News in Brief by Alabama: According to WSFA in Montgomery, a guard at the Montgomery County Detention Center was charged on July 18, 2023, with conspiracy to provide contraband to a prisoner as well as bribing a public official. Timothy Bernard Summerlin, 33, had worked at the lockup for roughly …
Prison Ministry Sues Indiana Jail Over Book Ban by Unshackled Hearts is a central Indiana prison ministry that says its mission is to bring spiritual “restoration and freedom” to incarcerated Hoosiers through bible study, positive communication, and heart healing. But it hit a wall at the Howard County Jail (HCJ) …
Estate of Joshua McLemore v. Jackson County, IN, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2023 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE This Settlement Agreement and Release ("Agreement") is made and entered into by and between Melita Ladner, as Administratrix of the Estate of Joshua A McLemore ("Plaintiff') and Jackson County, Indiana; Rick Meyer, Jackson County …
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 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 …
Seventh Circuit: Low IQ and Segregation Placement May Render Administrative Remedies Unavailable to Indiana Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On February 3, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reinstated an Indiana prisoner’s civil rights complaint that had been dismissed because he failed to …
“Urine In Apple Juice”: Aramark Sued by Indiana Prisoner by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On June 20, 2023, a lawsuit accusing prison food service giant Aramark Correctional Services survived screening under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, in the federal court for the Southern District …
“Night of Terror” in Indiana Jail Sees Detainees Assaulted by Fellow Prisoners Who Purchased Cell Keys From Guard by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss An Indiana jail guard and a jail detainee are headed to trial in the summer of 2023 on charges that the guard sold the detainee …
Schizophrenic Detainee Dies after 20 days in Solitary Confinement in Indiana Jail by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A lawsuit filed on April 12, 2023, accuses the jail in Indiana’s Jackson County of deliberate indifference to the serious medical need of a detainee who had been held in …
Estate of Joshua McLemore v. Jackson County, IN, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2023 Case 4:23-cv-00057-TWP-KMB Document 1 Filed 04/12/23 Page 1 of 47 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA NEW ALBANY DIVISION THE ESTATE OF JOSHUA A. McLEMORE, by and through its Administrator, Melita …
News in Brief by Alabama: WBAM in Birmingham reported that a guard at the Blount County Jail was taken into custody and fired on January 31, 2023. Joseph Snow, 43, was charged with second-degree assault for injuring a detainee during an incident captured on surveillance video. Sheriff Mike Moon called …
Indiana Will Now Send Low-Level Felons to Prison Instead of Jail by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian On July 1, 2022, Indiana House Enrolled Act No. 1004 took effect, amending sections of the state code governing parole, supervised release, and placement in community corrections programs in ways that primarily …
News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: On January 9, 2023, the Montgomery Police Department (MPD) arrested a guard at the city jail for an alleged off-duty assault, the Birmingham News reported. It’s unclear who filed the misdemeanor complaint against Reba Foulks, 36; MPD didn’t begin its investigation until …
Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim He Was Wrongfully Fired From Prison Commissary for Attending Religious Service by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On August 2, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed dismissal of an Indiana prisoner’s claim that he was wrongfully terminated from …
Another Prisoner Dies in Another Fire at Indiana Prison by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On January 14, 2023, a fire broke out just before 11:00 a.m. in a cell block at Indiana State Prison (ISP), killing prisoner Michael W. Smith, 48. He was the second prisoner to …
Seventh Circuit: Indiana Prisoner Who Failed to Formalize Grievance Also Failed to Exhaust Remedies by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On August 17, 2022, an Indiana prisoner learned a painful lesson from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. As PLN has repeatedly warned, courts are empowered …
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 …
Seventh Circuit Trims What Indiana Prisoner Owes Jail Doctor in Lost Lawsuit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On July 21, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit modified a judgment against a prisoner in a civil rights lawsuit he filed and lost against a doctor …
Seventh Circuit Offers No Relief to Indiana Prisoner Held in Solitary Four Years by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to Indiana Department of Corrections (DOC) defendants in a suit …
News in Brief by Alabama: A detainee assaulted aguard at the Calhoun County Jail on August 6, 2022, the Anniston Star reported. Sheriff Matthew Wade blamed an ongoing staffing shortage, which has typically left three guards on duty to supervise 300 detainees. One of them, Jacob Hammett, was out of …
