Shortened Pens States Claim by Two prisoners in the segregation unit of the Waupun Correctional Institution at Waupun, Wisconsin, filed suit challenging the prison's practice of issuing segregation prisoners only the ink tube portion of a ball-point pen with which to write. Prisoners who modify the ink tube in anyway …
WI Removes Weights and Tennis Courts by Wisconsin's hard-line Republican Governor Tommy Thompson, apparently concerned about his upcoming re-election bid, has ordered all weights and tennis courts removed from the Wisconsin prison system by October 1, 1994. Wisconsin prison officials were in the process of conducting an inventory of weights …
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 …
Refusal to Help Prisoner Eat Illegal by A Wisconsin state prisoner suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, had difficulty eating due to weakness in his arms, hands, jaw, facial and throat muscles used in eating due to the disease's progression. Part of the treatment …
Prisoner Mail Trashed at Waupun by In the editorial in the September, 1994, issue of PLN, we noted that subscribers at the Waupun Correctional Institution at Waupun, WI. had complained of not receiving their issues of PLN. Shortly thereafter we learned why. The August 4, 1994, edition of the Wisconsin …
The "Correcting Corrections" Project Distributes Prison Video Documentaries by Community activists in Madison, Wisconsin have joined together to develop the Correcting Corrections Project. Correcting Corrections combines art and journalism to create a series of educational videos, to organize community meetings, to arrange for radio and cable television broadcasts, and to …
Cross Gender Strip Searches Illegal by David Canedy is a Wisconsin state prisoner. He filed suit claiming that during a shakedown of his housing unit female guards strip searched him, causing him embarrassment, humiliation and mental distress. Male guards were readily available and could have conducted the search. He also …
Supreme Court Defines "Deliberate Indifference" in Prison Rape Case by The US Supreme Court heard only one prison related case in its 1994 term, and it resulted in a win for the prisoner. In Farmer v. Brennan the court was asked to answer what constitutes "deliberate indifference" to a prisoner's …
Jail Detainees Have Right to Library Access by This case involves a consolidated appeal of one suit by three Wisconsin county jail detainees and one by an Indiana jail detainee. All of the plaintiffs claimed their right of access to the courts was violated because the jails they were held …
Needs Mail Stamping of Prisoner Mail Information by Reader Mail On November 1, 1993, Wisconsin Prisons started to stamp prisoner mail as originating in a prison. We filed for a temporary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. On October 28, 1993, the court came …
WI Prisoners Not Entitled to Minimum Wage by In part of the continuing struggle to obtain minimum wages for their labor, five Wisconsin prisoners filed suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. The Wisconsin prison industries program, under the name of Badger State …
A Bunch of Scumbags by Adrian Lomax By Adrian Lomax Awhile back a friend wrote in her letter to me that, as she was writing, her son walked into the room and asked what she was doing. Upon hearing her answer, the son said, "Those guys in prison are a …
WI Ad Seg Rules Don't Create Liberty Interest by Wisconsin regulations governing the transfer of state prisoners to "temporary lockup" status do not create a protected liberty interest under the fourteenth amendment due process clause, a majority of the Wisconsin supreme court ruled June 3, 1993. The majority agreed with …
Report from the Hole by Adrian Lomax Report From The Hole By Adrian Lomax The guard stood in the middle of the seg unit, counting, 26 of the 40 cells had the 3x12 inch Plexiglas windows in the cell doors covered with paper form the inside. The 5:00 PM count …
Rules for Appointment of Counsel Clarified by Dee Farmer is a male to female transsexual federal prisoner. She filed suit against BOP officials claiming they were deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs, in violation of the eighth amendment, by not providing her with medical and psychiatric treatment for her …
Confiscation of Law Books States Claim by Tyrone Chavers is a Wisconsin state prisoner. He filed suit under § 1983 after prison officials confiscated his lawbooks. This case is the district court's ruling on Chavers' In Forma Pauperis (IFP) request. The defendants had not yet been served in the case. …
Wisconsin Lacks Adequate State Remedies for Due Process Violations by Varees Smith is a Wisconsin state prisoner. He was infracted for allegedly charging another prisoner to do legal work. He filed suit under § 1983 claiming his due process rights were violated when a disciplinary hearing was held without notice …
Prison Journalist Punished by Adrian Lomax Letters from Readers [One of the objectives of the PLN is to become a forum through which readers can express opinions on what they've read, or to point out issues we should be addressing. Paul and I feel it is important for there to …
Wisconsin Parolees Have Liberty Interest in Avoiding Forced Medication by Jeffrey Felce is a Wisconsin parolee released on mandatory parole. While in prison Felce threatened prison and parole officials. They tried to commit him but were unable to do so because he was found to have mental problems but not …
From the Hole to the Street by Laurie Bembenek Whatever happened to the practice of gradual reintegration of prisoners back into society? Corrections rhetoric for years has included the concept that gradual reintegration is conducive to better psychological adjustment to freedom, thereby reducing recidivism. Theoretically, inmates were to be carefully …
