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Floreal-Wooten v. Washington County Detention Center, AK, Settlement, Medical Treatments-Covid, 2023

Brief • September 14, 2023

Filed under: Consent to Treatment, Forcible Treatment, COVID-19

Floreal-Wooten v. Washington County Detention Center, AK, Settlement, Medical Treatments-Covid, 2023 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS For and in consideration of the payment of the total and final sum of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000.00), to be paid in the following manner: TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS I ($2,000.00) paid to …

News in Brief

Article • August 15, 2023 • from PLN August, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

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. …

News in Brief

Article • July 15, 2023 • from PLN July, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

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 …

Eighth Circuit Greenlights Arkansas Execution Protocol

Article • June 15, 2023 • from PLN June, 2023

Filed under: Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Eighth Circuit Greenlights Arkansas Execution Protocol by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett Despite finding a “paucity of reliable scientific evidence concerning the effect of large doses of midazolam on humans,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit didn’t halt its use in Arkansas’s three-drug execution protocol. To the …

News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2023 • from PLN June, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: A private prison guard in Arizona was picked up on drug charges in California on April 18, 2023, as he made his way back from Mexico with his wife and kids – along with almost 53 pounds of meth and heroin stashed in the gas …

Floreal-Wooten v. Helder, AR, Memo Opinion and Order, Covid-19, 2023

Brief • March 16, 2023

Filed under: COVID-19

Floreal-Wooten v. Helder, AR, Memo Opinion and Order, Covid-19, 2023 Case 5:22-cv-05011-TLB Document 51 Filed 03/16/23 Page 1 of 15 PageID #: 398 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS FAYETTEVILLE DIVISION EDRICK FLOREAL-WOOTEN; JEREMIAH LITTLE; JULIO GONZALES; DAYMAN BLACKBURN; and THOMAS FRITCH V. PLAINTIFFS CASE NO. …

Eighth Circuit Affirms Conviction and Sentencing of Former Arkansas Sheriff for Assaulting Detainees

Article • March 1, 2023 • from PLN March, 2023

Filed under: Assault by Police, Police Misconduct

Eighth Circuit Affirms Conviction and Sentencing of Former Arkansas Sheriff for Assaulting Detainees by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead On February 10, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the judgment of a district court that convicted the former Sheriff of Arkansas’ Franklin County and sentenced …

News in Brief

Article • February 1, 2023 • from PLN February, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: WHNT in Huntsville reported on December 16, 2022, that a Morgan County Jail detainee was charged with assaulting a guard. Ashley Nicole Taymon, 36, had gotten into an altercation at the Community Corrections Office five days earlier and was taken to a hospital. There she …

Price v. Turn Key Health Clinics, LLC, AR, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2023

Brief • January 13, 2023

Filed under: Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Price v. Turn Key Health Clinics, LLC, AR, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2023 Case 2:23-cv-02008-PKH Document 2 Filed 01/13/23 Page 1 of 29 PagelD #: 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS FORT SMITH DIVISION THE ESTATE OF LARRY EUGENE PRICE JR, by and through its Special …

COVID-19 Stimulus Garnished From Federal Prisoner, but Only After Eighth Circuit Says ‘Not So Fast’

Article • November 30, 2022 • from PLN December, 2022

Filed under: COVID-19, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

COVID-19 Stimulus Garnished From Federal Prisoner, but Only After Eighth Circuit Says ‘Not So Fast’ by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On March 28, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit ruled that money may not be withdrawn from a federal prisoner’s trust account, even to …

Arkansas Supreme Court Rules Felony Enhancements Subject to Parole Eligibility Statute in Place at Time of Crime

Article • November 30, 2022 • from PLN December, 2022

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release

Arkansas Supreme Court Rules Felony Enhancements Subject to Parole Eligibility Statute in Place at Time of Crime by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett On May 26, 2022, the Supreme Court of Arkansas held the state Department of Corrections (DOC) miscalculated parole-eligibility dates for a pair of state prisoners, causing a …

Eighth Circuit Says Judge Dismissing Claim of Federal Prisoner in Arkansas Was Premature in Counting It a PLRA ‘Strike’

Article • November 30, 2022 • from PLN December, 2022

Filed under: PLRA, Dismissal

Eighth Circuit Says Judge Dismissing Claim of Federal Prisoner in Arkansas Was Premature in Counting It a PLRA ‘Strike’ by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On January 12, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said a lower court erred in declaring that a federal prisoner’s dismissed …

Eighth Circuit Rules Federal Prisoner Need Only Know Item Is Prohibited To Support Conviction for Possession of Contraband

Article • October 31, 2022 • from PLN November, 2022

Filed under: Possession in Furtherance of Drug Offense

Eighth Circuit Rules Federal Prisoner Need Only Know Item Is Prohibited To Support Conviction for Possession of Contraband by David Reutter by David M. Reutter How much actual knowledge does a prisoner need to have of items in his possession to support a contraband conviction? According to the U.S. Court …

$2.5 Million in Confiscated COVID-19 Relief Funds Returned to Arkansas Prisoners After Court Issues Injunction

Article • September 30, 2022 • from PLN October, 2022

Filed under: COVID-19, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

$2.5 Million in Confiscated COVID-19 Relief Funds Returned to Arkansas Prisoners After Court Issues Injunction by David Reutter by David M. Reutter As of June 6, 2022, the Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) had returned $2,551,198 in confiscated federal relief or stimulus funds to state prisoners, according to Communications Director …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2022 • from PLN August, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On June 3, 2022, a guard was arrested for having sex with a prisoner at Alabama’s Pickens County Jail, according to a report by WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi. The guard, Marquita Booker, 28, was fired after her arrest, which followed an investigation that earlier in …

Eighth Circuit Reinstates Arkansas Prisoner’s Claim Over DOC’s Failure to Maintain Hearing Aids

Article • July 15, 2022 • from PLN July, 2022

Filed under: Correct Care Solutions, Hearing, Failure to Treat, Malpractice, Eighth Amendment, Americans with Disabilities Act

Eighth Circuit Reinstates Arkansas Prisoner’s Claim Over DOC’s Failure to Maintain Hearing Aids by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On January 10, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that an Arkansas prisoner had not failed to state an actionable claim against prison medical officials when …

$7,000 Default Judgment Awarded in Failure to Protect Suit Against Former Arkansas Jail Guard

Article • June 1, 2022 • from PLN June, 2022

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Settlements

$7,000 Default Judgment Awarded in Failure to Protect Suit Against Former Arkansas Jail Guard by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead On November 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas awarded $7,000 in compensatory damages to a state prisoner who, while held in a Pine Bluff …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2022 • from PLN May, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard in Birmingham was arrested on March 9, 2022, for allegedly beating a prisoner to death, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. As PLN previously reported, prison officials at first insisted no foul play was suspected in the death of Victor …

News In Brief

Article • April 1, 2022 • from PLN April, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News In Brief by Arizona: After two escaped prisoners were recaptured and returned to the Arizona State Prison in Florence on January 31, 2021, Phoenix station KNXV reported that at least part of the blame for their escape was assigned to short-staffing of guards at the state Department of Corrections …

Hayes v. Graves, AR, Order, Covid Relief Payments, 2022

Brief • March 16, 2022

Filed under: COVID-19

Hayes v. Graves, AR, Order, Covid Relief Payments, 2022 Case: 4:21-cv-00529-LPR Document#: 23-0 Filed: 03/16/2022 Page 1 of 24 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS CENTRAL DIVISION PLAINTIFF STEVEN C. HAYES, ADC # 657050 v. Master Case: 4:21-cv-00347-LPR Member Case: 4:21-cv-00347-LPR SOLOMON GRAVES, in his official …