Missouri Muslim Prisoners Advance Suit Against Guards For Assault During Prayer by Douglas Ankney by Doug Ankney On December 14, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted only part of a motion by defendant state prison officials to dismiss a complaint filed by Muslim …
Missouri DOC Models Re-entry Program on Norwegian Prisons by Dressed in maroon shirts—not prison jumpsuits—three prisoners joined the “Dynamo” program at Missouri’s Northeast Correctional Center in November 2023. That brought total enrollment to 17 since the state Department of Correction (DOC) launched the initiative in April 2023, modeling it after …
Eighth Circuit Upholds Key Parts of Missouri Parole Reform by On October 5, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed key parts of a lower court’s ruling instructing the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) to revise its system for revoking parole in order to protect prisoners’ …
Eighth Circuit Says Lower Court “Tilted the Scales Too Far” for Jailers in Missouri Detainee’s Fatal Overdose by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On October 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed denial of qualified immunity (QI) to officials at St. Louis’ “Workhouse” jail …
Was There a Plot to Discredit Former Missouri Sheriff Investigating Corruption? by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Jeff Burkett resigned as Sheriff of Missouri’s Iron County on January 31, 2024, saying if he stayed to defend a civil suit filed to remove him from office, his testimony might undermine his …
Missouri Expands Prison Mail Ban to Include Books Sent by Family, Friends by After banning state prisoners from receiving physical mail the year before, the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) extended the ban on September 25, 2023, to include books sent to prisoners from family or friends. The rule change …
Missouri Moms Jailed After Kids Miss Too Much School by “Truancy” sounds old-­fashioned. But after two mothers were convicted of letting their kids miss too much school, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld their incarceration sentences for the misdemeanor on September 15, 2023. The Court’s ruling came in the consolidated appeals …
Eighth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Missouri Prison Chief in Sexual Abuse Claims Against Former Guard by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed denial of qualified immunity (QI) to Anne Precythe, Director of the Missouri Department …
Hynes v. Missouri Dept of Corrections, MO, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2024 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY STATE OF MISSOURI WILLA HYNES, Individually, and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Jahi Hynes, deceased, Plaintiff, Case Number: v. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Serve: 2729 Plaza Drive …
Eighth Circuit Issues Primer on Informal Due Process Procedures to Missouri Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On April 24, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court and granted qualified immunity (QI) to officials with Missouri’s Department of Corrections (DOC) in …
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 …
St. Louis City Jails Director Under Fire, County Jail Director Leaves After Nearly $2.7 Million in Legal Payouts by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart When you’re arrested in St. Louis, it doesn’t much matter whether you end up in the city’s jail or the lockup in adjacent St. Louis County; …
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 …
$3.25 Million Settlement Reached With Defendants Jailed in Missouri “Debtor’s Prison” for Unpaid Fines, Fees by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Clarke On April 5, 2023, the federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri gave final approval to a $3.25 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging the City of …
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 …
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. …
Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records by David Reutter by David M. Reutter By June 8, 2023, misdemeanor criminal records of those previously convicted in Missouri of a nonviolent marijuana-related offense were scheduled to be expunged. Felony expungement is set to follow by December 8, 2023. Though some counties …
Missouri Prisoner Illegally Condemned by Illiterate Juror Executed Anyway by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman Depending on who’s telling the story, Missouri prisoner Michael Tisius, 42, got either what he deserved or the last in a long line of bad breaks when he was executed on June 6, 2023, hours …
Nelson v. Frazier, MO, Settlement, Excessive Force, 2023 I I ITUAL RELEASE & SETliLEMENT AGREEMENT This Gene Release and Settlement Agreemert (the "Agreement"} is entered into by and betwe i the parties, Mack Nelson, ("Plaintiffi'), and Sergeant Herb Robinson and Officers Davi i=razier, Alyssa Surges, and Mitchell Powell ("Defendants"), and …
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 …
