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PLRA Applies to Immigration Detainee’s Conditions Suit

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Lighting, Noise, Vermin, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), International, Immigration

PLRA Applies to Immigration Detainee’s Conditions Suit by The plaintiff is an INS detainee. The court says that his failure to exhaust administrative remedies pursuant to the PLRA is sufficient reason to dismiss, contrary to other courts that have held immigration detainees not to be prisoners under the PLRA. The …

Relief for Unconstitutional Mississippi Death Row Conditions Affirmed on Appeal

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Failure to Treat, Exposure to Cold, Clothing, Plumbing, Water, Sanitation, Lighting, Laundry, Exposure to Heat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Mootness, Death Row, ACA

Relief for Unconstitutional Mississippi Death Row Conditions Affirmed on Appeal by Bob Williams By Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has affirmed most of the sweeping reforms to be implemented at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), Unit 32-C, Death Row. After several death row …

Double Celling Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Fire Hazards, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Ventilation, Plumbing, Sewage, Sanitation, Lighting, Shelter, Laundry

Double Celling Unconstitutional by The court of appeals for the Third circuit affirmed a district court's order, at 719 F. Supp. 126 (WD PA 1989), which held that double celling in Pennsylvania prisons violated the Eighth amendment under a "totality of conditions" analysis. The overall prison conditions consisted of dilapidated, …

Los Angeles County Jail Conditions Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Ventilation, Exercise, Jail Specific, Lighting, Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Court Appearances, Telephone Access

Los Angeles County Jail Conditions Unconstitutional by A California federal district court held the conditions at the Los Angeles County Jail were unconstitutional. This class action suit resulted in a non-jury trial that alleged violations of the pre-trial detainees' constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The court found the detainees …

Alabama Prison Conditions Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Ventilation, Exercise, Showers, Toilets, Water, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Reading Materials, Lighting, Laundry, Court Access, Legal Materials, Writing Implements

Alabama Prison Conditions Unconstitutional by A district court in Alabama declared the conditions of confinement in Alabama state prisons unconstitutionally cruel and unusual in a class- action suit. The court ordered that: (1) prison populations be reduced to design capacity; (2) isolation prisoners be single-celled with not less than 40 …

Environmental, Sanitary Problems Violate Due Process

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Ventilation, Exposure to Cold, Sanitation, Lighting, Exposure to Heat, PLRA, Consent Decrees (PLRA)

Environmental, Sanitary Problems Violate Due Process by The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that certain jail conditions violated pretrial detainee's due process rights. Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), the New York City Department of Corrections petitioned for immediate termination of consent …

Segregation Conditions at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary Not Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Food, Ventilation, Exercise, Lighting, Exposure to Heat, Prisoner Privileges, Education

Segregation Conditions at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary Not Unconstitutional by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's order holding the conditions of confinement in the segregation building at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary were not unconstitutional. This action was brought by two prisoners at the Penitentiary and certified as …

Mentally Ill WI Prisoner Sues over Control Unit Conditions

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Staffing, Exercise, Clothing, Lighting, Noise, Appointment of Counsel, Class Certification, Telephone Access, Publications/Books, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Mentally Ill WI Prisoner Sues over Control Unit Conditions by The plaintiff raised various constitutional claims, discussed below, and moved for class certification. The court denies it because the case is pro se and absent class members are "entitled at least to the assurance of competent representation afforded by licensed …

Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $60,000 For Electrical Shock

Article • October 15, 2006 • from PLN October, 2006

Filed under: Lighting, Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability

Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $60,000 For Electrical Shock by In March 2005, a jury in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, awarded $60,000 to a state prisoner who was shocked by a faulty light fixture in his cell. As Michael Paolillo arose from a nap to urinate in his prison cell, he placed his …

Montana BMPs Are Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Article • August 15, 2004 • from PLN August, 2004

Filed under: Food, Clothing, Toilets, Water, Strip Cells, Bedding, Lighting, Mootness, Expert Witnesses, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Montana BMPs Are Cruel and Unusual Punishment by Mark Wilson The Montana Supreme Court held that the use of Behavior Modification Plans (BMPs) and the living conditions of A-Block (Max) at the Montana State Penitentiary (MSP) constituted "an affront to the inviolable right of human dignity possessed by [prisoners] and …

Mississippi Death Row Conditions Unconstitutional; Sweeping Reforms Ordered

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Victims, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Plumbing, Sewage, Sanitation, Lighting, Laundry, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Death Row, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Guards/Staff, American Correctional Association

Mississippi Death Row Conditions Unconstitutional; Sweeping Reforms Ordered by Bob Williams Mississippi Death Row Conditions Unconstitutional; Sweeping Reforms Ordered by Bob Williams Hailed as the broadest ruling ever is-sued by a federal judge in a death row conditions of confinement case, and a precedent setting breakthrough in prisoners' rights, conditions …

U.S. District Court Finds Supermax Placement at Ohio Prison "Atypical and Significant Hardship"

Article • February 15, 2003 • from PLN February, 2003

Filed under: Exercise, Lighting, Restraints, Parole, Ad-Seg Hearings, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

U.S. District Court Finds Supermax Placement at Ohio Prison "Atypical and Significant Hardship" by Robert Woodman U.S. District Court Finds Supermax Placement at Ohio Prison "Atypical and Significant Hardship" by Robert Woodman In a ruling believed to be the first of its kind, Judge James Gwin of the United States …

Settlement Agreement Reached in Wisconsin Supermax Suit

Article • November 15, 2002 • from PLN November, 2002

Filed under: Food, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Reading Materials, Lighting, Exposure to Heat, Restraints, Education, Telephone Access, Ad-Seg Hearings, Mental Health

Settlement Agreement Reached in Wisconsin Supermax Suit by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) officials settled the 42 USC § 1983 class action civil rights suit brought by seriously mentally ill prisoners housed in the Boscobel, WI Supermax state prison by agreeing not to …

"Barbaric Conditions" At Wisconsin Supermax Result in Preliminary Injunction To Transfer Mentally Ill Prisoners

Article • April 15, 2002 • from PLN April, 2002

Filed under: Medication, Food, Exercise, Lighting, Restraints, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

"Barbaric Conditions" At Wisconsin Supermax Result in Preliminary Injunction To Transfer Mentally Ill Prisoners by John E Dannenberg "Barbaric Conditions" At Wisconsin Supermax Result in Preliminary Injunction To Transfer Mentally Ill Prisoners by John Dannenberg Noting that the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause protects the mental health of …

Plug Pulled in California Prison

Article • November 15, 2001 • from PLN November, 2001

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Lighting

Plug Pulled in California Prison by Willie Wisely California is short on energy. The state has suffered repeated Stage Three power alerts and rolling power outages. Without authorization by the Legislature, the California Department of Corrections (CDC) may be trying to alleviate the crisis. And it seems at least one …

Maynor v. Morgan County, AL, Consent Decree, Inmate Funds Misappropriation, 2001

Brief • September 25, 2001

Filed under: Classification, Totality of Conditions, Fire Hazards, Food, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Showers, Toilets, Plumbing, Sewage, Water, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Reading Materials, Lighting, Laundry, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Legal Materials, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Maynor v. Morgan County, AL, Consent Decree, Inmate Funds Misappropriation, 2001 Case 5:01-cv-00851-AKK Document 45 Filed 09/25/01 Page 1 of 18 F·- 11'··~ L::. ·-.. r·) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 01SEP25 PM 3: 32 NORTHEASTERN DMSION U.S. DiS: r.;~: N.O. OF AL …

Constant Illumination States Eighth Amendment Claim

Article • July 15, 2001 • from PLN July, 2001

Filed under: Lighting, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Constant Illumination States Eighth Amendment Claim by Pennsylvania state prisoner Lamont Harris filed a pro se petition for review, alleging that being forced to live in constant illumination 24 hours per day while in punitive segregation was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Harris claimed that …

Maynor v. Morgan County, AL, Complaint, Inmate Funds Misappropriation, 2001

Brief • April 5, 2001

Filed under: Classification, Totality of Conditions, Fire Hazards, Food, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Showers, Toilets, Plumbing, Sewage, Water, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Reading Materials, Lighting, Laundry, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Education, Legal Materials, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Maynor v. Morgan County, AL, Complaint, Inmate Funds Misappropriation, 2001 Case 5:01-cv-00851-AKK Document 1 Filed 04/05/01 Page 1 of 17 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA C. / "~i - 3 i.. ; ~·: NORTHERN DMSION JOHNNY MAYNOR, Anthony Murphree, Christopher Nichols, Yvette Barbee, …

$53,000 Settlement in AL Conditions Suit

Article • September 15, 2000 • from PLN September, 2000

Filed under: Prison Industries, Fire Hazards, Overcrowding, Ventilation, Toilets, Water, Bedding, Lighting, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Civil Procedure, Damages, Settlements

$53,000 Settlement in AL Conditions Suit by On April 8, 2000, the Alabama Department of Corrections settled a conditions lawsuit by agreeing to pay eight prisoners $53,000 in damages and establish basic standards of care at the Loxley Community Work Center in Mobile, Alabama. In August, 1997, eight prisoners were …

Restrained Washington Prisoner Exonerated in Assault on Guard

Article • July 15, 2000 • from PLN July, 2000

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Lighting, Restraints, Mental Health

Restrained Washington Prisoner Exonerated in Assault on Guard by Terry A Kupers by Terry A. Kupers and Marybeth Dingledy Rodney Gitchel had been in 4-point restraints for two months inside the Special Offenders Center (S.O.C.) at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington when he struggled free of the restraints and …