Third Circuit: Female Jail Guard Loses Discrimination, Wrongful Termination Case by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter On December 31, 2018, in an unpublished ruling, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a summary judgment order in a lawsuit that alleged employment discrimination. The appellate court found that officials …
Pennsylvania Town Rejects Private Prison Firm by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Regular readers of Prison Legal News are well aware of the abysmal reputations that private, for-profit prisons have earned. Apparently word travels and people on the outside eventually listen and pay attention to such matters, as the citizens …
Taha v. Bucks County (Bensalem Township), PA, et al., Verdict, Unlawful Dissemination, PA, 2019 Case 2:12-cv-06867-WB Document 338 Filed 05/29/19 Page 1 of 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA DARYOUSH TAHA, Plaintiff, CIVIL ACTION NO. 12-6867 V. CLASS ACTION BUCKS COUNTY, et al., …
Judge Initially Plays Pass-the-Buck with Proposal to Hire Suicide Prevention Expert by Eight prisoners have committed suicide at Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) since 2016. In response, prisoner advocate Marion Damick asked the county’s nine-member Jail Oversight Board (JOB) to hire a nationally known expert on suicide prevention. “It’s ... …
Hospice Programs Provided in Pennsylvania Prisons by Ruth Hoskins by Ruth Hoskins, Ph.D., H.H.S., LCSW Nine people were granted compassionate release in Pennsylvania from 2010 to today. – Public Source Roundup Prisoners have the same concerns about death as everyone else. What will it be like to die? Will I …
Arnold v. Smith, PA, Complaint, Violation of Religious Rights, 2019 Case 1:19-cv-00750-YK-SM Document 1 Filed 05/02/19 Page 1 of 22 E.D.Pa AO Pro Se 14 ( Rev. 04/18) Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the ft~Uk 1ii'::rs1m=a, District of Pennsylvania p /}'- t ~j'\,P;,O f …
Third Circuit Reverses Federal Prisoner’s FOIA Request Denials by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the dismissal of a federal prisoner’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Federal prisoner James Biear made FOIA requests of the Criminal Division of the …
The Lackawanna County Seven: And Then There Were Five by Mumia Abu-Jamal by Mumia Abu-Jamal Few cases are as difficult to prosecute as those involving cops, sheriffs and prison guards. This is largely due to the popular perception that they’re the good guys protecting society from the bad guys ... …
$4.75 Million Settlement for Pennsylvania Teenager’s Withdrawal Death in Jail by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter The death of a teenager is a sad event. But when it was entirely preventable, it becomes tragic. The death of Victoria Jeanette Herr, 18, just four days after being booked into …
Pennsylvania DOC, Mental Health Contractor Settle Wrongful Death Suit for $27,500 by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) have agreed to pay $15,000 to the estate of a mentally ill prisoner who was killed after being attacked by another prisoner …
Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project v. Wetzel, PA, Settlement Agreement, Censorship, 2019 Case 1:18-cv-02100-JEJ-EBC Document 92 Filed 03/25/19 Page 1 of 26 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTIONAL LAW PROJECT, ABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER, AMISTAD LAW PROJECT, and AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF PENNSYLVANIA, …
Philadelphia Robbing the Poor Through Civil Forfeiture by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon In just the four zip codes of Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, whose mainly black and Hispanic residents suffer high rates of poverty, civil asset forfeiture (CAF) proceedings netted 1,682 properties that were seized and sold by the District …
Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can’t Afford to Call Your Lawyer by Victoria Law By Victoria Law, Truthout Imagine paying $20.12 for a 15-minute phone call. That’s how much a call from the Jennings Adult Correctional Facility in Missouri costs. In 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set price caps …
$10 Million Award for Wrongly Jailed Philadelphia Man by A Philadelphia jury awarded Khanefah Boozer $10 million in a state court lawsuit that alleged police officer Ryan Waltman had falsely accused Boozer of firing shots at him. Boozer was the designated driver during a January 22, 2011 night out with friends. …
City of Philadelphia Sinks $5.6 Million into Prison Software Upgrade it Can’t Use by Kevin W. Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss The Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP) has terminated a contract it established in 2014 with an information technology company, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), to design a new Integrated …
Preliminary Settlement in Class-Action HCV Suit Against Pennsylvania DOC by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell A class-action lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) over the lack of adequate treatment for prisoners with hepatitis C (HCV) survived a motion for summary judgment, and the parties have reached a preliminary …
Williams v. Toomey, PA, Complaint, Inmate Access to Legal Services, 2019 Case 1:18-cv-01687-YK Document 60 Filed 02/05/19 Page 1 of 26 Case 1:18-cv-01687-YK Document 60 Filed 02/05/19 Page 2 of 26 Case 1:18-cv-01687-YK Document 60 Filed 02/05/19 Page 3 of 26 Case 1:18-cv-01687-YK Document 60 Filed 02/05/19 Page 4 of …
