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News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2023 • from PLN September, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

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 …

$150,000 Verdict for South Carolina Jail Detainee’s Groin Injury During Pat-Down

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

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements

$150,000 Verdict for South Carolina Jail Detainee’s Groin Injury During Pat-Down by Eike Blohm, MD by Eike Blohm After turning down offers to settle for far less, South Carolina’s Aiken County wound up on the losing side of a $150,000 verdict on November 4, 2022, after a state court jury …

Almost 800 Deaths in South Carolina Jails and Prisons Six Years

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

Filed under: Wrongful Death

Almost 800 Deaths in South Carolina Jails and Prisons Six Years by A new report published in January 2023 by Madalyn Wasilczur, a professor leading the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Law Incarceration Transparency project, reveals a troubling number of deaths in jails and prisons in the Palmetto …

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 …

Fifth South Carolina Prisoner Sentenced in “Sextortion” Scams Targeting Military Members

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

Filed under: Military, Bribery/Extortion/Theft

Fifth South Carolina Prisoner Sentenced in “Sextortion” Scams Targeting Military Members by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On April 21, 2023, South Carolina prisoner Dexter Lawrence, 27, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a “sextortion” scam that targeted …

Convicted Murderer Released 16 Years Early Is Ordered Back to Prison by South Carolina High Court

Article • June 1, 2023

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Murder/Felony Murder, Revocation Proceedings

Convicted Murderer Released 16 Years Early Is Ordered Back to Prison by South Carolina High Court by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott At an emergency hearing on April 26, 2023, the South Carolina Supreme Court found a legal rationale to countermand the release of a convicted killer 16 …

Rhoads v. Southern Health Partners, SC, Deposition of Thomas D. Fowlkes, MD, Medical Neglect, 2023

Brief • March 8, 2023

Filed under: Failure to Treat

Rhoads v. Southern Health Partners, SC, Deposition of Thomas D. Fowlkes, MD, Medical Neglect, 2023 Page 1 3/8/2023 Thomas D. Fowlkes, MD Rhoads v. Southern Health Partners, Inc., et al. 1 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS 2 COUNTY OF AIKEN ) C/A #: 2020-CP-02-02238 …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

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 …

Bordeaux v. Berkeley County, SC, Settlement, Conditions of Confinement, 2023

Brief • February 8, 2023

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals

Bordeaux v. Berkeley County, SC, Settlement, Conditions of Confinement, 2023 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIA NO.: 2018-CP-08-01843 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF BERKELEY Brandon Bordeaux, Lee Dell Bradley, Cornelius Chisolm, William Countee III, Allen C. Davis, Brandon Gibson, Devante Gibson, Chad Gourdine, Prentice Gourdine, Jamichael Howard, Joshua …

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 …

Federal Judge in South Carolina Holds BOP Liable for Delayed Treatment That Left Federal Prisoner Partially Blinded

Article • January 1, 2023 • from PLN January, 2023

Filed under: Eyeglasses, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

Federal Judge in South Carolina Holds BOP Liable for Delayed Treatment That Left Federal Prisoner Partially Blinded by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian On May 3, 2022, the federal court for the District of South Carolina granted summary judgment to a federal prisoner left partially blinded by delayed treatment …

Former South Carolina Sheriff Begins 46-Month Prison Term for Corruption

Article • January 1, 2023 • from PLN January, 2023

Filed under: Police Misconduct

Former South Carolina Sheriff Begins 46-Month Prison Term for Corruption by Ashleigh Dye by Ashleigh N. Dye On October 14, 2022, a former South Carolina sheriff reported to the U.S. Penitentiary in Big Sandy, Kentucky, to begin serving a 46-month sentence for fraud and corruption-related charges. Alex “Big A” Underwood, …

South Carolina Death Row Doctor Breaks Silence About Years of Executions

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

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Doctor/Patient Privilege

South Carolina Death Row Doctor Breaks Silence About Years of Executions by Ashleigh Dye by Ashleigh N. Dye In an interview published in The State in Columbia on April 26, 2022, a South Carolina physician spoke out for the first time about executing condemned state prisoners — and the toll …

Former South Carolina Deputy Gets 18 Years for Driving Transport Van With Two Detainees Into Flood, Drowning Them

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

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Transportation, Accidents

Former South Carolina Deputy Gets 18 Years for Driving Transport Van With Two Detainees Into Flood, Drowning Them by Ashleigh Dye by Ashleigh N. Dye A former South Carolina Sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to 18 years in prison on May 19, 2022, for driving a jail transport van onto a …

Owens v. Aiken County Sheriff's Office, SC, Verdict, Excessive Force, 2022

Brief • November 4, 2022

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Owens v. Aiken County Sheriff's Office, SC, Verdict, Excessive Force, 2022 STATE OF SOUTH CAROU A COUNTY OF AIKEN ) ) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT Otis Owens, ) ) CASENO.: 20 17-CP-02-014 13 Plai ntiff, vs. Michael Hunt, in his official capacity as Sheriff of …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A convicted bank robber had 30 months added to his 17-year prison sentence on September 26, 2022, for bribing an Alabama jail guard to smuggle him a cellphone, K2 “spice” paper, and other contraband. According to a federal Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, while …

South Carolina Judge Halts State Executions by Electrocution and Firing Squad

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

Filed under: Death Penalty

South Carolina Judge Halts State Executions by Electrocution and Firing Squad by David Reutter, Edward Lyon by David M. Reutter and Ed Lyon On September 6, 2022, the Richland County Court of Common Pleas granted an injunction in a challenge brought by four condemned South Carolina prisoners to 2021 state …

Owens v. Stirling, SC, Order Granting Injunctive Relief, Methods of Execution, 2022

Brief • September 6, 2022

Filed under: Method of Execution

Owens v. Stirling, SC, Order Granting Injunctive Relief, Methods of Execution, 2022 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF RICHLAND FOR THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT Freddie Eugene Owens; Brad Keith Sigmon; Gary Dubose Terry; and Richard Bernard Moore, Civil Action No. 2021CP4002306 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by   Alabama:The Birmingham News reported that a jail guard in Mobile was arrested on May 17, 2022, for smuggling adult movies intoMobile County Metro Jail. The guard, Fredrick Johnson, 37, was charged with 21 counts of promoting contraband that included a camera, phone chargers, and flash drives, …

DOJ Secures Settlement With South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice at Detention Center Where Staff Hogtied and Bit Kids

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

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Juveniles)

DOJ Secures Settlement With South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice at Detention Center Where Staff Hogtied and Bit Kids by Brooke Kaufman by Brooke Kaufman On April 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Settlement Agreement with the federal court for the District of South Carolina that brings …