Flurry of Escapes Emphasizes Prisoners' Desperation by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Last September produced a bumper crop of prison and jail escapes around the country, including a desperate escape by two Texas prisoners that resulted in the death of a guard, a car jacking and two shootouts. Plus a …
$1,825,000 Settlement in Alabama Prisoner’s Death from Flesh-Eating Bacteria by $1,825,000 Settlement in Alabama Prisoner's Death from Flesh-Eating Bacteria The settlement in a prisoner's death from flesh-eating bacteria at Alabama's Mobile Metro Jail now totals $1,825,000. In September 2007, the City of Mobile agreed to pay $375,000 to settle its …
Alabama Prisons Sell Land to Finance Prison Building, Repair by In July 2007, Alabama Governor Bob Riley announced a plan to sell approximately 6,000 acres of state prison land to finance the construction of new prison beds and make needed repairs to existing facilities. The extra bed space would enable …
Alabama Judge Resigns Amid Prisoner Spanking Allegations and Judicial Improprieties by In the face of a looming ethics trial and allegations that he spanked male prisoners, Alabama's Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas has resigned. Thomas had been on paid suspension since March 2007 while he awaited an October 29 …
Prisoner Cannot Sue BOP Under Privacy Act by Gabriel Scaff-Martinez, a federal prisoner, filed suit against the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP) pursuant to the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d), (e)(5) and (g), alleging that the BOP had failed to maintain accurate records, expunge false information from his …
Eleventh Circuit Condemns One-Sentence Qualified Immunity Denial Order by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an Alabama federal district court?s order denying jail officials? motions to dismiss on qualified immunity ground, admonishing the district court for only entering ?one sentence orders denying? the motions. Kevin Danley sued under …
Alabama Corrections Commissioner’s Contempt Order Upheld by Alabama Corrections Commissioner's Contempt Order Upheld Alabama's Supreme Court has affirmed a Montgomery County Circuit Court's order holding Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) Commissioner Richard Allen in contempt, with the threat of jail time. The order stemmed from a lawsuit filed by counties …
Alabama Court Allows City Clerk's Addition To Records Request Statute by Alabama citizen and suit representative Kay Blankenship appealed a 1991 court ruling delaying her petition for injunction and allowing Hoover City Finance Director Richard Smith to require written reasoning for public records requests. Blankenship refused to comply and brought …
Alabama Court Orders Birmingham Police Department, City Council Audit Reports Disclosed by Birmingham, Alabama, City Council Director Hoyt Bedingfield appealed a permanent court injunction grant to the Birmingham News Company (media) requiring the production of two internal audit reports. The court affirmed judgment because the reports were "public writings" subject …
Adherence To Administrative Procedure And Prepayment Required When Requesting Records' Production by Alabama State pro se prisoner Robert Gill petitioned for the review of a 2000 appellate order denying him production of materials concerning his conviction. Denial was affirmed for failure to follow administrative procedure. Gill requested grand jury information …
Alabama Corporations Serving Municipalities Ordered to Comply With Open Records Act by The Water Works and Sewer Board (Board) of the City of Talladega, Alabama, appealed its court ordered subjection to records disclosure under the State's Open Records Act (Act). Consolidated Publishing, Inc. (Publisher), appealed the same ruling as to …
Alabama Jail Dispatcher Awarded $250,157 for Sexual Harassment/Retaliation by A female jail dispatcher who was sexually harassed and retaliated against was awarded $250,157. Melissa Hunter was a jail dispatcher for the Barbour County, Alabama, Sheriff. In 2002, her supervisor, George Parham, subjected her to sexual harassment. Beginning in November, 2002, …
Alabama Prisoners Must Be Afforded Access To The Courts by The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled a lower court abused its discretion when it dismissed a prisoner's civil action for failure to prosecute, despite pending motions moving for three alternatives for the prisoner to access the court. Alabama state …
Prison Drinking Water and Wastewater Pollution Threaten Environmental Safety Nationwide by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Aging infrastructure concerns are not limited to America's highways, bridges and dams. Today, crumbling, overcrowded prisons and jails nationwide are bursting at the seams -- literally -- leaking environmentally dangerous effluents not just …
Confidential Settlement for Alabama Prisoners Killed in Road Work Crew by A confidential settlement has been reached in the death of one prisoner and injury to another. The prisoners, John Nicholas Shoultz and David McKee, were prisoners of the Alabama Department of Corrections. They were picking up trash in the …
Notice of Appeal Deemed Filed When Presented to Prison Officials; Burden on State to Refute by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner's notice of appeal is considered filed on the date it is given to prison officials, and the state has the burden of proof …
Quadriplegic California Prisoner Baked to Death in Transport Van by A California state prisoner being transferred in 109-degree weather from a Central Valley prison to a remote desert facility baked to death in the back of a transport van after the air conditioning in the passenger section of the vehicle …
Prison Officials Must Support Mail Policy With Evidence by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held in an Alabama case that "Alabama must show how applying its sweeping regulation [prohibiting prisoners in segregation from sending or receiving mail from other prisoners] . . . furthers its legitimate penological objectives. Alabama's …
Failure to Ascertain Arrestee's Identity Creates Liability for False Imprisonment by Failure to Ascertain Arrestee's Identity Creates Liability for False Imprisonment The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Macon County, Alabama Sheriff's deputy who failed to make an attempt to obtain information from an arrestee for purposes of …
United States District Court Rules Alabama Department of Corrections Violates Prisoners' Fourteenth Amendment Rights with Its Segregation Policies by United States District Court Rules Alabama Department of Corrections Violates Prisoners' Fourteenth Amendment Rights with Its Segregation Policies Alabama state prisoner Robert McCray filed a §1983 suit against state prison officials …
