$975,000 Award to Former Prisoner Who Gave Birth in Seattle, Washington Jail by A federal jury in Washington State has awarded $975,000 to a mentally ill woman who gave birth in a cell at the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF). The jury found both the county and jail staff liable …
California Pays $295,000 to Settle Religious Discrimination Lawsuit by Sikh Barred from Employment as Prison Guard by California Pays $295,000 to Settle Religious Discrimination Lawsuit by Sikh Barred from Employment as Prison Guard In August 2011, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) settled a religious discrimination suit filed …
California Supreme Court Restricts Lifer Parole Challenges by In its second review in three years of a state prisoner’s habeas corpus petition seeking review of an adverse parole decision, on December 29, 2011 the California Supreme Court again reversed the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Div. 1, which had ordered …
CA Court of Appeal: Documents Identifying Suppliers of Execution Drug are Public Records by On December 20, 2011, a California Court of Appeal held that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) may not withhold the names of pharmaceutical companies and other sources from which it sought to acquire …
Florida Town Rallies to Stop CCA Immigration Detention Facility by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Residents in a South Florida community near a proposed 1,500-bed privately-operated immigration detention center waged a successful yearlong opposition campaign that culminated in the cancellation of the project in June 2012. Corrections Corporation of …
PLN Settles Censorship Suit Against Sacramento County, California Jail by On July 17, 2012, Prison Legal News settled a lawsuit against Sacramento County, California and Sheriff Scott R. Jones for $300,000 plus policy changes in the county’s jail system. The suit was filed in federal court in April 2011 after …
U.S. Supreme Court Holds AG Rules Required Before SORNA Sex Offender Law is Applied Retroactively by Derek Gilna On January 23, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision written by Justice Stephen Breyer, reversed the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which had held that the federal Sex Offender …
New Mexico Sheriff Sentenced for Selling County Property on eBay by On July 20, 2011, former Santa Fe County, New Mexico Sheriff Greg Solano, 47, pleaded guilty to five counts of third-degree fraud for selling county property on eBay and keeping the proceeds. The property, which was reportedly worth over …
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Florida DOC’s Ban on Pen Pal Solicitations by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) may ban all pen pal solicitations between pen pal services and Florida prisoners, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held on December 22, 2011. The appellate decision …
Former Florida Sheriff Cleared in Theft Investigation and PHS Contract Fraud Suit by Following a two-year investigation and a jury verdict in a civil suit, a special prosecutor announced in June 2011 that criminal charges would not be forthcoming against Bill Balkwill, former sheriff of Sarasota County, Florida. The jury …
Pro Se Virginia Prisoner Settles Religious Exercise Suit by Virginia state prisoner Rashid Qawi Al-Amin, proceeding pro se, reached a settlement with prison officials that requires them to purchase Islamic reading materials, CDs and DVDs for the prison chaplain’s library. The state also agreed to pay him $2,000. Al-Amin, a …
$50 Million in Grants Targets HIV in the Criminal Justice System by The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a division of the National Institutes of Health, is awarding almost $50 million in grants to fund research projects that target HIV among prisoners, parolees and probationers. The grants will be …
$3.5 Million Settlement in Teen’s Death at New York Juvenile Facility by A $3.5 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over the death of a juvenile offender who was restrained by two staffers at the Tryon Boys Residential Center in Fulton County, New York. The suit claimed that …
Texas: Helping HIV+ Prisoners Receive Post-Release Meds by by Matt Clarke When Diana Harris was released from a Texas prison more than a decade ago, she received no information on how to continue her regimen of HIV medication. The prison issued her a 10-day supply of meds and when that …
Texas Legislator Uses Prisoner-Made Goods as Gifts for Campaign Contributors by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke When Republican Texas State Representative Debbie Riddle scheduled her “Riddle Executive Leadership Summit” at the Lanier Theological Library in August 2011, the agenda mentioned several “esteemed discussion leaders,” a buffet reception and special gifts …
BOP’s RDAP Program Unevenly Administered and Unnecessarily Costly by Brandon Sample by Brandon Sample and Derek Gilna A comprehensive review of the federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), enacted by Congress in 1994, indicates that almost 20 years after its creation RDAP has yet to fulfill …
Tenth Circuit Holds Sex Offenders Who Leave U.S. Must Still Register by Derek Gilna The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held on December 23, 2011 that a Utah sex offender must register in his home state even if he intends to permanently leave the U.S. to live in another country. …
Florida Reports Indicate Restoration of Civil Rights Reduces Recidivism by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Advocates of automatic restoration of civil rights for ex-offenders have long maintained that such a policy helps former prisoners reintegrate into society and therefore reduces recidivism. Two reports by the Florida Parole Commission (FPC), …
Tainted Chicken Sickens Hundreds of Prisoners, Staff at Pennsylvania BOP Facility by In late June 2011, around 320 prisoners and employees at USP Canaan in Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia, became sick due to salmonella poisoning after eating “tainted chicken” used to make fajitas. Four prisoners were ill enough to require …
ACLU Challenges “Jail or Church” Program in Alabama by On September 26, 2011 the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama (ACLU) sent a cease-and-desist letter to the City of Bay Minette, demanding that city officials “immediately end Operation Restore Our Community (ROC), which requires first-time, non-violent misdemeanor offenders to choose …
