z) for …
Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States by Derek Gilna A study by the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit legal organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, has found widespread discrimination in jury selection in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. The discriminatory practices …
Arkansas Federal Jury Awards $261,000 to Male Prisoner Raped by Male Guard by On July 16, 2009, a federal jury awarded $261,000 to a former Arkansas prisoner who was sodomized and forced to perform oral sex on a guard. While incarcerated at the Varner Supermax Unit, Jason D. Palton was …
Eighth Circuit Upholds $2,501 Retaliation Judgment Against Arkansas Prison Guard by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a $2,501 award to an Arkansas state prisoner who was subjected to retaliation by an Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) guard. On June 23, 2007, ADC prisoner Walter …
Private Manufacturers Use Cheap Arkansas Prison Labor by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Two private manufacturing companies have opened shops in Arkansas prisons. Actronix, Inc. employs 65 female prisoners at the McPherson Unit to produce wiring harnesses for medical imaging devices such as MRI machines and CT scanners, while Glove …
Arkansas Prisoner Awarded $1 a Day Plus Costs for Unconstitutional Lockdown by On June 19, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas awarded $182 to a Benton County prisoner who spent 6 months in disciplinary segregation without a hearing or periodic reviews. Plaintiff Phetpinthong Senesackda claimed …
Arkansas Supreme Court Upholds Changes to Death Penalty Procedures by Frank Williams, Jr., an Arkansas Death Row prisoner, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in state circuit court, alleging that the Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) administrative directive (AD) 08-28 setting forth execution procedures was adopted in violation of the …
Eighth Circuit: Shackling Pregnant Prisoner During Labor Unconstitutional by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 2, 2009, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held that shackling a pregnant prisoner while she was in labor constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Shawanna …
Arkansas Prisoner Almost Dies After Being Left in Feces by Justin Miller An Arkansas prison guard who had been previously fired and rehired by the state’s prison system was terminated a second time after he was involved in an incident that almost resulted in a prisoner’s death. On June 22, …
Arkansas Prisoner Awarded $625 for Refusing to Clean His Cell on the Sabbath by On April 13, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Harry F. Barnes adopted a magistrate’s report and recommendation that found an Arkansas prisoner should be awarded $625 after being punished for refusing to work on the Sabbath. …
Eighth Circuit Upholds $1,500 Award for Failure to Provide Kosher Diet; Grooming Restrictions Also Upheld by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s award of $1,500 to an Arkansas prisoner who was denied kosher meals. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the lower court’s ruling that upheld …
No Qualified Immunity for Guards Who Failed to Help Vomiting Prisoner Who Died by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a denial of qualified immunity for three Greene County, Arkansas jail guards accused of violating a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights. On January 4, 2002, Phil …
Palton v Remley, AR, Verdict, sexual abuse, 2009 Case 5:06-cv-00198-SWW-HLJ Document 223 Filed 07/16/2009 JURY INTERROGATORIES Page 1 of 3 NOTE: Complete the following interrogatories by writing in the names required by your verdict. 1. On plaintiff Jason Palton' s claim against defendant Antonio Remley, as submitted in Jury Instruction …
Arkansas Sends Toxic Tech Trash to UNICOR Recycling Program by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A number of counties in Arkansas have been sending their toxic electronics waste, including broken computers and televisions, to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), the industry program for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). UNICOR …
Prison Officials May Limit Access to Tarot Cards Under RLUIPA by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed an Arkansas federal district court’s order that held a prison policy that requires prisoners to check out tarot cards from a chaplain and prohibits keeping cards in cells does not violate …
Arkansas City Settles Dispute Over Housing Prisoners In County Jail by The City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas reached a settlement with Jefferson County, Arkansas over a declaratory judgment regarding the meaning of the phrase "prisoners of municipalities" as used in an Arkansas statue governing how jail costs are appropriated between …
Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …
