University of Florida Still Using Prison Labor, But End in Sight by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The University of Florida (UF) released a statement June 18, 2020 in response to a letter written by the Coalition to Abolish Prison Slavery (CAPS). The statement included initiatives addressing racism and inequality …
News in Brief by Alabama: Chanting “not one more,” about 30 carloads of protesters from “Alabamians Who Care” caravanned to the governor’s mansion in Montgomery on August 1, 2020, protesting a plan by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to build three new “mega-prisons.” According to a report by Montgomery TV station …
Eleventh Circuit: Florida’s Treatment Plan for Hepatitis C-Positive Prisoners Constitutional by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Florida Department of Corrections’ (FDC) treatment satisfies constitutional requirements even though it does not require that Hepatitis C (HCV)-positive prisoners be treated with expensive …
News in Brief by Alabama: The Birmingham News reported that an Alabama prison guard had been arrested for drug trafficking after a search of his vehicle when he arrived for work at the St. Clair County prison turned up 138 grams of methamphetamine and 16 grams of heroin. Ivan Caldwell, …
Milestone: Thirty Years of Prison Legal News and the Human Rights Defense Center by Paul Wright by Paul Wright Originally we were planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Prison Legal News (PLN) in the May 2020 issue. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting prisoners and the criminal justice system …
Eleventh Circuit Vacates COVID-19 Injunction Against Miami Jail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Just because prisoners get sick with COVID-19 in a jail too crowded to practice safe social distancing does not make jail officials liable because so long as they say they are doing “their best,” they …
Florida Spent $1.7 Million, and Counting, to Impede Felon Voting Rights by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Florida’s legal battle to defend a 2019 law that requires felons to pay all “legal financial obligations” (LFOs) to be eligible to vote has cost taxpayers over $1.7 million, according to state …
Investment Firm Buys Corizon by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 30, 2020, Flacks Group, a Miami-based global investment firm, announced that it had purchased Brentwood, Tennessee-based Corizon Health, one of the nation’s largest private providers·of health care services in prisons and jails. The purchase price was not disclosed. …
$75,000 Settlement in Florida Pretrial Detainee’s Suicide Death by Corizon Health, Inc. paid $75,000 to settle a claim that it failed to provide proper medical care to a pretrial detainee who was suffering from a psychiatric emergency. Mariangela Woycenko suffered a psychotic episode at St. Lucie Hospital on April 11, …
$60,000 Settlement in Lawsuit Alleging Corizon Failed to Provide Prisoner Surgeries by Corizon agreed to a $60,000 settlement reached in a lawsuit alleging it failed to provide a Florida prisoner with medically necessary surgeries, pain medications and palliative measures. The complaint also alleged causes of actions against the Florida Department …
$50,000 Settlement for Failure to Treat Hernias by Corizon Health agreed to pay $50,000 in a lawsuit alleging it deprived a prisoner of medically necessary surgery to correct his hernias. The suit remained unsolved against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC). Upon receiving his initial physical exam upon entry into …
$2,500 Settlement for Failure to Treat Broken Arm and Shoulder Injury by Corizon Health agreed to pay $2,500 to a prisoner for failing to treat his broken arm. The complaint alleged other claims against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) and its agents that were not relevant to the settlement. …
192,000 Settlement in Lawsuit Seeking Pay for Uncompensated Work from Corizon by A $192,368 settlement was reached in a lawsuit alleging Corizon Health deducted meal break times from employee pay even when the employee worked through the break. The lawsuit was filed as a class action on November 11, 2012. …
$37,500 Settlement in Discrimination Suit Against Corizon Health by Corizon Health agreed to pay $37,500 to a former employee who alleged she was discriminated against based on race and was subjected to a hostile work environment. Laurie Astern was hired by Corizon on August 11, 2014, to work as a …
$350,000 Settlement in Florida Detainee’s Suicide by Corizon Health agreed to pay $350,000 in a lawsuit that alleged it failed to provide mental health care to a pretrial detainee who committed suicide at Florida’s Charlotte County Jail. Victor H. Ackers was arrested on May 21, 2013, for domestic violence and …
$47,000 Settlement in Detainee’s Overdose Death Claim by Corizon Health agreed to pay $47,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging it negligently failed to assure street drugs did not enter its Jail Alternatives to Substance Abuse (JASA) program. Brian G. Brewer was transferred from Florida’s Polk County Jail on May 12, …
$50,000 Settlement with Corizon in Failure to Treat Suit in Florida by Corizon Health agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging it failed to provide a Florida prisoner with medication for his heart and blood pressure. He also alleged that he was not provided postoperative dental care or …
Bloomberg Allies Make $20 Million Push to Help Enfranchise 30,000 Florida Ex-Felons by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna Deep-pocketed friends and foundations associated with business mogul Michael Bloomberg are planning to spend around $20 million to pay the outstanding fines and court debts of former state felons in Florida, obligations …
News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2020, a grand jury in Limestone County, Alabama, returned an indictment for “possession/receipt of a controlled substance” against Travis Wales, a former guard at the Limestone County Correctional Facility in Harvest. According to Columbus, Georgia, TV station WBRL, Wales was arrested in September …
Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Pay-To-Vote for Florida Felons Who Completed Sentences by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In a 6-4 en banc ruling, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Florida can bar ex-felons from voting until they pay all court fines, fees, and restitution — even if they …
