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After Second Circuit Rules in His Favor, Connecticut Prisoner Required to Exercise in Full Restraints for Six Months Takes $100,000 Settlement

Article • February 1, 2022 • from PLN February, 2022

Filed under: Exercise, Restraints, Settlements

After Second Circuit Rules in His Favor, Connecticut Prisoner Required to Exercise in Full Restraints for Six Months Takes $100,000 Settlement by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke After a federal appeals court vacated a district court’s judgment in favor of Connecticut prison officials, they settled for $100,000 with a prisoner …

Second Circuit: Supervisor Must Have Subjective Knowledge of Sexual Abuse by Guards to Be Liable

Article • January 1, 2022 • from PLN January, 2022

Filed under: Supervisory Liability

Second Circuit: Supervisor Must Have Subjective Knowledge of Sexual Abuse by Guards to Be Liable by On December 28, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a prisoner who was sexually abused by three guards must prove their supervisor had subjective knowledge of the …

Second Circuit Reversed Dismissal of Former BOP Prisoner’s FTCA Claim Against Dentist

Article • November 1, 2021 • from PLN November, 2021

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Federal Tort Claims Act

Second Circuit Reversed Dismissal of Former BOP Prisoner’s FTCA Claim Against Dentist by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a former federal prisoner’s complaint brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The court concluded that a state rule …

New Connecticut Law Eliminates Prison Gerrymandering

Article • October 1, 2021 • from PLN October, 2021

Filed under: Voting, Rural Prisons

New Connecticut Law Eliminates Prison Gerrymandering by On May 26, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed S.B. 753, Public Act 21-13, which created a new statute requiring the state to count most imprisoned persons as residents of the district where they were living before they were imprisoned for purposes of …

Barfield v. Semple, CT, Joint Status Report, HepC Treatment, 2021

Brief • September 20, 2021

Filed under: Hepatitis

Barfield v. Semple, CT, Joint Status Report, HepC Treatment, 2021 Case 3:18-cv-01198-MPS Document 197 Filed 09/20/21 Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT ROBERT BARFIELD, ET AL., V. ANGEL QUIROS : : : : : CIVIL NO. 3:18-CV-1198 (MPS) SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 JOINT STATUS REPORT On …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2021 • from PLN August, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On June 9, 2021, a former guard at the Federal Correctional Institution in Aliceville, Alabama, agreed to plead guilty to federal charges that he had sexual intercourse with a prisoner in the laundry room at the women’s prison west of Tuscaloosa. According to the Birmingham …

Connecticut Makes All Prison Communications Free, Makes History

Article • August 1, 2021 • from PLN August, 2021

Filed under: Telephone Rates

Connecticut Makes All Prison Communications Free, Makes History by Daniel A. Rosen Connecticut made history on June 16, 2020, when Governor Lamont signed Senate Bill 972, making the state the first in the country where prison phone calls will be free for all prisoners and their families, including incarcerated youth. …

Second Circuit Holds Control Unit Placement for Former Death Row Prisoners Unconstitutional Bill of Attainder

Article • August 1, 2021 • from PLN August, 2021

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Second Circuit Holds Control Unit Placement for Former Death Row Prisoners Unconstitutional Bill of Attainder by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Connecticut federal district court’s order that found a state law was an unconstitutional bill of attainder because it was intended …

Staten v. Semple, CT, Settlement, Wrongful Death - Medical Neglect, 2021

Brief • July 7, 2021

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Staten v. Semple, CT, Settlement, Wrongful Death - Medical Neglect, 2021 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONNECTICUT July 23, 2021 Carolyn Mercier Assistant Division Director Office of the Comptroller Budget and Financial Analysis Division 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Re: Keshanna D. Staten, Adm. of the Estate of Karon …

Federal Court Orders Release of Documents for Connecticut Prison Cancer Death

Article • July 1, 2021 • from PLN July, 2021

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Inadequate Health Care Facilities

Federal Court Orders Release of Documents for Connecticut Prison Cancer Death by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A Connecticut federal district court ordered the release of information related to prison health care. The court’s November 3, 2020, order was issued in a civil rights action alleging Connecticut prison officials …

Second Circuit Holds Connecticut Can’t Indemnify Guard in Assault Case Then Seek Cost of Incarceration; $650,000 Awarded in Failure to Protect Case

Article • July 1, 2021 • from PLN July, 2021

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General)

Second Circuit Holds Connecticut Can’t Indemnify Guard in Assault Case Then Seek Cost of Incarceration; $650,000 Awarded in Failure to Protect Case by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that Connecticut was preempted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 from indemnifying a guard and …

Connecticut Supermax Closing After Lawsuit Filed Seeking to Reduce Use of Solitary

Article • June 1, 2021 • from PLN June, 2021

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Supermax prisons

Connecticut Supermax Closing After Lawsuit Filed Seeking to Reduce Use of Solitary by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced on February 9, 2021, that the state Department of Correction (DOC) would permanently close its Northern Correctional Institution (Northern) in Somers by July 1. The announcement came …

Connecticut Prisoner Population Lowest in Over Three Decades Due to Coronavirus

Article • June 1, 2021 • from PLN June, 2021

Filed under: COVID-19, Reduction of Prison Population

Connecticut Prisoner Population Lowest in Over Three Decades Due to Coronavirus by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney According to the Connecticut Post, as of January 23, 2021, the number of people confined in Connecticut jails and prisons was 9,083—the lowest it has been in the last 32 years. That number …

CT Substitute Senate Bill No. 753, an Act Concerning the Counting of Incarcerated Individuals for Determining Voting Districts 2021

Publication • 2021

Filed under: Incarcerated Felons

CT Substitute Senate Bill No. 753, an Act Concerning the Counting of Incarcerated Individuals for Determining Voting Districts 2021 Substitute Senate Bill No. 753 Public Act No. 21-13 AN ACT CONCERNING THE COUNTING OF CERTAIN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING STATE LEGISLATIVE AND MUNICIPAL VOTING DISTRICTS. Be it enacted …

Barfield v. Semple, CT, Courtroom Minutes - Denial of Settlement Agreement, HepC Treatment, 2021

Brief • May 17, 2021

Filed under: Hepatitis

Barfield v. Semple, CT, Courtroom Minutes - Denial of Settlement Agreement, HepC Treatment, 2021 Case 3:18-cv-01198-MPS Document 162 Filed 05/17/21 Page 1 of 1 Civil- (Dec-2008) HONORABLE: Michael P. Shea - Hybrid/Zoom CLERKD. Johnson RPTR/ECRO/TAPEJ. Monette DEPUTY hours 26 minutes DATE: May 17, 2021 TOTAL TIME: START TIME: 2:00 LUNCH …

Barfield v. Semple, CT, Proposed Settlement Agreement, HepC Treatment, 2021

Brief • May 3, 2021

Filed under: Hepatitis

Barfield v. Semple, CT, Proposed Settlement Agreement, HepC Treatment, 2021 Case 3:18-cv-01198-MPS Document 151 Filed 05/03/21 Page 1 of 23 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT ___________________________________________ ) ROBERT BARFIELD, et al ) Plaintiffs ) ) V. ) ) ANGEL QUIROS ) Defendant, in his official capacity ) As …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2021 • from PLN May, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2021, Huntsville TV station WHNT reported a delay in the trial on theft and ethics charges of Mike Blakely, sheriff of Limestone County, Alabama. According to the report, retired Colbert County Circuit Judge Pride Tompkins, who had been appointed to hear the case …

Birch v. Town of New Milford, CT, Complaint, Wrongful Conviction, 2021

Brief • April 16, 2021

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Birch v. Town of New Milford, CT, Complaint, Wrongful Conviction, 2021 Case 3:20-cv-01790-VAB Document 54 Filed 04/16/21 Page 1 of 57 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT RALPH BIRCH, Plaintiff, No. 3:20-CV-1790 (VAB) v. TOWN OF NEW MILFORD; ANDREW OCIF; SCOTT O’MARA; JOHN MUCHERINO; STEVEN JORDAN; JOSEPH QUARTIERO; MICHAEL …

Connecticut Lawmakers Refuse to Address Corrections Issues During Pandemic

Article • April 1, 2021 • from PLN April, 2021

Filed under: Criminal justice system reform, COVID-19

Connecticut Lawmakers Refuse to Address Corrections Issues During Pandemic by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Reform groups in Connecticut have been riding the wave of protests in America to pressure the Connecticut Legislature into making lasting reforms and addressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the results have …

Disability Rights Connecticut v Connecticut Department of Correction, CT, Complaint, Solitary Confinement, 2021

Brief • February 4, 2021

Filed under: Medication, Americans with Disabilities Act, PAMII Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Disability Rights Connecticut v Connecticut Department of Correction, CT, Complaint, Solitary Confinement, 2021 Case 3:21-cv-00146 Document 1 Filed 02/04/21 Page 1 of 60 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT DISABILITY RIGHTS CONNECTICUT, INC., on behalf of its constituents, Plaintiff, Civil Action No. 3:21-cv-_________ v. CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION; COMPLAINT …