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Alabama Supreme Court Sidesteps Merits of Suit Challenging Contracted Prison Labor

Article • June 15, 2006 • from PLN June, 2006

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Complaints, Class Certification, Sovereign Immunity

Alabama Supreme Court Sidesteps Merits of Suit Challenging Contracted Prison Labor by The Alabama Supreme Court denied class certification and sidestepped ruling on the merits of a prisoners claim that prison officials illegally contracted out his labor to a private company. Before the Court was the appeal of prisoner Darrell …

42 Alabama AIDS Prison Deaths In Five Years Spurs Major Medical Suit Settlement

Article • August 15, 2005 • from PLN August, 2005

Filed under: Naphcare, Medical, HIV/AIDS, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Class Certification

42 Alabama AIDS Prison Deaths In Five Years Spurs Major Medical Suit Settlement by John Dannenberg By John E. Dannenberg The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) settled a class action federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Limestone Correctional Facility AIDS-afflicted prisoners who had complained of unconstitutional conditions of medical treatment …

Alabama Workers' Comp Act No Bar to Psychological Torts

Article • August 15, 2005 • from PLN August, 2005

Filed under: CMS, Prison Rebellion, Contractor Liability, Guards/Staff, Assaults on Staff, Employee Litigation, Failure to Protect (Staff)

Alabama Workers' Comp Act No Bar to Psychological Torts by The Alabama Court of Appeals held that Alabama's Workers' Compensation Act is not an exclusive remedy for tort claims of employees alleging purely psychological injuries. Three female employees of Correctional Medical Services, Inc. (CMS) brought suit against CMS employees of …

Alabama Prisoner Awarded $90,000 For Work-Related Eye Injury

Article • July 15, 2005 • from PLN July, 2005

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Workplace Injury

Alabama Prisoner Awarded $90,000 For Work-Related Eye Injury by by Michael Rigby On February 5, 2004, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) agreed to pay $90,000 to a prisoner who was refused safety glasses and later suffered an eye injury while working at a prison recycling center. Plaintiff Brian Dodd, …

U.S. Supreme Court Holds § 1983 Proper to Challenge Execution Procedure

Article • June 15, 2005 • from PLN June, 2005

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

U.S. Supreme Court Holds § 1983 Proper to Challenge Execution Procedure by U.S. Supreme Court Holds § 1983 Proper to Challenge Execution Procedure In an extremely limited," unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court held that an Alabama death row prisoner properly utilized 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to challenge a …

Leatherwood et al v. Campbell et al, AL, Mot to hold Def in Contempt, failure to treat accommodate HIV, 2005

Brief • February 17, 2005

Filed under: HIV/AIDS, Failure to Treat, Contempt (Civil Procedure)

Leatherwood et al v. Campbell et al, AL, Mot to hold Def in Contempt, failure to treat accommodate HIV, 2005 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA WESTERN DIVISION ) ) ) ) ANTONIO LEATHERWOOD, ERIC HOWARD, JERRY SANFORD, JOHN LEVINS, MICHAEL PATRICK, and, individually …

PHS Redux: Sued In A Dozen States, Contract Losses, Stock Plummets, Business Continues

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Prison Health Services, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Stroke, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

PHS Redux: Sued In A Dozen States, Contract Losses, Stock Plummets, Business Continues by by John E. Dannenberg Prison Health Services (PHS), a subsidiary of America Service Group, Inc. (ASG), continues to face lawsuits and lose contracts for its deplorable record of prisoner health care gaffes in a dozen states. …

Lack Of Deliberate Indifference Negates Constitutional Violation In Prisoner Suicide

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Mental Health, Suicides

Lack Of Deliberate Indifference Negates Constitutional Violation In Prisoner Suicide by The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that defendants in a § 1983 action stemming from a prisoner suicide did not violate the deceased's constitutional rights and were therefore entitled to summary judgement. Danny Ray …

Widespread Prisoner Labor Abuse Requires Reform

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor

Widespread Prisoner Labor Abuse Requires Reform by Gary Hunter Lonoke Mayor Thomas Privett and police Chief Jay Campbell were caught abusing the state's prisoner work program. Arkansas Department of Corrections requested, in early August 2005, that the program be suspended after learning that state prisoners had been used to repair …

BOP Proper Defendant in Work Release Change Suit under ADA

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Work Release, Injunctions, Federal Statutory Law, Administrative Procedures Act (Federal)

BOP Proper Defendant in Work Release Change Suit under ADA by The plaintiffs are criminal defendants who received judicial recommendations that they serve their sentences in a community corrections center, but were denied such placement pursuant to the Department of Justice's abruptly announced change of policy barring it except for …

Limbaugh v. Thompson, AL, Order, Native American Long Hair, 2003

Brief • September 29, 2003

Filed under: Native American

Limbaugh v. Thompson, AL, Order, Native American Long Hair, 2003 FILED IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAM~EP NORTHERN DIVISION JAMES LIMBAUGH, et aI., Plaintiffs, vs. LESLIE THOMPSON, et at, Defendants. NATIVE AMERICAN PRISONERS OF ALABAMA - TURTLE WIND CLAN, et aI., Plaintiffs, vs. STATE …

Supreme Court Holds No Immunity for Alabama Hitching Post

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

Filed under: Chain Gangs, Eighth Amendment, Water, Excessive Force, Restraints, Qualified Immunity

Supreme Court Holds No Immunity for Alabama Hitching Post by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that held government officials are entitled for qualified immunity unless there exists previous case law that is "materially similar" to the …

Hitching Post Unconstitutional

Article • March 15, 2002 • from PLN March, 2002

Filed under: Gang Policies, Work, Prison Labor, Chain Gangs, Eighth Amendment, Toilets, Water, Exposure to Heat, Restraints, Qualified Immunity

Hitching Post Unconstitutional by David Reutter The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that handcuffing a prisoner to a hitching post for prolonged periods violates the Eighth Amendment, but granted guards qualified immunity. Alabama prisoner Larry Hope was assigned to the chain gang at Limestone Correctional Facility …

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 …

Alabama Ends Chain Gang Experiment

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Prison Labor, Chain Gangs, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Clothing, Toilets, Water, Exposure to Heat, Restraints

Alabama Ends Chain Gang Experiment by A federal district court in Alabama has approved a settlement between Alabama state prisoners and the prison system, effectively ending Alabama's flirtation with chain gangs. The court also held that the practice of chaining prisoners to a "hitching post" is unconstitutional, cruel and unusual …

Harsh Hitching Post Treatment States Claim

Article • June 15, 2001 • from PLN June, 2001

Filed under: Prison Labor, Chain Gangs, Medical, Injury -- Misc., Food, Toilets, Water, Restraints

Harsh Hitching Post Treatment States Claim by An Alabama federal district Court ruled state prisoner Toby Fountain stated a cruel and unusual punishment claim under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for being tied to a hitching post for 9 hours. Alabama DOC authorizes the use of a "restraining bar," that is better …

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, …

Prison Legal News v. Haley, AL, Stipulation, Censorship, 2000

Brief • March 21, 2000

Filed under: Censorship

Prison Legal News v. Haley, AL, Stipulation, Censorship, 2000 IN 11IE UNITED 5.-a.~18 COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALA BAMA 6IMSf!r lIlIl~ PRISON I.EGAL NEWS, INC., and AYEN H . COTION , MAR 21 P b= 3b ) C~BR'" t'. :iA~ !\!:TT. HWDl[ OlS I Plaintiffs, CUI U.S. OISTIl …

Berton v. District of Columbia, Complaint, No Due Process, 1998

Brief • October 5, 1998

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Fourth Amendment, rights, Fourteenth Amendment, rights

Berton v. District of Columbia, Complaint, No Due Process, 1998 \~l i"~ SUPERIOR'LOURT OF THE DISTRICT OF C~8tJMBIA CIVIL DIVISION ?:'.,:,y.'" --~~" ~-", BERNARD E. BERTON, Jlt.~~" DCDC Number 146-447 POst Office Box 85 Occoquan Facility Lorton, Virginia 22199 (\( "\(p ~\ Plaintiff CIVIL ACTION us. (;; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, …

Austin v. Hopper, AL, Judgment, Chain-Gang Claim, 1998

Brief • August 10, 1998

Filed under: Chain Gangs, Eighth Amendment, Attorneys

Austin v. Hopper, AL, Judgment, Chain-Gang Claim, 1998 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE .... MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA , MICHAEL A. AUSTIN, RICHARD ELLIOT, OGlE LEE HAYES, CHARLES ORLANDER GUESS, WARREN LEATHERWOOD, and KERVIN GOODWIN, Plaintiffs, v. Defendant. oJ . '" _ •• ) ) …