Judge Not: Judges Benched for Personal Misconduct by by Gary Hunter & Alex Friedmann They decide hot-button topics ranging from abortion and racial discrimination to religious freedoms and contested elections. They can put you in prison or vindicate your civil rights. They can even sentence you to death. Who am …
Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment and Directed Verdict in Mississippi Jail Suicide Case by On December 2, 2008, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming summary judgment in favor of the sheriff and the directed verdict for the county and other defendants in a case involving a …
Prison Legal News v. MS DOC, Dismissal Order, GTL phone, 2010 ~~1t51 A TRUE COPy t\ FILED JUN 1 0 2009 IN TH CHANCERY COURT OF HINS COUNTY, ~~~ ;.HA~YCLE FIRST JUDICIAL DIS~l..7.";~"" BY V ("~ D.C. , ":i"" PRISON LEGAL NEWS ~\ PLAINTIFF ~~ ~ "" ..I * "- …
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 …
Mississippi Woman Awarded $75,000 for Wrongful Incarceration Due to Court Clerk Error by On October 19, 2005, a federal jury in Mississippi awarded Michelle Hobbs $75,000 after she was wrongfully detained for 4 hours based on an arrest warrant mistakenly issued by a court clerk. Hobbs's initial arrest occurred in …
Fifth Circuit Affirms Appointment of Counsel For Indigent Prisoner by On May 7, 1980, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the appointment of counsel for an indigent prisoner alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated. William Knighton, a Mississippi prisoner, sued Mississippi prison officials over …
Mississippi To Ensure Deaf Citizen's Right To Jury Participation by Harrison County (Mississippi) entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ensuring deaf and hard of hearing individuals' right to participate in circuit court programs and services. This came after Mississippi resident Charles Carver was disqualified …
Privatized Medical Care in Mississippi Prisons: Another Wexford Failure by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A report submitted to Mississippi’s legislature found serious deficiencies in the delivery of medical care to prisoners in the Mississippi Dept. of Corrections (MDOC). The December 11, 2007 report was issued by the Joint …
Millions Paid in Mississippi Jail Deaths; Ten Guards Sentenced for Abuses; Corruption Continues by Bob Williams “The house always wins,” Warden Don Cabana proclaimed to the Sun Herald, a Mississippi newspaper, in July 2007. However, Harrison County, home of the Harrison County Adult Detention Center (ADC), has agreed to pay …
Mississippi Jail Prisoner Wins $3,000,000 in Failure to Protect Suit by The Hinds County Board of Supervisors (Board) agreed to settle a three-million-dollar federal lawsuit filed by a former prisoner in the Hinds County Jail after he was left paralyzed by a beating at the hands of other prisoners in …
Father May Sue for Mentally Ill Son’s Jail Assault by Father May Sue for Mentally Ill Son's Jail Assault The plaintiff brought suit as "next friend" of his son, who was assaulted in jail and who he alleged was mentally incompetent. The defendants objected to his doing so because no …
Three Murders in Three Months at Mississippi Control Unit Lead to Improvements And New Consent Decree by "Taken as a whole, I am convinced the conditions in Unit 32 are as bad as anywhere in the whole country," observed Margaret Winter, a lawyer with the National Prison Project of the …
Relief for Unconstitutional Mississippi Death Row Conditions Affirmed on Appeal by Bob Williams By Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has affirmed most of the sweeping reforms to be implemented at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), Unit 32-C, Death Row. After several death row …
Alves v. Harrison County, MS, second amended complaint, jail restraint chair injury, 2007 Case 1:06-cv-00912-LG-JMR Document 80 Filed 10/18/2007 Page 1 of 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN DIVISION KASEY D. ALVES PLAINTIFF VERSUS CAUSE NO.:1:06cv912 LG-JMR HARRISON COUNTY MISSISSIPPI, BY AND THROUGH THE …
Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Mississippi Retaliation For Letters to a Newspaper Claim by In an unpublished opinion the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's dismissal, for failure to state a claim, of a prisoner's retaliation suit against one prison official, but upheld the dismissal of claims …
Qualified Immunity Not Applicable to Private Defendants by The U.S. Supreme Court held that qualified immunity from suit, with respect to government officials is not available to private defendants charged with § 1983 liability for invoking state replevin. In July 1986, Bill Cole sought to dissolve a cattle partnership with …
Sheriff Not Liable for Deputy Abusing Arrestee by The plaintiff was in an accident and was arrested for DWI. She alleged that she was verbally threatened and recklessly shoved into a police car, injuring her, and that the deputy intentionally drove in such a way as to cause her more …
Forcible Police Detention States Claim by The plaintiff's allegation that a police officer grabbed him from behind, slung him to the ground, rolled him over and then handcuffed him, and then dragged him to the police car when he wouldn't walk, all because he wouldn't pay a debt claimed by …
No Liability for Untreated Cancer Death Claim by The decedent was imprisoned after he was diagnosed with widespread testicular cancer; he had two rounds of chemotherapy and was brought into remission each time. After his imprisonment, the cancer reappeared and his doctor advised immediate commencement of "salvage chemotherapy" (within five …
Fifth Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment in Sheriff's Property Liability Case by The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a grant of summary judgment to a county and its surety company in a case involving a deputy sheriff's theft of property. Gerald and Tonya Henley were arrested and …
