Minnesota Prisoners Getting Scanned Mail, Kept Waiting 18 Months for Tablets by Starting November 1, 2024, prisoners held by the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) stopped getting physical mail, which is now diverted to Baltimore for electronic scanning by private contractor TextBehind. Printed copies of the scans—complete with all the …
Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso A study released in March 2024 by the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) found that incidence of childhood trauma was higher among state prisoners than those not incarcerated. The rate rose even further when limited to …
News in Brief by Alabama: Wiregrass Daily News reported that Mobile Metro Jail guard Timothy Lee Scarbrough, 39, was arrested on September 9, 2024, and charged with first-degree sodomy for the alleged sexual assaulting of a detainee who was still under the effects of anesthesia after eye surgery. Scarbrough had …
Minnesota Judge Spanked For Ignoring Law Restoring Felon Voting Rights by Just over a year after Minnesota restored voting rights to former felons, the state Board on Judicial Standards (BJS) reprimanded Mille Lacs County District Judge Matthew Quinn on June 27, 2024, for attempting to disenfranchise formerly incarcerated people. Minnesota’s …
News in Brief by Alabama: Former state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard Henry Guice, Jr., 46, was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison on September 9, 2024, for his role in a drug smuggling conspiracy at Staton Correctional Facility. The Birmingham News reported that a fellow guard was inspecting …
Eighth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Guard Accused of Assaulting Restrained and Compliant Prisoner by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On May 6, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a district court’s denial of qualified immunity (QI) to a Minnesota Department …
Estate of Lucas Bellamy v. Omweri, Proposed Order for Distribution of Wrongful Death Proceeds, Wrongful Death-Medical Neglect, 2024 CASE 0:24-cv-00170-DWF-TNL Doc. 49 Filed 11/11/24 Page 1 of 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Louis Bellamy, as Trustee for the next of kin of Lucas John Bellamy, Deceased, Plaintiff, …
Green v. Anoka County, MN, Complaint, Inadequate Medical Treatment, 2024 CASE 0:24-cv-01250-JRT-DLM Doc. 49 Filed 10/30/24 Page 1 of 108 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Deyonta D. Green, Case No. 24-cv-1250 (JRT/DLM) Plaintiff, v. FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT Anoka County, et al, Defendants and Third-Party Plaintiffs, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED …
Minnesota’s $100 Million-Per-Year Civil Commitment Program Has No “Discernible Impact” on Sex Crimes by A report released on April 16, 2024, concluded that Minnesota’s Sex Offense Civil Commitment (SOCC) program, which is operated by the state Department of Human Services at a cost of over $100 million per year, has …
News in Brief by Arizona: State prisoner Brigido Montoya made the briefest of escapes from the State Prison Complex in Eyman on August 10, 2024, before he was recaptured 48 minutes later by Florence Police, the Florence Reminder & Blade-Tribune reported. The state Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (DCRR) …
News in Brief by Alabama: On June 24, 2024, Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith told the Birmingham News that county jail guard Tony Dewayne Jackson, 29, had been arrested for smuggling “non-­drug” contraband into the lockup. Jackson was no longer working at the jail, but Smith didn’t say how or …
Eighth Circuit Largely Restores Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guards in Use of Force on Bipolar Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On December 26, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit largely reversed a lower court and restored qualified immunity (QI) to guards …
Minnesota Jailers Shrug Off Detainee’s Agony from Fatal Perforated Bowel as Withdrawal Symptoms by Arriving at the Hennepin County Jail in July 2022, Lucas Bellamy, 41, warned staffers at the Minneapolis lockup that he had ingested a bag of drugs. Yet when he died three days later of a perforated …
New Minnesota Justice Center Aims to be More ‘Humane’ by On July 31, 2023, Minnesota Lawyer reported that Carlton County is constructing a new justice center that, as part of a growing trend, will include a detention center designed to be more humane and healthier for detainees. The 117,000-square foot …
Minnesota Prison on Lockdown After Protest Over Dirty Water, Lack of Phone Use and Out-of-Cell Time by Over Labor Day weekend 2023, approximately 100 prisoners refused to return to their cells at Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF) in Stillwater. They were protesting limited access to showers, phones and recreation, which the …
Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson On August 24, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed denial of qualified immunity (QI) to a Minnesota jail guard in a …
Estate of Lucas Bellamy v. Omweri, MN, Complaint, Wrongful Death-Denial of Medical Care, 2024 CASE 0:24-cv-00170-DWF-TNL Doc. 1 Filed 01/23/24 Page 1 of 43 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Louis Bellamy, as Trustee for the next of kin of Lucas John Bellamy, Deceased, Case …
Green v. Anoka County, MN, Settlement, Inadequate Medical Treatment, 2025 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS This Settlement Agreement and Release of Claims ("Settlement Agreement") is effective as of the date of the last signature below and is made and entered into by, on the one hand, Deyonta Green ("Green" …
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 …
Minnesota Makes All Calls Free in Prisons and Jails by On May 19, 2023, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed into law SF 2909, the Judiciary and Public Safety budget bill. Introduced by two Democratic state lawmakers, Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten and Rep. Esther Agbaje, the measure made calls free …
