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From the Editor

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Editorials

From the Editor by Paul Wright by Paul Wright This month’s cover story on prison’s using doctors with revoked or suspended medical licenses is an ongoing story for PLN readers. Given the six figure salaries prison doctors are paid it seems odd that the government can’t find any medical staff …

Human Rights Defense Center Prevails in Censorship Lawsuit Against Napa County Jail, California

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Settlements, PLN Litigation, Censorship

Human Rights Defense Center Prevails in Censorship Lawsuit Against Napa County Jail, California by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the parent company of Prison Legal News (PLN), entered into a stipulation and consent decree involving Napa County, California’s jail, on June 11, 2020, settling a …

California State Auditor’s Report Faults Counties for Waste and Poor Oversight of State Funds Used in “Public Safety Realignment”

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Public Safety Concerns

California State Auditor’s Report Faults Counties for Waste and Poor Oversight of State Funds Used in “Public Safety Realignment” by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna A report by the California State Auditor found that Los Angles, Alameda, and Fresno counties have failed to properly account for funds provided to them …

Modest Decline in Prison and Jail Populations in Spring 2021

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Criminal justice system reform, Reduction of Prison Population

Modest Decline in Prison and Jail Populations in Spring 2021 by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In June 2021, the Vera Institute of Justice issued a report entitled People in Jail and Prison in Spring 2021, detailing the changes in jail and prison populations through the end of March 2021. …

FCC Takes Further Action on Prison and Jail Phone Rates

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Telephone Rates

FCC Takes Further Action on Prison and Jail Phone Rates by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman A review of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report and adopted order on rates for interstate inmate calling services (ICS), released May 24, 2021. When this rule takes effect—90days after its release—ICS interstate call …

Seventh Circuit: PLRA Mandates Dismissal for Deceit on IFP Application

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: PLRA, Indigent Defense, False Statements/Perjury

Seventh Circuit: PLRA Mandates Dismissal for Deceit on IFP Application by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that when a prisoner deliberately misrepresents their financial status when seeking in forma pauperis (IFP)status, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires dismissal. In another case …

Federal BOP Overwhelmingly Denies Compassionate Releases During COVID

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: COVID-19, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Federal BOP Overwhelmingly Denies Compassionate Releases During COVID by Daniel A. Rosen by Daniel A. Rosen Throughout the pandemic, The Marshall Project (TMP) has done thorough and comprehensive reporting about the impact of COVID in prisons and on prisoners. Staff writers Joseph Neff and Keri Blakinger recently looked at the …

HRDC Sues Florida DOC Over Censorship, for the Third Time in 18 Years

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, Prison Mail

HRDC Sues Florida DOC Over Censorship, for the Third Time in 18 Years by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman The publisher of Prison Legal News(PLN)and Criminal Legal News (CLN)filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) on August 10, 2021, for “ongoing censorship” of both monthly publications …

Fourth Circuit: No Privacy Expectation Exists for Prisoner in Diagnosis and Treatment of HIV

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: HIV/AIDS, Privacy Act

Fourth Circuit: No Privacy Expectation Exists for Prisoner in Diagnosis and Treatment of HIV by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner does not have a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in his HIV status while in a prison medical unit. The …

Pandemic Medical Update: The Delta Surge

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: COVID-19

Pandemic Medical Update: The Delta Surge by Michael D. Cohen, MD by Michael D. Cohen MD The U.S. is experiencing the worst increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths since last winter. As I write in mid-August there are more than 150,000 new cases per day and over 1,000 daily …

These Meds Prevent Overdoses. Few Federal Prisoners Are Getting Them

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Drug Overdose, First Step Act, Drug Treatment/Rehab

These Meds Prevent Overdoses. Few Federal Prisoners Are Getting Them by Beth Schwartzapfel Three years after the First Step Act required the Bureau of Prisons to treat more people with medications for opioid addiction, only a tiny fraction are receiving them. by Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project In 2018, Congress …

Massachusetts Cop Indicted for Lying About Checking Cell of Prisoner Who Died of Drug Overdose

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Drug Overdose, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, False Statements/Perjury

Massachusetts Cop Indicted for Lying About Checking Cell of Prisoner Who Died of Drug Overdose by In May 2021, a former Brockton, Massachusetts police officer was indicted for allegedly lying about performing checks on a man in police custody who died in his cell of a drug overdose. Alfonso Brandao, …

New Clemency Rules Expected to Expedite Civil Rights Restoration in Florida

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Pardons/Clemency, Voting Rights

New Clemency Rules Expected to Expedite Civil Rights Restoration in Florida by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The Florida Cabinet and Governor Ron DeSantis collaborated to restructure the state’s clemency rules, streamlining the application process and automating certain aspects in an effort to expedite civil rights restoration for ex-offenders. The …

Florida Files Environmental Lawsuit Against Phosphate Company Pollution

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Environmental Law

Florida Files Environmental Lawsuit Against Phosphate Company Pollution by Panagioti Tsolkas Prisoners Remain Exposed and Without Evacuation Plans by Panagioti Tsolkas "We kept seeing them move the cows, but they didn’t move us.” That was one reply to a series of interviews with people recently held at the Manatee County …

HRDC Sues Illinois DOC Under FOIA, Again, for GTL Contract Details

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Telephone Rates, PLN Litigation, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

HRDC Sues Illinois DOC Under FOIA, Again, for GTL Contract Details by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On August 18, 2021, a lawsuit was filed in the circuit court for Cook County in Chicago, Illinois by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the publisher of Prison Legal News (PLN) and …

The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Cell Phone Access

The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant shut-downs have focused attention on the need for connection between all members of society, and for many prisoners, denied in-person visits, a contraband cellphone has helped them keep in touch with …

San Diego Jail Approves Free Phone and Video Calls

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Telephone Rates, Video Visitation

San Diego Jail Approves Free Phone and Video Calls by The County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (Board) voted unanimously February 27, 2021 to stop charging prisoners and detainees in county jails and juvenile detention centers for phone calls. The initiative called for the Board to develop a plan …

Lawsuit Over Alabama Private Mega-Prison Leases Dismissed

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic

Lawsuit Over Alabama Private Mega-Prison Leases Dismissed by Daniel A. Rosen by Daniel A. Rosen An Alabama judge recently ruled on a legal challenge seeking to block Governor Kay Ivey’s plan to lease three new privately-built mega-prisons in the state, siding with the Governor. Republican State Auditor Jim Ziegler and …

Eighth Circuit Holds Lack of “Clearly Established” Law Requiring Staffer to Notify of Prisoner’s Suicide Risk Prevented Damages

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Suicides

Eighth Circuit Holds Lack of “Clearly Established” Law Requiring Staffer to Notify of Prisoner’s Suicide Risk Prevented Damages by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Finding that qualified immunity prevented a lawsuit against a jailer who failed to notify a receiving jail that a prisoner was at-risk for suicide and he …

$10 Million Settlement in Taser Death of Mentally Ill Man in South Carolina Jail

Article • September 1, 2021 • from PLN September, 2021

Filed under: Stun Guns/Tasers, Settlements, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Mental Health

$10 Million Settlement in Taser Death of Mentally Ill Man in South Carolina Jail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The death of a Black man who was Tasered multiple times at South Carolina’s Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston is the latest case to raise questions about …