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Art and Writings Against the Death Penalty / Save Mumia Abu Jamal

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Art and Writings Against the Death Penalty / Save Mumia Abu Jamal by by Adrian Lomax Mumia Abu-Jamal learned early what happens to African Americans who speak their minds. In 1968, at the age of 16, Mumia and some of his friends marched in Philadelphia to protest the presidential candidacy …

New Trial for Beating

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Jury Instructions

New Trial for Beating by Clifton Thomas is an Illinois state prisoner. While confined at the Pontiac Correctional Center, Thomas was accused of stabbing another prisoner. The state sought and received a court order to obtain a blood sample from Thomas to aid in the investigation of the stabbing. Prison …

Letter From Mark Cook

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Discrimination, Political Prisoners

Letter From Mark Cook by Mark Cook by Comrade Mark I appreciate the political support folks want to give regarding my case and will compliment it whenever I can. I will mostly focus on the legal aspect and do the major portion of that work with the attorneys. As of …

Disciplinary Guilty Plea No Waiver to Suit

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Notice of Rules, Guilty Pleas

Disciplinary Guilty Plea No Waiver to Suit by Joe Reeves is a Texas state prisoner. He was infracted for placing his food tray outside his cell in the segregation unit. A prison rule required that food trays remain inside prisoner's cells until collected by guards. Reeves had received no notice …

WA Mail Policy Illegal

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Injunctions, Mail, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

WA Mail Policy Illegal by Timothy O'Keefe is a prisoner at the Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) at Walla Walla. In October, 1993, O'Keefe tried to mail six pieces of outgoing mail as legal mail. The letters were addressed to the prison warden; US Postal Inspector; State Higher Education Coordinating Board; …

FL DOC Corruption

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct

FL DOC Corruption by The July 1, 1994, edition of the Tampa Tribune reported that graft and corruption permeate the Florida DOC's purchasing system. As an example, the story reported that an investigation by the state inspector general discovered the Florida DOC paid $5.42 for a single tube of Pepsodent …

The Death Penalty in Black and White

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Victims, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

The Death Penalty in Black and White by Michael Ross By Michael Ross "[The] evidence shows that there is a better than even chance in Georgia that race will influence the decision to impose the death penalty: a majority of defendants in white-victim crimes would not have been sentenced to …

The Unconstitutionality of Discriminatory Jury Selection

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Juries

The Unconstitutionality of Discriminatory Jury Selection by Emmet Jones The foundation for an analysis of the right to be a juror, or be tried by a jury of peers is securely rooted in the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The Sixth Amendment prohibits any substantial under-representation of …

Justice for Mark Cook - It's Way Past Time

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Discrimination, Political Prisoners

Justice for Mark Cook - It's Way Past Time by The Vietnam war was fought not only on the soil of Southeast Asia, but in the streets of the U.S. as well. Anti war activists struggled to end a conflict they knew to be unjust and extended their fight to …

Two Dead in CT Riots

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

Two Dead in CT Riots by At 6:45 PM on July 12, 1994, 200 prisoners were in the recreation yard of the medium security Carl Robinson Correctional Facility at Enfield, Connecticut. For reasons not reported to PLN, a number of prisoners put on hoods and used makeshift weapons to hunt …

WA DOC Enjoined From Taking Costs

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Costs, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

WA DOC Enjoined From Taking Costs by Past issues of PLN have reported on the tactic seized upon by the Washington Attorney General's office to retaliate against prisoners who exercise their right of access to the courts, namely billing prisoners for the costs incurred by the AG in litigating [See …

Michigan Prisoner Challenges Jury Selection Process

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Juries

Michigan Prisoner Challenges Jury Selection Process by Dan Pens PLN rarely reports on criminal law cases, but when we think one will interest our readers we print it. Such is the case with an interesting legal struggle going on in Michigan. PLN reader Emmett Jones (see his article on page …

Prison Racial Segregation Illegal

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Damages, Injunctions

Prison Racial Segregation Illegal by In 1970s a federal judge issued an injunction enjoining racial discrimination in the operation or administration of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) at Angola, LA. The court ordered prison officials to immediately correct the effects of any past racial discrimination and to maintain Angola as …

Further Developments in WA Powell Case

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole

Further Developments in WA Powell Case by John Midgley This is a further update on developments in the Powell litigation. The Attorney General's office recently filed in the Ninth Circuit a document in which they claimed that the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board will treat superintendents' recommendations for parole under RCW …

South American Prison News

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Organizing, Prison Rebellion, Hunger Strikes, Prisoners-International

South American Prison News by Brazil: According to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice there are an average of two and a half riots a day in Brazilian prisons and jails. The Brazilian prison crisis became evident on March 15-16, 1994, when the Archbishop of Fortaleza was taken hostage by prisoners, …

PA Supreme Court Justice Sentenced

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Judicial Misconduct

PA Supreme Court Justice Sentenced by On June 13, 1994, Rolf Larsen, a justice on the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court for the past sixteen years, was removed from office and sentenced to two years' probation for arranging to have his doctor prescribe tranquilizers in the name of court workers. He …

S.Ct. Distinguishes Habeas and Section 1983

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Habeas Corpus

S.Ct. Distinguishes Habeas and Section 1983 by The two most common suits filed by state prisoners in federal courts are 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petitions which challenge the length or legality of confinement and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suits which seek money damages for civil rights violations. There …

Airway Heights Opens

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

Airway Heights Opens by The Spokane Spokesman Review reports that on July 15, 1994, the 1,024 bed Airway Heights Correctional Center (AHCC) officially opened near Spokane, Washington, by accepting its first 40 medium security prisoners. The prison cost Washington state tax payers $113 million to build and was slated to …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: News, News in Brief

News in Brief by WA: On June 3, 1994, former King County (Seattle, WA) jail guard Andre Gantt, 35, was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The drugs in question were cocaine and marijuana which …

From The Editor

Article • September 15, 1994 • from PLN September, 1994

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Editorials

From The Editor by Paul Wright From the Editor By Paul Wright Welcome to another issue of PLN. In the March, 1994, issue of PLN we started the News in Brief column which carries little tidbits we think readers might be interested in but which either don't merit an article …