Search | Prison Legal News

Delaware DOC Still Defends Abysmal Medical Care, Prisoners Still Die From Medical Neglect

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: CMS, Contractor Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Delaware DOC Still Defends Abysmal Medical Care, Prisoners Still Die From Medical Neglect by After media reports detailed incidents showing prisoners within the Delaware Department of Corrections (DDOC) were being maimed or dying because of deplorable medical care, Stan Taylor, DDOC's Commissioner, charged the reports were "sloppy reporting." Taylor's testimony …

Florida Boot Camp Death Results in Manslaughter Charges Against 7 Guards and Nurse; Civil Claims Settled for $7,425,000

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Boot Camps, Excessive Force, Restraints, State Legislation

Florida Boot Camp Death Results in Manslaughter Charges Against 7 Guards and Nurse; Civil Claims Settled for $7,425,000 by After two autopsies and an 11-month investigation, aggravated manslaughter charges were issued in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson at a Florida boot camp. Anderson?s death at the Bay County …

Colorado Settles Class Action Prison Disability Discrimination Suit For Over $3 Million

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Attorney Misconduct, Attorneys General, Damages, Settlements, Special Masters, Federal Statutory Law, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Colorado Settles Class Action Prison Disability Discrimination Suit For Over $3 Million by The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) has settled a class action disability discrimination suit over accessibility inside its state prisons for prisoners with impairments in mobility, hearing, sight and for diabetics. Over $3 million will be spent …

BOP Settles “Terrorism” Classification Privacy Act Suit for $3,000

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Gang Policies, Privacy Act

BOP Settles “Terrorism” Classification Privacy Act Suit for $3,000 by BOP Settles "Terrorism" Classification Privacy Act Suit for $3,000 Plaintiff William Francis fought for more than 12 years to have what he claimed was erroneous information linking him to "terrorism" removed from his prison file. His persistence ultimately paid off. …

Washington State’s Federal Oversight of Sexually Violent Predators Ended

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Injunctions, Mental Health, Sex Offender Treatment, Civil Commitment

Washington State’s Federal Oversight of Sexually Violent Predators Ended by John Dannenberg Washington State's Federal Oversight of Sexually Violent Predators Ended by John E. Dannenberg After thirteen years of oversight, the U.S. District Court (W.D. Wash.) dissolved its injunction that had taken over control of Washington State's sexually violent predator …

Seminole County Jail Settles Strip Search Suits; Judge Removed From Bench

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Judicial Misconduct, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Judiciary

Seminole County Jail Settles Strip Search Suits; Judge Removed From Bench by A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit involving persons arrested in open court and illegally strip searched upon arrival at Florida?s Seminole County Jail. The suit was filed after the plaintiffs were arrested for failure …

$13,655,940 Award For False Massachusetts Rape Conviction

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, DNA Testing/Samples, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction

$13,655,940 Award For False Massachusetts Rape Conviction by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On October 4, 2006, a federal court in Massachusetts awarded $13,655,940 to a man falsely convicted of rape. Eric Sarsfield was living in Marlborough, Massachusetts in July 1987 when Ms. Toni Gustus was raped in the …

Arkansas Ups Work-Release Fees to Pay for Guard-Drivers

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Classification, Work Release, Prison Labor, Escapes, Transportation, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Arkansas Ups Work-Release Fees to Pay for Guard-Drivers by On October 27, 2006, the Arkansas Board of Corrections unanimously voted to increase the daily fees charged prisoners participating in the work-release program from $15 to $17. The increase is to be used to pay for guards to drive the prisoners …

MTC Stiffs Guards and Other Employees $169,105

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Management and Training Corporation, Conditions of Confinement, Staffing, Fair Labor Standards Act, Employee Litigation

MTC Stiffs Guards and Other Employees $169,105 by Prison guards are among the 393 employees of Management and Training Corporation (MTC), a company that shorted $169,105 in wages for work performed. MTC employs more than 2,000 workers at 24 Job Corps Centers and six prisons around the nation. The company …

Move From Texas Legislator To Lobbyist Poses Ethical Question

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Industries, News, State Legislation

Move From Texas Legislator To Lobbyist Poses Ethical Question by Gary Hunter After serving 12 years in the Texas Legislature state Representative Ray Allen resigned citing financial difficulties. ?I simply cannot afford to serve on a $600-a-month salary with no other source of income,? said Allen. Allen has since overcome …

Satellite Surveillance Approved For Wisconsin Sex Offenders

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Parole, News, State Legislation

Satellite Surveillance Approved For Wisconsin Sex Offenders by Gary Hunter Tracking sex offenders just cost Wisconsin taxpayers millions of dollars and ensures that citizens will pay millions more every year. Governor Jim Doyle signed a bill on May 22, 2006 that requires GPS monitoring for certain child molesters. The vote …

Drunk PA DOC Attorney Charged in Hit-and-Run

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Attorney Misconduct

Drunk PA DOC Attorney Charged in Hit-and-Run by Michael Farnan, 40, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania DOC, resigned from his job after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident in his state car. Farnan had been drinking heavily when he ran into the back of Tamara Hughes? minivan on November …

Tennessee DOC’s Double Standard

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Work Release, Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Staff-Staff Harassment, Contractor Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Prison Labor, Military, Military Prisons

Tennessee DOC’s Double Standard by G.A. Bowers Tennessee DOC's Double Standard by Greg Bowers The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) applies a double standard to ethical violations committed by its employees and those committed by prisoners. TDOC staff who commit ethical violations are typically reassigned. Even when fired, they have …

Temporary Restraining Order Suspends California’s Sex Offenders’ Housing Banishment Law

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Sex Offender Residence, Standing, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Mootness, Ex Post Facto, State Statutes, Zoning

Temporary Restraining Order Suspends California’s Sex Offenders’ Housing Banishment Law by John Dannenberg Temporary Restraining Order Suspends California's Sex Offenders? Housing Banishment Law by John E. Dannenberg The U.S.D.C. (N.D. Cal.) issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on November 8, 2006, the same day California voters approved state Proposition 83 …

Louisville, Kentucky, Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Searches, DNA Testing/Samples, Wrongful Conviction

Louisville, Kentucky, Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million by A man who spent seven years in prison for a rape he didn?t commit will receive $3.9 million from the city of Louisville, Kentucky, according to a February 12, 2007 settlement agreement. William Gregory, now 59, was convicted in …

More Settlements and Verdicts in New Hampshire False Disciplinary Charge Case

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Charges, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Toilets, Hygiene Supplies, Reading Materials, Telephones, Telephone Access, Supervisory Liability

More Settlements and Verdicts in New Hampshire False Disciplinary Charge Case by A federal jury in New Hampshire has awarded a total of $150,000 to two former prisoners in the continuing saga of false disciplinary charges by a guard at the Hillsborough County Jail. These cases stem from the actions …

$9,063,000 Jury Award For Illinois False Rape Conviction

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), DNA Testing/Samples, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Immigration

$9,063,000 Jury Award For Illinois False Rape Conviction by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On October 23, 2006, a federal jury in Illinois awarded a man who had been falsely convicted of rape $9,063,000. On September 19, 1989, Alejandro Dominguez was a 16-year old living in an apartment complex …

Federal Court Continues To Enforce Decade-Old California Prison Guards’ “Code-Of-Silence” Ruling

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Special Masters, Guard Unions

Federal Court Continues To Enforce Decade-Old California Prison Guards’ “Code-Of-Silence” Ruling by Federal Court Continues To Enforce Decade-Old California Prison Guards' "Code-Of-Silence" Ruling The United States District Court (N.D. Cal.) reviewed progress on its 11-year-old federal court remedial action to eliminate a pernicious code-of-silence by prison guards (most notably at …

$27,500 Settlement for Rape of Four Women Prisoners in Pittsburgh Jail

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

$27,500 Settlement for Rape of Four Women Prisoners in Pittsburgh Jail by There have been settlements in four separate lawsuits involving the Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) Jail. The suits alleged that seven Allegheny County Jail guards sexually assaulted four women prisoners. In May 2006, Allegheny County began settling a series of …

$2 Million Settlement in Montgomery County, NY Strip Search Suit

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Civil Procedure, Damages

$2 Million Settlement in Montgomery County, NY Strip Search Suit by On September 22, 2006, a federal judge entered an order approving the preliminary settlement of a suit against Montgomery County, New York, over its county jail strip search policy, for $2 million. This is a class-action civil rights lawsuit …