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Paperwork SNAFU Leaves Mentally Ill Woman Jailed in Louisiana for Eight Months

Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Paperwork SNAFU Leaves Mentally Ill Woman Jailed in Louisiana for Eight Months by A paperwork error was blamed for a schizophrenic and bipolar woman being held in Louisiana jails for eight months even though the charges against her were dropped and she had not been appointed an attorney. Louisiana state …

Prison Legal News v. Gusman, LA, Complaint, censorship, 2011

Brief • September 9, 2011

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, PLN related

Prison Legal News v. Gusman, LA, Complaint, censorship, 2011 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA * * * * * MARLIN GUSMAN, Sheriff, Orleans * Parish, CARLOS LOUQUE, Warden, * House of Detention, KEVIN WINFIELD, * Warden, Old Parish Prison, CHARLES * EZEB, Warden, Temporary Jails, JERROD * …

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Wrongful Conviction Suit Against New Orleans DA, Vacates $14 Million Judgment

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Wrongful Conviction Suit Against New Orleans DA, Vacates $14 Million Judgment by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna and Brandon Sample In a March 29, 2011 five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a former Louisiana prisoner who filed a § 1983 suit against Orleans Parish …

Louisiana Attorney Permanently Disbarred but Not Criminally Charged for Pimping Child to Jail Prisoners

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Misconduct

Louisiana Attorney Permanently Disbarred but Not Criminally Charged for Pimping Child to Jail Prisoners by David Reutter by David M. Reutter An attorney’s failure to respect the authority of the Louisiana Supreme Court, “as well as his use of his position as an attorney to obtain sexual gratification at the …

Louisiana Court Of Appeals Overturns Strip Tier Cell InjunctionOverturns

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Strip Cells, Injunctions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Ad-Seg Hearings

Louisiana Court Of Appeals Overturns Strip Tier Cell InjunctionOverturns by Matthew Clarke Louisiana Court Of Appeals Overturns Strip Tier Cell Injunction By Matt Clarke On June 20, 2007, a Louisiana state court of appeals overturned a district court’s granting of an injunction against prison officials placing the prisoner into a …

Fifth Circuit: Federal Government May Collect Restitution Up To 20-Years

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Victims, Money/Property, Restitution

Fifth Circuit: Federal Government May Collect Restitution Up To 20-Years by Matthew Clarke By Matt Clarke The Fifth Circuit court of appeals held that the government may place a lien on property to collect restitution for up to twenty years after the judgment, even if the victim has waived collection …

Fifth Circuit Grants Louisiana Prison Doctor Qualified Immunity

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Medical Misconduct, Medication, Skeletal Injury, Injury -- Misc., Malpractice, Qualified Immunity

Fifth Circuit Grants Louisiana Prison Doctor Qualified Immunity by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Fifth Circuit court of appeals reversed a Louisiana district court’s denial of qualified immunity for a prison doctor. Anthony Gobert, a former Louisiana state prisoner, was incarcerated at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC) and …

Fifth Circuit Clarifies Procedure for PLRA Failure-to-Exhaust Dismissals

Article • July 15, 2011 • from PLN July, 2011

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment

Fifth Circuit Clarifies Procedure for PLRA Failure-to-Exhaust Dismissals by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that summary judgment may be granted when a defendant alleges failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), but, in this particular case, the record was not sufficiently developed to …

Louisiana Sheriff Cages Suicidal Prisoners in Space Smaller than Required for Dogs

Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Jail Misconduct, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides

Louisiana Sheriff Cages Suicidal Prisoners in Space Smaller than Required for Dogs by “These people need to be locked up,” said Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain, Jr., referring to prisoners at his jail. “They performed like animals in our society and they need to be caged like animals.” …

The Incarceration Capital of the U.S.

Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011

Filed under: Organizing, Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Rehabilitation/Recidivism

The Incarceration Capital of the U.S. by Jordan Flaherty A Struggle Over the Size of New Orleans’ Jail Could Define the City’s Future by Jordan Flaherty New Orleans’ criminal justice system is at a crossroads. A new mayor and police chief say they want to make major changes, and the …

CCA Prisoner Awarded $3,250 in Excessive Force Lawsuit

Article • May 15, 2011 • from PLN May, 2011

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Guard Brutality/Beatings

CCA Prisoner Awarded $3,250 in Excessive Force Lawsuit by A Louisiana U.S. District Court awarded $3,250 to a prisoner in a civil rights action that involved excessive use of force by a guard. The lawsuit was filed by Winn Correctional Center prisoner Derrick Levon Carter due to events that occurred …

Leonard v. State of Louisiana, LA, Appellants Reply Brief, RLUIPA Final Call, 2011

Brief • April 21, 2011

Filed under: RLUIPA, First Amendment

Leonard v. State of Louisiana, LA, Appellants Reply Brief, RLUIPA Final Call, 2011 Case: 10-30982 Document: 00511454344 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/21/2011 No. 10-30982 IN THE 8QLWHG6WDWHV&RXUWRI$SSHDOV IRUWKH)LIWK&LUFXLW _____________________ HENRY LEONARD, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. STATE OF LOUISIANA, on behalf of Department of Public Safety and Corrections; RICHARD STALDER, individually …

5th Circuit Upholds Prisoner’s Due Process Rights

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Evidence

5th Circuit Upholds Prisoner’s Due Process Rights by On September 18, 2007, the 5th Circuit filed its decision in a civil rights action filed by Louisiana prisoner Richard Mahogany, Jr., against a number of Louisiana prison officials. Mahogany filed his initial complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging his …

Homosexual Literature Allowed on Death Row

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Death Row, Mail, Publications/Books, Sexually Explicit Materials

Homosexual Literature Allowed on Death Row by On March 30, 1999, a Louisiana Magistrate filed his recommendation in a suit filed by death row prisoner George Brooks, Jr., against Louisiana's DOC. The complaint alleged First Amendment violations in regard to five sexually explicit books confiscated from him by the mailroom …

Prisoner Labor Used to Clean Up BP Oil Spill

Article • March 15, 2011 • from PLN March, 2011

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals

Prisoner Labor Used to Clean Up BP Oil Spill by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On April 20, 2010, an explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, killed 11 workers. The accident resulted in an oil spill that leaked oil into the gulf for …

PLN and HRDC Win Consent Judgment Against Louisiana Sheriff in Censorship Case

Article • March 15, 2011 • from PLN March, 2011

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Consent Decrees, Publications/Books, PLN Litigation, Censorship

PLN and HRDC Win Consent Judgment Against Louisiana Sheriff in Censorship Case by On May 18, 2010, Prison Legal News (PLN) and its parent organization, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), won another battle against censorship by prison and jail officials. In 2009, PLN and HRDC sued Jack A. Stephens, …

Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Juries

Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States by Derek Gilna A study by the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit legal organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, has found widespread discrimination in jury selection in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. The discriminatory practices …

Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, by Jordan Flaherty, Haymarket Books, 2010; $16.00, 292 pages

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Reviews

Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, by Jordan Flaherty, Haymarket Books, 2010; $16.00, 292 pages by Lewis Wallace Review by Lewis Wallace Parts of the story are familiar. In late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Floodwaters broke the levees in New Orleans and …

Capital Appeals Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Theft

Article • January 15, 2011 • from PLN January, 2011

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Capital Appeals Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Theft by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Former Louisiana death penalty defense attorney Jelpi Picou, 49, was sentenced on August 23, 2010 to five years in prison for stealing over $200,000 from a publicly-funded agency he had directed since 2004. Picou was …

The Graying of America’s Prisons

Article • December 15, 2010 • from PLN December, 2010

Filed under: Geriatric Classification, Furloughs, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Expenses, Crime/Demographics, Statistics/Trends, Overcrowding, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Pardons/Clemency, Americans with Disabilities Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

The Graying of America’s Prisons by James Ridgeway Frank Soffen, now 70 years old, has lived more than half his life in prison, and will likely die there. Sentenced to life for second-degree murder, Soffen has suffered four heart attacks and is confined to a wheelchair. He has lately been …