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Injuries Sustained As Result of Illegal Activity Not Compensable under Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act

Article • May 15, 2012

Filed under: Work, Workers' Compensation

Injuries Sustained As Result of Illegal Activity Not Compensable under Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act by In November 2011, the Wyoming Supreme Court held that a prisoner who is injured on the job as the result of an altercation with another prisoner is not eligible for workers' compensation benefits. Steven DeLoge, …

Consent Decree Sets Religious Diet Regulations at Wyoming State Prison

Article • November 15, 2011

Filed under: Food, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

Consent Decree Sets Religious Diet Regulations at Wyoming State Prison by Based upon a negotiated settlement, a Wyoming federal district court entered a consent decree that establishes rights for prisoners around religious diet regulations at the Wyoming State Prison (WSP). The suit was brought by two Muslim prisoners, Joseph Miller …

Federal Court Continues Oversight of Wyoming State Penitentiary

Article • September 15, 2011

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Injunctions, Failure to Train/Supervise

Federal Court Continues Oversight of Wyoming State Penitentiary by A Wyoming federal district court had entered an order that continues its supervision of the Wyoming State Penitentiary. That supervision began in October 2003 as the result of a class action civil rights action, alleging unconstitutional conditions of confinement that failed …

Fifth Circuit: Wyoming Prisoner May Sue Texas Private Prison Officials

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Correctional Services Corp., Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Fifth Circuit: Wyoming Prisoner May Sue Texas Private Prison Officials by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 16, 2008, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Wyoming state prisoner housed at a privately-operated prison in Texas could sue private prison officials for retaliation and taking money from …

Wyoming’s Prison Industry Mushroom Farm Sold at Auction

Article • February 15, 2010 • from PLN February, 2010

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor

Wyoming’s Prison Industry Mushroom Farm Sold at Auction by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 15, 2009, the Wyoming Department of Corrections’ Wind River Mushroom Farm in Shoshoni was sold at auction for an undisclosed amount. The agricultural program, which began in 2004 as an $8 million public-private partnership …

Tenth Circuit: Dismissal of Prison Newsletter Censorship Case Reversed in Part

Article • February 15, 2010 • from PLN February, 2010

Filed under: Injunctions, Mootness, Qualified Immunity, Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Prisoner Media, Censorship

Tenth Circuit: Dismissal of Prison Newsletter Censorship Case Reversed in Part by On July 16, 2009, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit involving the nondelivery of newsletters sent in bulk to a Wyoming state prison. Derrick R. Parkhurst, a Wyoming …

No Constitutional Violation For Wyoming Hermaphrodite's Ad Seg Placement

Article • January 15, 2009

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Gay/Lesbian, Gender Discrimination -- Men, Ad-Seg Hearings, Protective Custody, Discrimination (Transgender)

No Constitutional Violation For Wyoming Hermaphrodite's Ad Seg Placement by Bob Williams By Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeal for the Tenth Circuit has found no liberty interest arising from the placement of a hermaphrodite in administrative segregation (ad seg) for no other reason than sexual characteristics. The …

Federal Officials Raid Mushroom Farm Leaving Wyoming Prisoners "Spore" Losers

Article • January 15, 2009

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Inability to Work, Workers' Compensation

Federal Officials Raid Mushroom Farm Leaving Wyoming Prisoners "Spore" Losers by Bob Williams By: Bob Williams Wyoming State prisoners face layoffs due to the imminent closing of the Wind River Mushrooms farm (Farm) in Shoshoni. This was caused by federal officials raiding the Farm finding false identification on Guatemalan immigrant …

Wyoming American Indian Prisoner Wins Consent Decree to Receive Feathers

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: Religious Freedom, Religious Practices, Religious Property

Wyoming American Indian Prisoner Wins Consent Decree to Receive Feathers by Wyoming American Indian Prisoner Wins Consent Decree to Receive Feathers In a victory for American Indian prisoners, the Wyoming State Penitentiary (WSP) has entered into a consent decree that allows a prisoner to possess up to four eagle feathers …

CMS Insurer Must Pay Wyoming Suicide Settlement

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: CMS, Civil Procedure, Damages, Parties, Suicides

CMS Insurer Must Pay Wyoming Suicide Settlement by CMS Insurer Must Pay Wyoming Suicide Settlement The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an insurer is required to indemnify Correctional Medical Services (CMS) for an incident that occurred prior to CMS obtaining the insurance policy. The Court’s ruling came …

Wyoming Prisoner Receives $350,000 in Failure to Protect Case

Article • October 15, 2008 • from PLN October, 2008

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

Wyoming Prisoner Receives $350,000 in Failure to Protect Case by Wyoming Prisoner Receives $350,000 in Failure to Protect Case The Wyoming Department of Corrections has settled a prisoner’s failure to protect claim for $350,000. The action was filed in U.S. District Court by Wyoming State Penitentiary prisoner Jason C. Huff. …

Wyoming Criminal History Records May Only Be Disseminated to Law Enforcement Agencies for Investigatory Purposes

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Databases, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Wyoming Criminal History Records May Only Be Disseminated to Law Enforcement Agencies for Investigatory Purposes by Upon the request of the Wyoming state Director of the Criminal Identification Division (CID), the state Attorney General (AG) issued Opinion lc. 85-008 explaining to whom and for what purpose the CID could disseminate …

Public Has Right to Investigative Reports from Wyoming Prisons

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Disclosure of Records, Discovery

Public Has Right to Investigative Reports from Wyoming Prisons by A Wyoming federal district court has held that the public has a right and responsibility to review investigative reports of incidents at the Wyoming Sate Prison (WSP). The Court's ruling comes in a class action suit initiated by WSP prisoner …

Wyoming and CMS Settle Suit Over Diabetic Prisoner’s Loss of Foot

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: CMS, Medical, Diabetes, Amputations

Wyoming and CMS Settle Suit Over Diabetic Prisoner’s Loss of Foot by Matthew Clarke Wyoming and CMS Settle Suit Over Diabetic Prisoner's Loss of Foot by Matthew T. Clarke In June 2006, CMS, the State of Wyoming and a prison doctor settled a lawsuit involving a prisoner who had to …

Management & Training Corp. Struggles to Maintain Market Share

Article • September 15, 2007 • from PLN September, 2007

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Management and Training Corporation, Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Organizing, Prison Rebellion, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Failure to Protect (General), Immigration, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Assaults on Staff, Employee Litigation

Management & Training Corp. Struggles to Maintain Market Share by Gary Hunter For-profit private prison operator Management & Training Corporation (MTC) has recently lost lucrative contracts to run prisons in the United States and Canada. While the private prison industry is dominated by industry giants Corrections Corporation of America, Geo …

Summary Judgment of Eighth Amendment Claims Reversed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sewage, Water, Sanitation, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Supervisory Liability

Summary Judgment of Eighth Amendment Claims Reversed by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded the summary judgment of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment claim. Robert DeSpain, a Wyoming state prisoner, brought a civil rights action against prison officials alleging cruel and unusual punishment in violation …

Wyoming Prison Not Liable in Guard's Death

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders, Escapes, Murder by Escapees, Assaults on Staff, Employee Litigation, Failure to Protect (Staff)

Wyoming Prison Not Liable in Guard's Death by The court of appeals for the Tenth circuit upheld the dismissal of a § 1983 suit filed by the widow of a Wyoming prison guard killed by three escaping prisoners. The court held that the prison had no "special relationship" with the …

Disenfranchisement of Felons Constitutional; Claim Frivolous

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Organizing, Voting

Disenfranchisement of Felons Constitutional; Claim Frivolous by The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that disenfranchisement of Wyoming's convicted felons does not violate the Constitution, that the dismissal provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) do not violate due process, and that prisoners can be assessed a "strike" …

County May be Liable for Hogtying Death of Arrestee

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force, Restraints, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Municipal Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise

County May be Liable for Hogtying Death of Arrestee by Hog-tying an obviously mentally deranged suspect constituted excessive force, though the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established that such conduct was unlawful. However, defendants are not entitled to immunity under state law because …

Wyoming Federal Court Defers Termination Of Consent Decree, Allows Discovery

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, PLRA, Consent Decrees (PLRA), Discovery

Wyoming Federal Court Defers Termination Of Consent Decree, Allows Discovery by by Michael Rigby In this case involving a motion by Carbon County officials to terminate a 1987 consent decree regarding prisoner medical care, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming twice granted plaintiffs' discovery motions: once to …