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These Men Fought White Supremacists and Got Sentenced to Over 200 Years

Article • May 1, 2024 • from PLN May, 2024

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Political Prisoners, Racial Discrimination, Prison Rebellion, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff

These Men Fought White Supremacists and Got Sentenced to Over 200 Years by Victoria Law by Victoria Law How the criminal legal system slammed two Black men for standing up to white supremacist guards in an Indiana prison. This article was originally published by Truthout on March 12, 2023. It …

Indiana Prisoner Sues Prison Abolition Group, Wins $1,097 Default Judgment

Article • April 26, 2024

Filed under: Advocacy, Default Judgments

Indiana Prisoner Sues Prison Abolition Group, Wins $1,097 Default Judgment by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson On July 28, 2022, an Indiana prisoner was granted a $1,097.00 default judgment against the nonprofit prison abolition group, Critical Resistance, in a state small claims action. Defendant is a longtime prison abolition advocacy …

Finding Indiana Grievance Process “Unavailable,” Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment to 22 Prisoners on Same Day

Article • April 1, 2024 • from PLN April, 2024

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)

Finding Indiana Grievance Process “Unavailable,” Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment to 22 Prisoners on Same Day by In a remarkable series of rulings on August 15, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. granted summary judgment in favor of 22 Indiana state prisoners who had filed separate lawsuits …

Seventh Circuit Upholds Disciplinary Sanction Revoking Over 15 Years of Indiana Prisoner’s Good Time

Article • February 1, 2024 • from PLN February, 2024

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Double jeopardy (Hearings), Liberty Interests, Good Time, Assaults on Staff

Seventh Circuit Upholds Disciplinary Sanction Revoking Over 15 Years of Indiana Prisoner’s Good Time by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney When Indiana state prisoner Tony Love participated in a brawl, he was apparently unaware of the severity of the consequences he faced. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the …

Royer v. City of Elkhart, IN, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2023

Brief • December 8, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Royer v. City of Elkhart, IN, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN D ISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION ANDREW ROYER, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF ELKHART, CARLTON CON\'<IAY, MARI( DAGGY, PAUL CONVERSE, PEGGY SNIDE R, TODD THAYER, MICHAEL SIGSBEE, JOEL BOURDON, BRETT COPPINS, DENNIS CHAP1'1AN, …

News in Brief

Article • December 1, 2023 • from PLN December, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Within 48-hours of booking into the Morgan County Jail on August 29, 2023, Miles Rea Batson, 39, had two second-degree assault charges added to his public intoxication charge as well as another for disarming a law enforcement agent. WHNT in Huntsville reported that during booking …

Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim Over Dismissed Grievance

Article • December 1, 2023 • from PLN December, 2023

Filed under: Grievances, Dismissal

Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim Over Dismissed Grievance by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On May 4, 2023, the U.S. Court of appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment against a federal prisoner in Indiana who claimed he was subjected to a physical assault …

Indiana Settles Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim for $4,500

Article • December 1, 2023 • from PLN December, 2023

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Settlements

Indiana Settles Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim for $4,500 by On September 12, 2022, the state of Indiana reached a $4,500 settlement to resolve a state prisoner’s claim that guards confiscated his property without following prison procedure and then threatened retaliation when he filed grievances. Victor Karp was held at Correctional Industrial …

Coomer v. Lowe, IN, Settlement, Assault, 2024

Brief • November 28, 2023

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Conditions of Confinement

Coomer v. Lowe, IN, Settlement, Assault, 2024 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Release ("Agreement") is made and entered into by and between BEATRICE COOMER, individually, ("Plaintiff') and Scottie Maples, in his official capacity as Clark County Sheriff, David Lowe, Mark Meyer, Dakota Brown, Caleb Boger, Kassidy May-Wilson, …

News in Brief

Article • November 15, 2023 • from PLN November, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Three jail guards in the Yellowhammer State were hit with drug smuggling charges in August 2023 and another the month after. WAFF in Huntsville reported that Morgan County Jail guard Bobby Simmons, 19, was arrested on August 3, 2023, when he was charged with promoting …

News in Brief

Article • October 15, 2023 • from PLN October, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On August 12, 2023, an Alabama jail guard was caught – in uniform – stealing Pokemon cards from a Walmart. WBMA in Birmingham reported that Josh Hardy then fled store security on foot before cops caught him in a nearby restaurant. Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew …

Wexford Faces Liability for Indiana Prisoner’s Delayed Specialist Referral

Article • October 15, 2023 • from PLN October, 2023

Filed under: Wexford Health Services, Failure to Treat, Malpractice, Contractor Liability

Wexford Faces Liability for Indiana Prisoner’s Delayed Specialist Referral by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On March 3, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana only partly granted a motion for summary judgment filed by prison medical profiteer Wexford Health Sources, Inc. and its employees …

Royer v. City of Elkhart, IN, Complaint, Wrongful Conviction, 2023

Brief • October 13, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Royer v. City of Elkhart, IN, Complaint, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 USDC IN/ND case 3:22-cv-00254-HAB-MGG document 173-1 filed 10/13/23 page 1 of 65 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA, SOUTH BEND DIVISION ANDREW ROYER, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF ELKHART, CARLTON CONWAY, MARK DAGGY, PAUL CONVERSE, …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2023 • from PLN September, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: According to WSFA in Montgomery, a guard at the Montgomery County Detention Center was charged on July 18, 2023, with conspiracy to provide contraband to a prisoner as well as bribing a public official. Timothy Bernard Summerlin, 33, had worked at the lockup for roughly …

Prison Ministry Sues Indiana Jail Over Book Ban

Article • September 15, 2023 • from PLN September, 2023

Filed under: Banned Book Lists, Religious Freedom/Worship

Prison Ministry Sues Indiana Jail Over Book Ban by Unshackled Hearts is a central Indiana prison ministry that says its mission is to bring spiritual “restoration and freedom” to incarcerated Hoosiers through bible study, positive communication, and heart healing. But it hit a wall at the Howard County Jail (HCJ) …

Estate of Joshua McLemore v. Jackson County, IN, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2023

Brief • September 14, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Death

Estate of Joshua McLemore v. Jackson County, IN, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2023 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Release ("Agreement") is made and entered into by and between Melita Ladner, as Administratrix of the Estate of Joshua A McLemore ("Plaintiff') and Jackson County, Indiana; Rick Meyer, Jackson County …

News in Brief

Article • August 15, 2023 • from PLN August, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard was arrested on June 10, 2023, for allegedly smuggling drugs, including meth, to a prisoner at Kilby Correctional Facility, 1819 News reported. Charlie Townsend, 28, resigned from his position upon his arrest by the Law Enforcement Services Division. …

News in Brief

Article • July 15, 2023 • from PLN July, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A guard with the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was indicted on April 27, 2023, on charges he sexually abused two prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Aliceville, according to a report by the Birmingham News. Robert D. Smith allegedly had sexual intercourse …

Seventh Circuit: Low IQ and Segregation Placement May Render Administrative Remedies Unavailable to Indiana Prisoner

Article • July 15, 2023 • from PLN July, 2023

Filed under: Administrative Law/Remedies, Administrative Detention/Segregation

Seventh Circuit: Low IQ and Segregation Placement May Render Administrative Remedies Unavailable to Indiana Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On February 3, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reinstated an Indiana prisoner’s civil rights complaint that had been dismissed because he failed to …

“Urine In Apple Juice”: Aramark Sued by Indiana Prisoner

Article • June 27, 2023

Filed under: Food

“Urine In Apple Juice”: Aramark Sued by Indiana Prisoner by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On June 20, 2023, a lawsuit accusing prison food service giant Aramark Correctional Services survived screening under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, in the federal court for the Southern District …