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Mississippi Supreme Court Denies Equity Court Review of Death Penalty Cases

Article • June 15, 2012

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Misconduct, Malpractice (Attorneys), Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty

Mississippi Supreme Court Denies Equity Court Review of Death Penalty Cases by Derek Gilna By Derek Gilna The complaint of sixteen death-row inmates in Mississippi which sought Chancery Court review of the adequacy of their legal representation has been denied by the Mississippi Supreme Court for lack of jurisdiction based …

Mississippi Oversight Committee Finds Fault in Operation of Prison Canteens

Article • April 15, 2012 • from PLN April, 2012

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct

Mississippi Oversight Committee Finds Fault in Operation of Prison Canteens by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In June 2011, the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) issued a report to the Mississippi legislature concerning the state’s prison canteen contract, the operation and oversight of that …

Exposure to Second Hand Smoke Sparks 8th Amendment Claim

Article • November 15, 2011

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking

Exposure to Second Hand Smoke Sparks 8th Amendment Claim by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed in part and reversed in part a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging 8th and 14th Amendment violations. Jerry Marcus, a Mississippi prisoner, filed a § 1983 action against …

Presley v. Epps, MS, Motion for Attorney Fees, Death Row Conditions, 2011

Brief • November 8, 2011

Filed under: Death Row

Presley v. Epps, MS, Motion for Attorney Fees, Death Row Conditions, 2011 Case: 4:05-cv-00148-DAS Doc #: 148 Filed: 11/08/11 1 of 47 PageID #: 1236 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI GREENVILLE DIVISION JEFFERY PRESLEY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. No. 4:05-CV-00148 CHRISTOPHER EPPS, et …

Administrative Forfeiture of Assets Requires Notice

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Evidentiary Ruling, Forfeiture

Administrative Forfeiture of Assets Requires Notice by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an evidentiary hearing must be held to determine if constitutional notice was given by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to administratively forfeit $13,000. That holding comes after a Mississippi federal district court held the …

Fifth Circuit Holds Mississippi Felons May Not Vote in Presidential Elections

Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011

Filed under: Organizing, Voting

Fifth Circuit Holds Mississippi Felons May Not Vote in Presidential Elections by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that there was no exception to the disenfranchisement of felons in Mississippi state law that would allow them to vote in presidential elections. Assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jerry …

Mississippi Governor Grants Early Release to Scott Sisters

Article • May 15, 2011 • from PLN May, 2011

Filed under: Medical Expenses, Sentencing, Pardons/Clemency

Mississippi Governor Grants Early Release to Scott Sisters by Derek Gilna In a recent resolution to a celebrated Mississippi civil rights case, in which sisters Gladys and Jamie Scott each served 16 years of a life sentence for their part in a 1993 armed robbery that netted as little as …

Fifth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Deputies in Excessive Force Suit

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Excessive Force, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force

Fifth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Deputies in Excessive Force Suit by On October 28, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment for sheriff’s deputies accused of excessive force in the death of a prisoner. Debbie Loggins died while being transported to …

Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Juries

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 …

Mississippi DOC Closes Unit 32

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Consent Decrees, Death Row

Mississippi DOC Closes Unit 32 by A settlement agreement was reached in June 2010 to close the notorious Unit 32 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. The agreement provides for the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged conditions at the supermax unit. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in …

Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Substance, Not Label, of Prisoner Petitions Governs

Article • January 15, 2011 • from PLN January, 2011

Filed under: Exposure to Heat, Civil Procedure, Complaints

Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Substance, Not Label, of Prisoner Petitions Governs by Mississippi courts must construe prisoner filings based on their substance, and not how they are labeled, the Supreme Court of Mississippi decided. Dennis Dobbs, a Mississippi state prisoner, filed a “Petition for an Order to Show Cause” with …

Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds

Article • January 15, 2011 • from PLN January, 2011

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds by Mark Wilson Throughout the 1990s, “Supermax” prisons and control units – commonly called Security Housing Units (SHUs) or Intensive Management Units (IMUs) – sprang up across the nation. Between 1995 and 2000 the general prison population increased by 28 percent, but according …

Mississippi Stops Segregating HIV-positive Prisoners

Article • September 15, 2010 • from PLN September, 2010

Filed under: HIV/AIDS, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Mississippi Stops Segregating HIV-positive Prisoners by On March 17, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) had agreed to stop segregating prisoners with HIV. The policy change followed two decades of efforts by the ACLU, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other advocacy organizations. …

Early Release Scam Results in Arrests

Article • May 15, 2010 • from PLN May, 2010

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Early Release Scam Results in Arrests by Brandon Sample The FBI has arrested two men in an unusual and brazen plot to defraud prisoners and their families out of tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for reduced sentences. Monterro Paul, who previously served time in federal prison for counterfeiting …

Mississippi Earned Time Policy Violates Ex Post Facto Clause

Article • May 15, 2010 • from PLN May, 2010

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Good Time

Mississippi Earned Time Policy Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by Mississippi’s Court of Appeals has remanded for an evidentiary hearing a claim that a law prohibiting prisoners who are convicted of sale or transfer of a controlled substance from eligibility for earned-time allowance is an ex post facto law as …

Privatized Prison Medical Care in Mississippi Still Problematic

Article • November 15, 2009 • from PLN November, 2009

Filed under: Wexford Health Services, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Privatized Prison Medical Care in Mississippi Still Problematic by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Anyone looking for evidence that privatized prison health care is a complete failure need look no further than Mississippi. In 2001, the per capita death rate for Mississippi prisoners was around the national average. By …

Former Mississippi DOC Chief Medical Officer Charged with Embezzlement

Article • November 15, 2009 • from PLN November, 2009

Filed under: Medical Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Former Mississippi DOC Chief Medical Officer Charged with Embezzlement by Dr. Kentrell Liddell, 35, was arrested on May 21, 2009 and charged with 13 counts of embezzlement. She was taken into custody at her current job at the Madison County Medical Center in Canton, Mississippi, and booked into the Hinds …

Mississippi Prisoners Make Collect Call for Jesus

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Mississippi Prisoners Make Collect Call for Jesus by On April 15, 2009, the Mississippi Legislature passed legislation authorizing up to 25 percent, or $25,000 annually, of the money collected from prisoner telephone calls to fund a Jail and Prison Ministry. Since the late 1990s, the Good News Jail and Prison …

Statute of Limitations Applicable in Method of Execution Actions

Article • September 15, 2009

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

Statute of Limitations Applicable in Method of Execution Actions by On November 24, 2008, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants in a § 1983 action brought by Mississippi death-row prisoners Alan Walker, Paul Woodward and Gerald Holland (Plaintiffs). …

$250,000 Award in Mississippi False Imprisonment Suit

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

$250,000 Award in Mississippi False Imprisonment Suit by Last January, a Mississippi federal jury awarded a former prisoner $250,000 for being falsely incarcerated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). The facts of the case exhibit an unbelievable abuse of power by MDOC officials. After pleading guilty to burglary of …