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South Carolina Prison Official Remained on the Job a Year After Indictment

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

South Carolina Prison Official Remained on the Job a Year After Indictment by South Carolina Prison Official Remained on the Job a Year After Indictment The deputy director over medical and health services for the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDOC) was suspended without pay in November 2008. His suspension, …

Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cornell Corrections, GRW Corp., Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

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 …

Fourth Circuit Reinstates South Carolina Jail Conditions Suit

Article • May 15, 2009

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Medical, ENT, Hearing, Exposure to Cold, Water, Bedding, Summary Judgment, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Due Process, Religious Property

Fourth Circuit Reinstates South Carolina Jail Conditions Suit by On June 20, 1991, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a South Carolina prisoner's challenge to conditions of confinement at the Lexington County Jail. Leonard Archie Smith, a former South Caroline pre-trial detainee, filed a pro se civil rights action …

Entire Texas Prison System Locked Down to Search for Phones; Prison Cell Phone Problem is Pandemic

Article • March 15, 2009 • from PLN March, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Prison/Common Area Searches, Criminal Prosecution, Lockdowns, Telephone Access, Death Row, State Legislation

Entire Texas Prison System Locked Down to Search for Phones; Prison Cell Phone Problem is Pandemic by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 20, 2008, Texas Governor Rick Perry placed all 112 prisons and 155,000 prisoners in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) on lockdown to search for …

South Carolina Jail Pays Prisoners $80,000 for Failure to Prevent/Treat MRSA

Article • February 15, 2009 • from PLN February, 2009

Filed under: Medical, Skin, Contagious Disease -- Misc.

South Carolina Jail Pays Prisoners $80,000 for Failure to Prevent/Treat MRSA by $80,000 to South Carolina Jail Prisoners for Failure to Prevent and Treat MRSA South Carolina’s Greenville County has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle 25 prisoners’ lawsuit that claims jail officials failed to take preventive measures to prevent …

$25,000 Award To South Carolina Prisoner Injured Performing Community Service

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

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability

$25,000 Award To South Carolina Prisoner Injured Performing Community Service by $25,000 Award To South Carolina Prisoner Injured Performing Community Service A South Carolina court entered an award of $25,000 to a prisoner who was working community service on a trash truck when his foot was run over by a …

South Carolina Prison Officials Allegedly Forced to be Executioners

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

Filed under: Retaliation against Staff, Whistleblowing, Death Penalty, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

South Carolina Prison Officials Allegedly Forced to be Executioners by On December 18, 2007, Ira Baxley and Terry Bracey, former South Carolina Department of Corrections (DOC) officials with 22 and 23 years of service, respectively, filed suit in federal court against DOC Director Jon Ozmint and Director of Operations Robert …

Dunlap v. Ozmint, et al., S.C., employee retaliation complaint, 2008

Brief • August 20, 2008

Filed under: Discrimination, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Work, First Amendment, rights

Dunlap v. Ozmint, et al., S.C., employee retaliation complaint, 2008 3:08-cv-02911-JFA Date Filed 08/20/2008 Entry Number 1 Page 1 of 5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA DIVISION Linda J. Dunlap, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) ) Jon E. Ozmint and …

South Carolina Prisoners not Entitled to Prevailing Wage at Prison Jobs

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor

South Carolina Prisoners not Entitled to Prevailing Wage at Prison Jobs by South Carolina state prisoners sued the state Department of Corrections in state court after they weren't paid a comparable wage to free worlders performing the same work for their participation in a prison industries program. The trial court …

South Carolina Prisoners' Furlough Eligibility Prior To 1993 Amendment Grand-fathered

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Furloughs, Sentencing, Ex Post Facto

South Carolina Prisoners' Furlough Eligibility Prior To 1993 Amendment Grand-fathered by South Carolina State Corrections and Parole entities appealed a judgment entitling prisoners within six months of release to participate in a furlough program. The program's eligibility requirements were changed by a 1993 statutory amendment. The court affirmed the judgment. …

Federal Courts Can't Dismiss Prisoners' Civil Rights Actions Simply Because They're Inartfully Pleaded

Article • June 15, 2008

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Complaints, Prisoner Property

Federal Courts Can't Dismiss Prisoners' Civil Rights Actions Simply Because They're Inartfully Pleaded by Walter Gordon, a South Carolina state prisoner, sued prison officials in federal district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 after he was assaulted and raped by other prisoners. Stephen Young, a Maryland state prisoner, filed his …

Hampton County, SC, Health Services Agreement With SHP, 2008

Publication • 2008

Filed under: Private Contractors

Hampton County, SC, Health Services Agreement With SHP, 2008 HEALTH SERVICES AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT between the County of Hampton (hereinafter referred to collectively as "County"), and Southern Health Partners, Inc., a Delaware corporation, (hereinafter referred to as "SHP"), is entered into as of the ___ day of _ _ __ …

Food Deprivation & Pink Clothing Imposed for Violating South Carolina Prison Rules

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Food, Clothing

Food Deprivation & Pink Clothing Imposed for Violating South Carolina Prison Rules by David Reutter by David M. Reutter South Carolina?s Commissioner of Corrections, Jon Ozmint, has embraced hardcore disciplinary methods to deal with prisoners who violate prison rules. Such punishments include depriving prisoners of food and requiring them to …

As New Regulations Limit Organ Transplants from Executed Chinese Prisoners; South Carolina Allows Organ Donations by Prisoners

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Transplants, International, Prisoners-International, Death Penalty, State Legislation

As New Regulations Limit Organ Transplants from Executed Chinese Prisoners; South Carolina Allows Organ Donations by Prisoners by In November 2006, China finally admitted that most of the human organs used to satisfy the burgeoning number of transplant-seeking foreigners came from executed prisoners. ?Apart from a small portion of traffic …

South Carolina Litigation Act Does Not Apply to Post-conviction Proceedings

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation, Appeals, Filing Fees, Good Time, Habeas Corpus

South Carolina Litigation Act Does Not Apply to Post-conviction Proceedings by South Carolina state prisoner Stacy Wade pled guilty to various drug charges. Without filing a direct appeal, he filed for post conviction relief (PCR) for allegedly being coerced into the plea bargain. Wade's testimony of coercion at his PCR …

Charging Excessive Fees Preparing, Producing Records Prohibited Under Freedom Of Information Act

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Photocopies, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Charging Excessive Fees Preparing, Producing Records Prohibited Under Freedom Of Information Act by The South Carolina Civil Justice Coalition (CJC) probed the Office of the Attorney General (AG) for an opinion regarding excess fees for requesting documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and clarification as to who determines …

Records Disclosure Ordered In Deputies' Misconduct And Remanded To Determine Attorney's Fees

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Assault by Police, Police Misconduct, Attorney Fee Awards, Disclosure of Records

Records Disclosure Ordered In Deputies' Misconduct And Remanded To Determine Attorney's Fees by Ray Burton, III, and East Coast Newspapers, Inc. (Burton), sought injunctive relief and declaratory judgment to obtain documents regarding a 2000 complaint, and the response to the complaint, against South Carolina's York County Sheriff's (YCS) deputies. The …

South Carolina Law Enforcement Reports Ordered Disclosed To Media

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

South Carolina Law Enforcement Reports Ordered Disclosed To Media by Newberry Publishing Company, Inc. (Publisher), appealed a court ruling denying an investigative report's production. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division claimed that it was exempt as investigative material. The court reversed the order for nondisclosure with few exceptions. The Publisher …

Attack by Fellow Prisoner Nets South Carolina Prisoner $30,000

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

Attack by Fellow Prisoner Nets South Carolina Prisoner $30,000 by A South Carolina Court awarded a prisoner $30,000 for injuries he suffered when attacked by another prisoner at the Greenville County Jail. Mr. Edwards was a prisoner at the Greenville County Jail when he was attacked by another prisoner. He …

South Carolina Prisoner Assaulted By Guards Awarded $600,000

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

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

South Carolina Prisoner Assaulted By Guards Awarded $600,000 by In May 2007 a South Carolina jury awarded $600,000 to a state prisoner who alleged that guards beat him and sprayed him with mace in an unprovoked attack. Alonzo Brinkley, 32, claimed in his lawsuit, filed in the Marlboro County Court …