Innocence Project Blasts Lack of Consequences from Prosecutorial Misconduct by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna The Innocence Project has published a report that examines the lack of consequences for prosecutors who engage in misconduct resulting in the conviction and imprisonment of innocent defendants. The non-profit organization examined court records in …
Texas City Settles Suit Over Jail Prisoner’s Death for $1.25 Million by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Clarke In April 2016, the City of Arlington, Texas agreed to pay the estate of a man who died in the municipal jail $1.25 million to settle a wrongful death suit. Two jailers were …
Coffey v. Ochiltree County, TX, Magistrate Report Re Settlement, 2017 Case 2:16-cv-00071-J-BB Document 85 Filed 03/29/17 Page 1 of 5 PageID 414 r ('·': 1,Jj IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS AMARILLO DIVISION DEPUTY JOELLA VERLEE COFFEY and TERRY, MAY, in their individual capacity …
Fifth Circuit Holds Court May Compel Attorney to Represent Indigent Prisoner by Matthew Clarke In a November 13, 2015 ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held a district court may compel a lawyer to represent an indigent prisoner challenging prison conditions. Mario Naranjo was incarcerated at the Reeves County …
Texas Court of Appeals Upholds Termination of Prisoners’ Parental Rights by In January 2016, in separate cases, the Texas Court of Appeals upheld the termination of two prisoners’ parental rights after they used drugs and were incarcerated multiple times while child-removal actions were pending. Jade, a fictitious name given to …
Prisoner Suicides and Attempts Increasing in Texas by Matthew Clarke The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) reported a 40% increase in suicides between 2008 and 2014. As of September 2015, the average number of suicide attempts in Texas prisons each month had jumped 28% from 81.7 attempts per month …
Fifth Circuit: Staff Misleading Prisoner about Grievance Process Excuses Failure to Exhaust by Matthew Clarke On August 17, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Texas prisoner’s failure to fully exhaust administrative remedies was excused because jail staff had misled him about grievance procedures. Grady Allen Davis …
Texas District Attorney and Prosecutor Accused, Cleared of Misconduct by Matthew Clarke In June 2015, the State Bar of Texas initiated disciplinary actions against Fort Bend County District Attorney John Francis Healey, Jr. and Assistant District Attorney Mark Harold Hanna. The disciplinary petitions filed by the State Bar Commission for …
When an Old Law Makes it Hard to Fix a Troubled Jail by Alysia Santo A federal statute from the Carter era favors negotiation, but that can take a long time. by Alysia Santo, The Marshall Project The Harris County jail in Houston is among the nation’s largest, and it’s also …
Federal Court Certifies Class in Texas Prison Excessive Heat Lawsuit by Matthew Clarke On January 22, 2016, a federal district court in Texas certified a class and two subclasses, and appointed class counsel, in a lawsuit challenging excessive heat at a state prison. Keith Cole, Ray Wilson, Jackie Brannum, Dean …
Escape is Latest Problem at Troubled Privately-run Texas Jail by Matthew Clarke In October 2015, Phillip Henry Freeman disappeared from the Liberty County Jail near Houston, Texas. He was recaptured living in a wooded area in Arkansas in late January 2016. His escape was the latest in a slew of …
Coffey v. Ochiltree County, TX, Settlement Agreement, Jail Suicide, 2017 Case 2:16-cv-00071-J-BB Document 83 Filed 03/09/17 Page 1 of 18 PageID 395 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS AMARILLO DIVISION JOELLA VERLEE COFFEY and TERRY MAY, in Their Individual Capacities and on Behalf of …
Ross v. City of Sulphur Spring, TX, Amended Complaint, Wrongful Death TASER, 2017 Case 4:16-cv-00095-RAS-CAN Document 66 Filed 03/03/17 Page 1 of 30 PageID #: 273 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS SHERMAN DIVISION SHELLEY ROSS, as REPRESENTATIVE of the ESTATE of TONY CHANCE …
Thomas v. Williams, Fifth Circuit, Appellate Brief, Police Entry Without Warrant, 2017 Case No. 16-20783 __________________________________________________________ IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT __________________________________________________________ BARBARA ANN THOMAS; JOHN THOMAS, Plaintiffs - Appellants v. J. J. WILLIAMS, Defendant - Appellee _______________________________________ Appeal from the United States District …
‘She Was Afraid To Go Back To Jail’ by By Liz Adetiba, The Huffington Post Athena Covarrubias, 40, was arrested in August 2015 on a drug charge and three bond forfeiture warrants. She was taken to Texas’ Travis County Jail, where she hanged herself 12 days later. Her cousin, Kelly …
Texas’ Largest Jail Hasn’t Learned Much From Sandra Bland’s Death by Poor and frightened people are still dying in this understaffed facility. By Ryan J. Reilly & Dana Liebelson, The Huffington Post Harris County Jail, which serves the Houston area, is one of the largest jails in the country. Like …
BOP Pays $31,491 for Biased EEOC Investigation by The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was ordered to pay $31,491 in an employee’s Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint. The complaint was filed by Sheila R. Hendley, a former Inmates Systems Officer at the Federal Prison Camp in El Paso, Texas. She …
BOP Pays $22,500 Settlement in Retaliation Claim by The federal Bureau of Prisons paid $22,500 to settle a lawsuit claiming retaliation. The suit was brought by James M. Hedge, an Administrative Assistant Warden at the Federal Correction Complex in Beaumont, Texas. Hedge alleged that in 1997 he was subject to …
ICE Bans Crayons in Family Detention Center Visiting Area by Prisoners who cause property damage in correctional facilities often receive swift punishment. It was no different for the very young prisoners held in one of the United States’ most controversial detention centers. Housed with their immigrant mothers in the GEO …
Texas: “San Antonio Four” Exonerated after Two Decades by In 1997, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez were convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls. The women came to be known as the “San Antonio Four.” With help from the Innocence Project of Texas, all four were …
