No Jail Time for Former Arizona Prisons Director After Armed Standoff With Cops by Charles Ryan, former Director of Arizona’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (DCRR), was sentenced on February 9, 2024, for an armed and drunken standoff with cops at his Tempe home in January 2022. However, there …
Ninth Circuit Revives Challenge by Federal Prisoner in Arizona to BOP’s 300-Minute Monthly Phone Cap by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On July 3, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) …
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Treat No Evil: Centurion and the Curse of For-Profit Prison Healthcare by J.D. Schmidt by J.D. Schmidt On November 14, 2022, the Florida arm of Centurion Health, one of the nation’s largest private prison and jail healthcare companies, filed a lawsuit in Putnam County …
George Floyd’s Killer Stabbed 22 Times in Federal Prison in Arizona by On November 24, 2023, Derek Chauvin, 47, the former Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd—touching off nationwide protests against police brutality in summer 2020—was stabbed 22 times at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Tucson, Arizona, where …
News in Brief by Alabama: Within 48-hours of booking into the Morgan County Jail on August 29, 2023, Miles Rea Batson, 39, had two second-degree assault charges added to his public intoxication charge as well as another for disarming a law enforcement agent. WHNT in Huntsville reported that during booking …
$100,000 Settlement Reached With Corizon Health for Failure to Provide Arizona Prisoner Eye Care by On July 25, 2022, a settlement was reached between Corizon Health, Inc. and an Arizona prisoner to whom it allegedly denied eye care, resulting in partial vision loss. Under the agreement, the firm owes $100,000 …
Arizona Governor Creates Independent Prison Oversight Commission by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On January 25, 2023, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed Executive Order No. 6, establishing an Independent Prison Oversight Commission (IPOC). Created to address the “urgent need to provide transparency and accountability of Arizona’s corrections system,” Hobbs …
Condemned Arizona Prisoner Reprieved by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart On June 22, 2023, the chief prosecutor in Arizona’s Maricopa County dropped a suit filed to force the state to execute condemned prisoner Aaron Gunches. As previously reported by PLN, the state Supreme Court issued a death warrant on March …
Estate of Austin Georgatos v. State of Arizona, AZ, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2023 Vinesign Document ID: E7ACDA82-D751-4F91-8FBF-805915C138BC SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Release (the "Settlement Agreement") is made and entered into by and among: "Plaintiffs": Julie Georgatos, as surviving parent of Austin Georgatos and as the personal …
Fox v. Arizona, AZ, Order Granting Dft's Motion for Summary Judgment, Sexual Assault, 2023 Case 2:21-cv-01089-MTL Document 177 Filed 11/07/23 Page 1 of 12 1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Marcella Fox, No. CV-21-01089-PHX-MTL Ms. …
News in Brief by Alabama: On August 12, 2023, an Alabama jail guard was caught – in uniform – stealing Pokemon cards from a Walmart. WBMA in Birmingham reported that Josh Hardy then fled store security on foot before cops caught him in a nearby restaurant. Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew …
Waller v. City of Nogales, AZ, Opposition to Dft's Motion for Summary Judgment, Excessive Force, 2023 1 2 3 4 5 Paul Gattone Arizona Bar # 012482 LAW OFFICE OF PAUL GATTONE 301 S. Convent Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 623-1922 Attorney for Plaintiff 6 IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT FOR …
Exasperated Federal Judge Issues Permanent Injunction to Arizona DOC in Healthcare Class-Action by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On April 7, 2023, a visibly annoyed U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver issued a highly-detailed permanent injunction (PI) specifying what must be done by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry …
Waller v. City of Nogales, AZ, Opposition to Nogales Dft's Motion for Summary Judgment, Excessive Force, 2023 1 2 3 4 5 Paul Gattone Arizona Bar # 012482 LAW OFFICE OF PAUL GATTONE 301 S. Convent Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 623-1922 Attorney for Plaintiff 6 IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT …
News in Brief by Alabama: A state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard was arrested on June 10, 2023, for allegedly smuggling drugs, including meth, to a prisoner at Kilby Correctional Facility, 1819 News reported. Charlie Townsend, 28, resigned from his position upon his arrest by the Law Enforcement Services Division. …
Arizona Prisoner Released from Death Row by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman After 29 years in prison, condemned Arizona prisoner Barry Lee Jones was freed on June 15, 2023. Callous state prison officials dropped him on a street in Phoenix. Undeterred, Jones walked in the heat to the only address …
SCOTUS Overrules Arizona Supreme Court, Allows Death Row Prisoner to Proceed With State Habeas Action by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) held that its decision in Lynch v. Arizona, 578 U.S. 613 (2016), was a “significant change” in …
Email U.S. DOJ-Civil Rights Division-US Findings Amd Conclusions of Investigation of the State of Arizona DOC, July 2023 U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Disability Rights Section 4 Constitution Square 150 M St., NE Washington, DC 20530 July 19, 2023 VIA EMAIL Ryan Thornell, Director Ashley Oddo, General Counsel …
News in Brief by Alabama: A guard with the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was indicted on April 27, 2023, on charges he sexually abused two prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Aliceville, according to a report by the Birmingham News. Robert D. Smith allegedly had sexual intercourse …
Arizona Exploiting Prisoner Labor for Profit by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss A new constitutional amendment proposed to Congress in June 2023 would remove the exception for prisoners to the U.S. ban on slavery. The effort follows a report from Arizona in December 2022, which found that private firms …
