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Jails for Jesus

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Private Prisons, Prison Fellowship, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Sex Offender Treatment, Required Religious Programming, Proselytizing

Jails for Jesus by Samantha M. Shapiro Pastor Don Raymond isn't trained in corrections and is not employed by the government, but he runs a new 140-person wing of the Ellsworth, Kansas, medium-security prison that draws prisoners from throughout the state system. In the phylum of prison staff, Raymond defies …

Kansas Gift Subscription Ban Rejected by State Court But Upheld By Federal Court

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Mail, Mail Regulations

Kansas Gift Subscription Ban Rejected by State Court But Upheld By Federal Court by John E Dannenberg Kansas Gift Subscription Ban Rejected by State Court But Upheld By Federal Court by John E. Dannenberg In two independent but inconsistent rulings, Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) policy IMPP 11-101 (banning gift …

Sovereign Immunity No Bar to BOP Prisoners' Eighth Amendment Mandamus Suit

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Dental Care, Immunity/Liability, Sovereign Immunity

Sovereign Immunity No Bar to BOP Prisoners' Eighth Amendment Mandamus Suit by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a federal prisoner's mandamus action alleging an Eighth Amendment violation is not barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. This action was brought by Bureau of Prisons (BOP) prisoner …

Kansas Prisoners Denied Credit for Time on Parole

Article • November 15, 2003 • from PLN November, 2003

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole

Kansas Prisoners Denied Credit for Time on Parole by The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that parolees sentenced for crimes committed while on parole cannot have the time on parole deducted from their new sentence pursuant to KSA § 21-4608 et seq and amendments thereto. In Kansas, crimes committed while on …

Waterman v. McGuire, KS, Complaint, Restriction of Mail Delivery, 2003

Brief • October 22, 2003

Filed under: Mail, PLN related, First Amendment, rights, Prison Mail

Waterman v. McGuire, KS, Complaint, Restriction of Mail Delivery, 2003 CRAIG E. WATERMAN (Name) . JFl1~~lQ) 76829 (Institutional Register No.) 6~~2 2003 1300 N. WAREHOUSE RD. FT. LEAVEN(Current Mailing Address) W RTH NSA [] UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS CASE NO. CRAIG E. WATERMAN ' Plaintiff …

Kansas Sheriff, Lawyer, Jailed for Sweetheart Jail Contract

Article • October 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2003

Filed under: Private Prisons, Financing, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Attorney Misconduct

Kansas Sheriff, Lawyer, Jailed for Sweetheart Jail Contract by Negotiating their way out of 21 felony bribery charges, a former Kansas sheriff and a lawyer-cum-executive for a private prison contractor each pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest on December 18, 2002, getting only one year in …

Military Prisoners Cannot Sue Over Conditions of Confinement

Article • September 15, 2003 • from PLN September, 2003

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation, Retaliation for Litigating, Federal Tort Claims Act, Military Prisons

Military Prisoners Cannot Sue Over Conditions of Confinement by In a landmark decision, the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the United States District Court of Kansas, has held that a military prisoner cannot sue over conditions of confinement in a military prison, even if the prisoner is …

Kansas Tobacco Smuggling Conviction Upheld

Article • July 15, 2003 • from PLN July, 2003

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Crime, Smoking

Kansas Tobacco Smuggling Conviction Upheld by The Kansas Supreme Court upheld Audra Watson's conviction for smuggling tobacco into the county jail in Pratt County, Kansas. That court rejected Watson's argument that the statute under which she was convicted, KSA § 21-3826, was unconstitutionally vague and could not be applied to …

Wichita Kansas Pays $6.2 Million to Settle Detainees' Lawsuit

Article • June 15, 2003 • from PLN June, 2003

Filed under: Prison Labor, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Restitution

Wichita Kansas Pays $6.2 Million to Settle Detainees' Lawsuit by Wichita Kansas Pays $6.2 Million to Settle Detainees' Lawsuit On May 7, 2002, Wichita's City Council approved $6.2 million to be awarded to the 7,000 citizens who had their 14th Amendment rights violated. The suit filed by what the city …

"Atypical And Significant" Hardship Segregation Claim Cannot Be Dismissed Under §1915(e)(2)

Article • June 15, 2003 • from PLN June, 2003

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Complaints

"Atypical And Significant" Hardship Segregation Claim Cannot Be Dismissed Under §1915(e)(2) by "Atypical And Significant" Hardship Segregation Claim Cannot Be Dismissed Under §1915(e)(2) The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has found that a claim that 75 days in punitive segregation is atypical and significant cannot be dismissed by the district …

Supreme Court Upholds Forced Confessions in Kansas Sex Offender Treatment

Article • October 15, 2002 • from PLN October, 2002

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Self Incrimination, Sex Offender Treatment, Civil Commitment

Supreme Court Upholds Forced Confessions in Kansas Sex Offender Treatment by Bob Williams In a 54 decision, the United States Supreme Court has decided that a convicted sex offender's Fifth Amendment privilege against compulsory selfincrimination is not violated by a treatment program that requires admitting to all past sexual behavior. …

Exhaustion Not Mandatory for Kansas Habeas Petitioners; Retained Counsel at Disciplinary Hearings is Discretionary

Article • October 15, 2002 • from PLN October, 2002

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Counsel, Administrative Exhaustion, Habeas Corpus

Exhaustion Not Mandatory for Kansas Habeas Petitioners; Retained Counsel at Disciplinary Hearings is Discretionary by The Supreme Court of Kansas held that prisoners are not required to exhaust administrative remedies before petitioning for a writ of habeas corpus. The court also held that neither due process nor regulations of the …

Officials Netted in Kansas Jail Bribery

Article • August 15, 2002 • from PLN August, 2002

Filed under: Private Prisons, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

Officials Netted in Kansas Jail Bribery by A private company, MgtGP Inc., was awarded a $1.5 Million contract in 1997, and a four-year renewal in January 1997 worth $615,000 for that year alone, to run Kansas's Reno County Jail Annex. In May 2001, Reno's Sheriff, Larry Leslie, pled innocent to …

Kansas Sexual Predator Civil Commitment Standards Refined by U.S. Supreme Court

Article • August 15, 2002 • from PLN August, 2002

Filed under: Mental Health, Civil Commitment

Kansas Sexual Predator Civil Commitment Standards Refined by U.S. Supreme Court by The U.S. Supreme Court refined its earlier ruling that a sexually violent predator could constitutionally be civilly committed after his criminal sentence had been served by distinguishing sexual misbehavioral impairment classifications into those caused by an uncontrollable mental …

PLN Sues Kansas DOC Over Censorship Policies

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Mail, Mail Regulations

PLN Sues Kansas DOC Over Censorship Policies by PLN Sues Kansas DOC over Censorship Policies On April 4, 2002, PLN sued the Kansas DOC challenging various prison-system-wide polices that prevent Kansas prisoners from being able to subscribe to PLN or to receive the books that PLN distributes. For at least …

Tenth Circuit Vacates Religious Diet Awards Under PLRA Physical Injury Rule

Article • June 15, 2002 • from PLN June, 2002

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Damages, Religious Diet

Tenth Circuit Vacates Religious Diet Awards Under PLRA Physical Injury Rule by by Matthew T. Clarke The Tenth Circuit held that the PLRA forbids recovery of compensatory damages for violations of the right to exercise a religious preference absent proof of physical injury. Jimmy Searles, a Kansas state prisoner, filed …

Section 1983 Civil Rights Claims Not Barred by Kansas Tort Remedies

Article • February 15, 2002 • from PLN February, 2002

Filed under: Limitations, Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Wrongful Imprisonment

Section 1983 Civil Rights Claims Not Barred by Kansas Tort Remedies by The Kansas Court of Appeals held that the existence of adequate state tort remedies did not bar claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and that the limitation period for § 1983 claims is two years. Kansas prisoner James …

Staff Shortage in Nation's Prisons

Article • December 15, 2001 • from PLN December, 2001

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Staffing

Staff Shortage in Nation's Prisons by Gary Hunter Across the nation, states are plagued by a shortage of prison guards. A decade of building prisons has created an industry that employs more people than General Electric, and costs taxpayers in excess of $40 billion a year. To fill the shortage …

Summary Judgment Denied on BOP Excessive Force Claims

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Threats by Staff, Racial Discrimination, Failure to Protect (General), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Federal Tort Claims Act, Qualified Immunity, Supervisory Liability

Summary Judgment Denied on BOP Excessive Force Claims by The Federal District Court in Kansas has denied summary judgment on a prisoner's claims of excessive force. The Court also held guards were not entitled to qualified immunity on these claims. In 1997, Felmon Laury was placed in the Special Housing …

Kansas Disciplinary Restitution Orders Authorized

Article • August 15, 2001 • from PLN August, 2001

Filed under: Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Escapes, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Restitution

Kansas Disciplinary Restitution Orders Authorized by The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed a district court judgment, reducing the amount of restitution assessed against two prisoners for disciplinary rule violations, from $1,956.75 to $1,104.68 per prisoner. In doing so, the court concluded that the Department of Corrections has the authority to …