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Scared Witless

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Reviews, Crime/Demographics, Crime

Scared Witless by The fear in her voice reverberated throughout talk-radio land. The elderly woman was among a parade of callers who passionately supported the caning of 18-year-old Michael Fay, who'd pled guilty to vandalism in Singapore. When the host asked why such a brutal punishment was appropriate, she replied …

Idaho Cons Entitled to Pen and Paper

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements, Probation

Idaho Cons Entitled to Pen and Paper by This is an Idaho criminal case which addresses prisoner's right of access to the courts in the habeas context, we address only that part of the case dealing with prison conditions. In 1989 James Free was convicted and sentenced to a term …

Santeros Win PI

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Practices, Religious Property

Santeros Win PI by Santeria is a religion which combines aspects of Catholicism and African animism. Believers worship saints, or orishas, who have their own personalities and characteristics. Santeria is widely practiced in Caribbean and Latin American countries. In Church of the Lukumi Babah Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, …

UT Section 1983 Statute of Limitations Struck Down

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Limitations

UT Section 1983 Statute of Limitations Struck Down by In 1987 the Utah state legislature enacted section 78-12-28(3) which provided a two year period in which to bring an "action for injury to the personal rights of another as a civil rights suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983." This is …

Sexual Assault by Police States Claim

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Police Misconduct, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Showers, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints

Sexual Assault by Police States Claim by Susan Huffman was arrested by Pacific Grove Police and taken to the police station to be held pending a recognizance hearing. During the booking procedure a policeman molested and sexually assaulted her as two other policemen ignored her cries for help, looked on …

Transferee Entitled to Sending State Case Law

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Transfers, Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy

Transferee Entitled to Sending State Case Law by James Clayton is an Oklahoma state prisoner subjected to an involuntary out of state transfer to New Mexico. Clayton had several pro se legal matters pending in Oklahoma state courts at the time of his transfer. The New Mexico prison system did …

Retaliation for Grievances Illegal

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Disciplinary Hearings, Retaliatory Discipline, Administrative Exhaustion

Retaliation for Grievances Illegal by Gary Hines is a California state prisoner. Hines filed suit claiming that prison guards had broken his television set in retaliation for administrative grievances he had filed against them. After filing a grievance against the guards who allegedly broke his television, another guard infracted him …

Crisis Continues in Salvadoran Prison System

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, International, Prisoners-International

Crisis Continues in Salvadoran Prison System by As reported in the October, 1994, issue of PLN, the prison system of El Salvador remains locked in a crisis of overcrowding, spiraling violence and unrest. This trend continues. On September 13, 1994, prisoners at the Central Penitentiary in San Vicente, in the …

Hazardous Waste Found in WI Prison

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Prison Industries, Conditions of Confinement, Environmental Law, Water

Hazardous Waste Found in WI Prison by Since 1993 the Wisconsin Department of Corrections has been the subject of several scathing investigations by that state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The investigations have made several alarming discoveries, concluding that the DOC is failing to keep track of and properly dispose …

Failure to Treat Teeth States Claim

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Dental Care, Administrative Exhaustion, Appeals, Qualified Immunity

Failure to Treat Teeth States Claim by Mark Kinney is a Missouri state prisoner. Kinney went to the prison dentist, Dr. Kalfus, for removal of a tooth that was chipped and decayed, to have a cavity filled and for treatment of gum disease. Kalfus pulled the wrong tooth and acknowledged …

Asset Forfeiture is Dysfunctional Policy

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Money/Property, Forfeiture

Asset Forfeiture is Dysfunctional Policy by Two sociologists received the l994 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Award for their undercover study and critical analysis of asset forfeiture's impact on police procedure. Drug Enforcement 's Double-Edged Sword: An Assessment of Asset Forfeiture Programs, by Mitchell Miller, Tennessee State University, and Lance …

Cooling Towers Spread Legionnaire's

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Medical, Respiratory, Ventilation

Cooling Towers Spread Legionnaire's by The Federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a report stating that cooling towers holding contaminated community water can lead to serious outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease, a pneumonia like illness that can be fatal. The bacteria causing the disease are spread by water or …

Committing Journalism - The Prison Writings of Red Hog (Book Review)

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Media, Access to Media

Committing Journalism - The Prison Writings of Red Hog (Book Review) by Bill Jeffcott By Dannie M. Martin & Peter Y. Sussman Review by Bill Jeffcott "I committed bank robbery and they put me in prison, and that was right. Then I committed journalism and they put me in the …

Overcrowding Leads to Pneumonia

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Medical, Respiratory, Overcrowding, Ventilation

Overcrowding Leads to Pneumonia by On September 8, 1994, the New England Journal of Medicine published the report of an investigation conducted by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the outbreak of a deadly form of pneumonia in the Harris County (Houston) jail in Texas in …

RFRA Must Be Argued on Merits

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Practices

RFRA Must Be Argued on Merits by Prisoners at the Nebraska State Penitentiary filed suit under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb claiming that prison officials had violated their right to practice their religion. The prisoners are adherents to Asatru, an Icelandic term for the ancient …

BOP Phone Litigation Update

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Class Certification, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

BOP Phone Litigation Update by In the March, 1994, issue of PLN we reported on Washington et al. v. Reno, et al., a lawsuit filed by women prisoners at FCI Lexington challenging the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) newly implemented Inmate Telephone System (ITS). [Editor's Note: For a full account …

MI Parole Consent Decree Vacated

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Consent Decrees, Sentencing, Parole

MI Parole Consent Decree Vacated by In 1977 Michigan state prisoners filed a class action suit challenging the procedures by which they were granted or denied parole. In 1981 the US district court in Michigan entered a consent decree settling a lawsuit between the Michigan state Parole Board and Michigan …

Detainees Can't Be Forced to Work

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor

Detainees Can't Be Forced to Work by Dickie Cokeley is an Arkansas state prisoner. While confined in the Arkansas DOC his criminal conviction was reversed by a federal court. Upon reversal of his conviction Cokeley asked prison officials to place him on an unassigned work status. They refused to do …

Killer Workplace

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Work, Work Conditions/Safety, Crime

Killer Workplace by On June 15, 1994, a conference on workplace violence was held at Boeing's Renton campus near Seattle, WA. The topic was growing workplace violence, defined as workers striking out rather than companies maiming, poisoning, exploiting workers and the community. According to Dr. Kevin Flynn, a consultant to …

WA Digital Probe Suits Barred

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Searches, Body Cavity Searches, Estoppell, Qualified Immunity

WA Digital Probe Suits Barred by In 1984 the Washington state DOC opened two control units and initiated a policy whereby all prisoners transferred to the Intensive Management Units (IMU) were subjected to a digital rectal probe, or digital rape, upon entry. The "searches" were conducted on a blanket basis …