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MA Prison Conditions Might Amount to Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Fire Hazards, Sanitation, Complaints

MA Prison Conditions Might Amount to Cruel and Unusual Punishment by Richard Smith, a Massachusetts state prison at MCI-Concord, sued prison officials after being disciplined for fighting. He sued numerous guards and administrators in state court alleging a multitude of constitutional and statutory violations. Among them was a claim that …

$35,000 Jury Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s Assault by Guards

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

$35,000 Jury Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s Assault by Guards by $35,000 Jury Award in Massachusetts Prisoner's Assault by Guards A jury awarded a prisoner at the Massachusetts Correctional Facility at Walpole $35,000 for guards' negligence for failing to intercede to stop an excessive use of force. After one guard began …

Most Serious Sex Offenders in Boston Living in Homeless Shelters

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Sex Offender Residence

Most Serious Sex Offenders in Boston Living in Homeless Shelters by Efforts in Massachusetts to keep a close eye on released sex offenders have apparently failed. Rather than having such offenders in stable living environments where law enforcement officials can monitor them, 65 percent of the state?s most dangerous sex …

$250,000 Settlement Received in Massachusetts Police Beating

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Police, Excessive Force (Police)

$250,000 Settlement Received in Massachusetts Police Beating by After mediation with a federal magistrate, a Boston man agreed to drop his excessive force suit against Worcester City, Massachusetts in exchange for $250,000 in 2006. Charles Evangelista sued the city and six police officers after suffering a ruptured bladder while being …

Massachusetts’ Corrections Commissioner Has Duty to Comply with Court’s Transfer Order

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Classification, Transfers, Overcrowding, Injunctions

Massachusetts’ Corrections Commissioner Has Duty to Comply with Court’s Transfer Order by Massachusetts' Corrections Commissioner Has Duty to Comply with Court's Transfer Order The First Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a district court has authority to order a Corrections Commissioner to transfer prisoners to create constitutional conditions. That …

MA Prisoner’s Rights Not Violated by Strip Searches

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches

MA Prisoner’s Rights Not Violated by Strip Searches by MA Prisoner's Rights Not Violated by Strip Searches In 1987, William Langton, a Massachusetts state prisoner, was strip searched every time he left or returned to his cell. Since he was never found in possession of contraband, he believed the searches …

MA Man’s Blood Test from Hospital Admissible in Drunk Driving Trial

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Drug Testing, Criminal Prosecution

MA Man’s Blood Test from Hospital Admissible in Drunk Driving Trial by MA Man's Blood Test from Hospital Admissible in Drunk Driving Trial Michael Dube, defendant in a Massachusetts state court proceeding for drunk driving, went to the hospital after being in a car wreck. His blood alcohol level was …

$250,000 Settlement Received in Police Beating

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Police, Excessive Force (Police)

$250,000 Settlement Received in Police Beating by After mediation with a federal magistrate, a Boston man agreed to drop his excessive force suit against Worcester City, Massachusetts in exchange for $250,000. Charles Evangelista sued the city and six police officers after suffering a ruptured bladder while being beaten on March …

Prison Drinking Water and Wastewater Pollution Threaten Environmental Safety Nationwide

Article • November 15, 2007 • from PLN November, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Environmental Law, Sewage, Water, Clean Water Act

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 …

Dennison v. City of Worcester, MA, Order on Ptf's Motion to Unseal Depo, Police Excessive Force, 2007

Brief • October 19, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force (Police)

Dennison v. City of Worcester, MA, Order on Ptf's Motion to Unseal Depo, Police Excessive Force, 2007 Document 35 Filed 10/19/2007 Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS ) RAYMOND E. DENNISON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) SERGEANT RONALD T. LAPOINTE, OFFICER JOHN …

Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman’s Compensation

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman’s Compensation by Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman's Compensation A former Massachusetts prison guard accused of putting feces in a prisoner's cell is entitled to workman's compensation for emotional distress, the state Department of Industrial Accidents Reviewing Board …

Massachusetts District Court: FBI Ordered to Pay $101.7 Million for Malicious Prosecution

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Damages, Wrongful Conviction, Federal Statutory Law, Federal Tort Claims Act

Massachusetts District Court: FBI Ordered to Pay $101.7 Million for Malicious Prosecution by Michael Rigby A federal judge in Massachusetts has awarded $101.7 million to four innocent men who were framed by the FBI for a murder they did not commit. In a scathing 228-page decision entered on July 26, …

Clarification:

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Clarification: by The July 2007 issue of Prison Legal News reported Sarsfield v. City of Marlborough, $13,655,940 Award for False Massachusetts Rape Conviction and Gregory v. City of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million. Barry Scheck was lead counsel for both plaintiffs, but while he …

Dennison v. City of Worcester, MA, Ptf's Motion to Unseal Police Depo, Police Excessive Force, 2007

Brief • September 28, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force (Police)

Dennison v. City of Worcester, MA, Ptf's Motion to Unseal Police Depo, Police Excessive Force, 2007 Case 4:06-cv-40100-FDS Document 33 Filed 09/28/2007 Page 1 of 9 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA U.S. DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS CIVIL ACTION NO. 06-40100FDS _____________________________________ RAYMOND E. DENNISON, ) Plaintiff ) ) v. ) …

$1,000,000 Award for Attorney’s Failure to Prosecute Prisoner’s Lawsuit

Article • September 15, 2007 • from PLN September, 2007

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

$1,000,000 Award for Attorney’s Failure to Prosecute Prisoner’s Lawsuit by $1,000,000 Award for Attorney's Failure to Prosecute Prisoner's Lawsuit On January 4, 2006, a Boston Superior Court awarded a $1,000,000 judgment against an attorney for failing to prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of a prisoner at Massachusetts' Suffolk House of …

Limone v. USA, MA, Order, Damages for Wrongful Convictions by FBI, 2007

Brief • July 26, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, FBI

Limone v. USA, MA, Order, Damages for Wrongful Convictions by FBI, 2007 Case 1:02-cv-10890-NG Document 565 Filed 07/26/2007 Page 1 of 228 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS PETER J. LIMONE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant. ) ) ) ) Civ. Action No. …

$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 …

Massachussetts Pre-Trial Detainee Injured While Housed With Convicted Felons States Colorable Claim

Article • June 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

Massachussetts Pre-Trial Detainee Injured While Housed With Convicted Felons States Colorable Claim by William Smith, a pre-trial detainee in Berkshire County, Massachusetts was housed in a section of the jail where only those convicted of felonies were supposed to be kept, in violation of G.L. c. 127, Sec. 22. He …

Massachusetts Good Time Deducted From Parole Eligibility Date

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Parole

Massachusetts Good Time Deducted From Parole Eligibility Date by The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that good conduct time for state prisoners must be deducted from their parole eligibility date (calculated as a fraction of the minimum sentence imposed by the judge) and deference was not to be given …

Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $3000 for Destroyed Mail

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Civil Procedure, Damages, Mail Regulations

Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $3000 for Destroyed Mail by A federal district court in Massachusetts held that a guard violated the First Amendment by destroying two letters addressed to a segregated prisoner. The prisoner brought a § 1983 lawsuit challenging the mailroom's action. The United States District Court agreed with the …