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Parole Board Members Miss Work, Leaving Nebraska Prisoners Locked Up

Article • October 31, 2022 • from PLN November, 2022

Filed under: Parole Board Misconduct

Parole Board Members Miss Work, Leaving Nebraska Prisoners Locked Up by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart Each year, thousands of Nebraska prisoners go before the state Parole Board, hoping to return to their lives and their families. But when board members don’t show up for work, people often stay in …

Nebraska Supreme Court Says Revocation of Post-Release Supervision Does Not Bar Prisoner From Earning Good Time Credit

Article • October 31, 2022 • from PLN November, 2022

Filed under: Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release

Nebraska Supreme Court Says Revocation of Post-Release Supervision Does Not Bar Prisoner From Earning Good Time Credit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On April 28, 2022, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that a lower state court erred in denying good time credit when resentencing a state prisoner who …

Nebraska Crime Commission Says Dodge County Jail Noncompliant With Reporting Requirements

Article • September 30, 2022 • from PLN October, 2022

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Reporting Requirements

Nebraska Crime Commission Says Dodge County Jail Noncompliant With Reporting Requirements by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead On January 28, 2022, when Sheriff Steve Hespen retired after 35 years in Dodge County, Nebraska, he left behind unanswered a charge from the state Jail Standards Board (JSB) that the county jail …

Nebraska Prison Staffing Crisis Sees Supervisors Take Demotions to Get Hourly Overtime Pay

Article • September 1, 2022 • from PLN September, 2022

Filed under: Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing

Nebraska Prison Staffing Crisis Sees Supervisors Take Demotions to Get Hourly Overtime Pay by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss Despite a watchdog report finding state prisons so short-staffed that some guard supervisors sought demotions to take advantage of ballooning hourly overtime pay, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (DCS) …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2022 • from PLN September, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A federal prisoner in Birmingham was gunned down outside a privately-operated reentry facility on July 16, 2022. The Associated Press reported that the prisoner, Larry Taylor, 47, had just been released from the facility, which is operated under contract from the federal Bureau of Prisons …

$40,000 Settlement Reached in HRDC Challenge to Nebraska Prison Censorship Policy

Article • August 1, 2022 • from PLN August, 2022

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, HRDC Litigation

$40,000 Settlement Reached in HRDC Challenge to Nebraska Prison Censorship Policy by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On June 10, 2022, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (DCS) agreed to pay $40,000 and make several policy changes to resolve a lawsuit filed by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), …

Nebraska Prison Staffing Crisis Sees Supervisors Take Demotions to Get Hourly Overtime Pay

Article • July 15, 2022 • from PLN July, 2022

Filed under: Staffing, Guards/Staff

Nebraska Prison Staffing Crisis Sees Supervisors Take Demotions to Get Hourly Overtime Pay by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Despite a watchdog report finding state prisons so short-staffed that some guard supervisors sought demotions to take advantage of ballooning hourly overtime pay, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (DCS) will …

HRDC v. Frakes (NDOC), NE, Settlement, Censorship, 2022

Brief • June 10, 2022

Filed under: Censorship

HRDC v. Frakes (NDOC), NE, Settlement, Censorship, 2022 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Release (hereafter "Settlement and Release") is entered into between Plaintiff Human Rights Defense Center (Plaintiff) and Defendant Scott Frakes, in his individual capacity and his official capacity as Director of the Nebraska Department of …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2022 • from PLN May, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard in Birmingham was arrested on March 9, 2022, for allegedly beating a prisoner to death, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. As PLN previously reported, prison officials at first insisted no foul play was suspected in the death of Victor …

HRDC Sues Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for Banning its Books

Article • April 7, 2022 • from PLN May, 2022

Filed under: Publications/Books, PLN Litigation, Censorship

HRDC Sues Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for Banning its Books by Sam Rutherford By Sam Rutherford On February 25, 2022, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), publisher of PLN and Criminal Legal News (CLN), filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska against Scott Frakes, Director …

Human Rights Defense Center v. Frakes, NE, Complaint, Censorship, 2022

Filing • February 25, 2022

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship

Human Rights Defense Center v. Frakes, NE, Complaint, Censorship, 2022 4:22-cv-03028 Doc # 1 Filed: 02/25/22 Page 1 of 26 - Page ID # 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Case No. ___-cv-_____ Plaintiff, COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL …

Human Rights Defense Center v. Frakes, NE, Complaint, Censorship, 2022

Brief • February 25, 2022

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship

Human Rights Defense Center v. Frakes, NE, Complaint, Censorship, 2022 4:22-cv-03028 Doc # 1 Filed: 02/25/22 Page 1 of 26 - Page ID # 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Case No. ___-cv-_____ Plaintiff, COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL …

News in Brief

Article • December 1, 2021 • from PLN December, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A 20-year-old guard at the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, was arrested on October 29, 2021, on charges that he attempted to smuggle methamphetamine into the jail. According to a report by Huntsville TV station WHNT, the guard, Matthew Moran, faces one count …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2021 • from PLN October, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On August 19, 2021, twoconvicted robbers were convicted of murder in the death of a fellow prisoner they and two others attacked in 2017 at Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent, Alabama. According to a report by Montgomery TV station WSFA, Dominique Covin and Roderick DeLaune …

Moser v. Frakes, NE, Settlement, Failure to Protect, 2021

Brief • October 1, 2021

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General)

Moser v. Frakes, NE, Settlement, Failure to Protect, 2021 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND MUTUAL RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release (hereafter “Settlement and Release”) is entered into between Telena Moser, in her capacity as Personal Representative of the Estate of Terry L. Berry, Jr., deceased (“Plaintiff”), and JoAnn Helton, Todd …

News in Brief

Article • July 1, 2021 • from PLN July, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: According to a report by the Alabama Political Reporter, a state prisoner was fatally stabbed by another man incarcerated with him at Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore on May 4, 2021—just one day before his scheduled release, which would also have been his twenty-fourth birthday. …

News in Brief

Article • June 1, 2021 • from PLN June, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Australia: A February 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court in the Australian province of Victoria presented “a rare win” for a prisoner contesting prison procedures, according to a report by The Conversation. The convict, 56-year-old Craig Minogue, argued that Barwon Prison’s random drug testing and strip-searching …

News in Brief

Article • April 1, 2021 • from PLN April, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Two Alabama jail guards were arrested in just two months for allegedly smuggling cellphones to inmates. In February 2021, 27-year-old D’Mario Jones was fired and charged with two counts of promoting prison contraband at the Lee County Detention Center in Opelika where he worked. According …

Court Rejects Class Status for Nebraska Prisoners Facing Substandard Health Care

Article • January 1, 2021 • from PLN January, 2021

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Class Certification, Class Actions

Court Rejects Class Status for Nebraska Prisoners Facing Substandard Health Care by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A Nebraska Federal district court denied class certification in a lawsuit alleging systematic deficiencies in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NCDS) health-care system. Individual claims of some of the lead incarcerated …

Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Execution Drug Documents Subject to Disclosure

Article • December 1, 2020 • from PLN December, 2020

Filed under: Lethal Injection Method of Execution, Official Report

Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Execution Drug Documents Subject to Disclosure by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 15, 2020, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that documents related to the procurement and use of drugs used in executions by lethal injection are subject to disclosure and such documents containing the …