PLN Sues South Carolina Jail that Bans All Reading Material Except Bibles by On October 6, 2010, Prison Legal News, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Defense Center staff attorney Lance Weber, filed suit in federal court challenging an unconstitutional policy at the Berkeley County …
South Carolina Settles Prisoner Stabbing Death Lawsuit for $47,500 by In October 2009, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (DOC) paid $47,500 to settle a survivorship suit related to a fatal stabbing. Justin Bregenzer, 22, a DOC prisoner, was stabbed to death by another prisoner in July 2005 at the …
Bivens Case by Disabled Prisoner Against Federal Prison Officials Remanded; Settles for $15,000 by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment to federal prison officials in a Bivens case brought by a handicapped prisoner who was unable to take a shower or …
South Carolina Prisoner Does Easy Time by Gary Hunter South Carolina state prisoner Kevin Bell, 42, breezed through the last six years of his sentence with the help of local law enforcement officials. In 1996, Bell began serving a 13-year prison term for cocaine trafficking. Six years later he was …
GEO Group Buys Just Care For $40 Million by Geo Group, Inc., one of the country’s largest private prison and detention operators, has agreed to acquire Just Care. Just Care operates a 354-bed medical and mental health care unit in Columbia, South Carolina. In announcing the acquisition, GEO Group said …
Prison Legal News v. Berkeley Co Sheriff Dewitt, SC, Complaint, censorship, 2010 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA CHARLESTON DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS and HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Plaintiffs, vs. BERKELEY COUNTY SHERIFF H. WAYNE DEWITT, individually and in his official capacity; CAPTAIN CLIFF …
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 …
Fourth Circuit Affirms Ban on Publications in Jail by On May 7, 1993, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling upholding a ban on pre-trial detainees receiving publications of any sort. Stephen Hause, an on-again off-again prisoner at the Harry County Detention Center …
As Economy Falters, Rehabilitative and Substance Abuse Programs Get the Axe by As Economy Falters, Rehabilitative and Substance Abuse Programs Get the Axe by Mark Wilson Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, states are slashing rehabilitative criminal justice programs in a desperate attempt to save money. Critics …
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 …
