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BOP Offers $150,000 Settlement After Prisoner Was Raped By Guard

Article • February 15, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Settlements, Immunity/Liability, Supervisory Liability

BOP Offers $150,000 Settlement After Prisoner Was Raped By Guard by Kentucky federal prisoner Vileiby Rosado brought a federal tort action in 1995 for $500,000 after being raped by a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) guard who had prior undisciplined incidents for similar conduct. A $150,000 settlement was offered by …

$20,000 Settlement After Citizen Falls At Federal Medical Center

Article • February 15, 2009

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Settlements, Federal Tort Claims Act, Premises Liability

$20,000 Settlement After Citizen Falls At Federal Medical Center by Missouri resident Wealtha Liggins brought a federal tort action against the United States in 1996 after she fell at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Kentucky. The $500,000 suit settled for $20,000. Liggins was a guest at the FMC in …

$125,000 Settlement In BOP Guard Induced Prisoner's Death

Article • February 15, 2009

Filed under: Seizures, Failure to Treat, Damages, Settlements, Federal Statutory Law, Federal Tort Claims Act, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$125,000 Settlement In BOP Guard Induced Prisoner's Death by Parents of deceased ex Kentucky federal prisoner, Marcus Dascenzo, brought a federal tort action against the United States in 2002 after a guard's failure to treat their son resulted in his death. After the Department of Justice's initial refusal to pay …

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Use of Lethal Injection

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Use of Lethal Injection by Brandon Sample On April 16, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.” Kentucky state prisoners Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling were each convicted of double …

“I CAN Learn” Software Procurement for Kentucky DOC Questioned

Article • September 15, 2008 • from PLN September, 2008

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Lobbying, Criminal Prosecution, Prisoner Privileges, Education

“I CAN Learn” Software Procurement for Kentucky DOC Questioned by Matthew Clarke “I CAN Learn” Software Procurement for Kentucky DOC Questioned by Matt Clarke The “I CAN Learn” educational software produced by New Orleans-based JRL Enterprises, which was adopted by the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC), is under scrutiny for …

Kentucky Jail Guards Win $872,000 in Discrimination, Retaliation Suit After Appellate Remand

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation against Staff, Grooming Rules, Employee Litigation

Kentucky Jail Guards Win $872,000 in Discrimination, Retaliation Suit After Appellate Remand by Kelvin Brooks, a guard at the jail in Jefferson County, Kentucky, was black and had a race-related skin disease (PFB) that was irritated by shaving, so he wore a beard. Ron Bishop, the jail director, fired Brooks …

Kentucky County Settles Loss of Consortium Suit for Undisclosed Amount

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Work Release, CMS, Medication, Diabetes, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Kentucky County Settles Loss of Consortium Suit for Undisclosed Amount by Phillip D. Hurst, a Kentucky prisoner, was taking prescribed methadone. When he returned one night to a Lexington County work release center in an intoxicated state, he was examined by two nurses who thought he was experiencing diabetes-related symptoms. …

KY Lethal Injection Not Unconstitutional; Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

KY Lethal Injection Not Unconstitutional; Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court by Ralph Baze and Thomas Bowling, both Kentucky state prisoners, were sentenced to death after being convicted of double murder. They immediately challenged the constitutionality of the state’s lethal injection protocol. The trial court dismissed the case, and the appellate …

Out-going Kentucky Governor Issues 101 Pardons, Commutations

Article • July 15, 2008 • from PLN July, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Pardons/Clemency

Out-going Kentucky Governor Issues 101 Pardons, Commutations by David Reutter In December 2007, during his last hours in office, out-going Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher made state history by issuing 101 sentence commutations or pardons. While some of those acts of executive clemency appear to be meritorious, others smack of cronyism. …

Retaliation Against Female Kentucky Prison Guard Nets $240,000

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Employee Litigation

Retaliation Against Female Kentucky Prison Guard Nets $240,000 by A Kentucky jury awarded a female guard $240,000 for retaliation. Patricia McCullough was employed for 13 years as a guard at North Point Training Center in Boyle County, Kentucky. “Despite appropriate reviews and a clean record,” she was “passed over for …

My Space Becomes “No Space” for Online Sex Offenders

Article • May 15, 2008 • from PLN May, 2008

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Criminal Prosecution, Sentencing, Parole, Probation, Internet, State Legislation

My Space Becomes “No Space” for Online Sex Offenders by David Reutter My Space Becomes "No Space" for Online Sex Offenders by David M. Reutter After online social networking giant MySpace.com, under pressure, disclosed on July 24, 2007 that it had purged 29,000 sex offender profiles from its website, state …

Taber v. McCracken County, KY, Plf Res to Def MTD, failure to protect treat due process, 2008

Brief • March 24, 2008

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (General), Due Process

Taber v. McCracken County, KY, Plf Res to Def MTD, failure to protect treat due process, 2008 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY PADUCAH DIVISION [FILED ELECTRONICALLY] THOMAS TABER, Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, ) ) ) ) PLAINTIFF ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:06-CV-144-R …

Guards’ Individual Immunity a Matter of Bad Faith Intent

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Parties, Immunity/Liability, Sovereign Immunity

Guards’ Individual Immunity a Matter of Bad Faith Intent by Guards' Individual Immunity a Matter of Bad Faith Intent Former Kentucky State prisoner William Sloas' voluntary participation in the Rowan County Jail's work program resulted in his leg being broken in an accident. He brought suit against the county and …

Kentucky Prisoners Requesting Account Statement Must Pay Required Fee

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Court Access, Photocopies, Disclosure of Records

Kentucky Prisoners Requesting Account Statement Must Pay Required Fee by Pro se Kentucky State prisoner Michael Friend appealed a court's dismissal of his action to compel the Kentucky State Reformatory Warden to provide him with a copy of his account ledger at no charge. The court affirmed dismissal because payment …

Beating by Kentucky Jail Guards Results in $1,150,000 Jury Verdict

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: HIV/AIDS, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints

Beating by Kentucky Jail Guards Results in $1,150,000 Jury Verdict by A federal jury awarded a Kentucky man $1,150,000 for a beating during arrest. Mr. Sosa, a Hispanic man suffering from AIDS, was arrested and charged with public intoxication. While confined in the jail, Sosa was kicked, handcuffed to a …

Prison Drinking Water and Wastewater Pollution Threaten Environmental Safety Nationwide

Article • November 15, 2007 • from PLN November, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Environmental Law, Sewage, Water, Clean Water Act

Prison Drinking Water and Wastewater Pollution Threaten Environmental Safety Nationwide by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Aging infrastructure concerns are not limited to America's highways, bridges and dams. Today, crumbling, overcrowded prisons and jails nationwide are bursting at the seams -- literally -- leaking environmentally dangerous effluents not just …

Clarification:

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Clarification: by The July 2007 issue of Prison Legal News reported Sarsfield v. City of Marlborough, $13,655,940 Award for False Massachusetts Rape Conviction and Gregory v. City of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million. Barry Scheck was lead counsel for both plaintiffs, but while he …

Louisville, Kentucky, Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Searches, DNA Testing/Samples, Wrongful Conviction

Louisville, Kentucky, Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million by A man who spent seven years in prison for a rape he didn?t commit will receive $3.9 million from the city of Louisville, Kentucky, according to a February 12, 2007 settlement agreement. William Gregory, now 59, was convicted in …

Prisoner's Medical Claim not Winnable Without Expert Testimony

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Skeletal Injury, Expert Witnesses, Federal Tort Claims Act

Prisoner's Medical Claim not Winnable Without Expert Testimony by The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, held that a federal prisoner's Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) suit for failure to treat his injuries was properly dismissed on summary judgment where the …

Sixth Circuit: United States Not Liable in Prisoner's Murder

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prison/Jail Murders, Federal Statutory Law, Federal Tort Claims Act, Sovereign Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

Sixth Circuit: United States Not Liable in Prisoner's Murder by On February 26, 2004 the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the United States was immune, pursuant to the "discretionary function exemption" of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), from liability in a lawsuit brought by the family …