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Informants Must Be Reliable

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings)

Informants Must Be Reliable by Albert Taylor is an Oklahoma state prisoner who filed a §1983 suit claiming his right to due process was violated when a prison disciplinary committee found him guilty of participating in a riot based on a statement from a confidential informant. The district court dismissed …

The United States Supreme Court: Petition for Writ of Certiori

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Appeals, Filing Fees

The United States Supreme Court: Petition for Writ of Certiori by Wm Daniel Ravenscroft The United States Supreme Court: Petition For Writ of Certioriari by Wm. Daniel Ravenscroft, Atty. At Law Overview: The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in this country. It is also the final forum …

PLN Banned in France

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Prisoners-International, Mail Regulations, Media, Censorship

PLN Banned in France by Paul Wright PLN Banned In France By Paul Wright PLN reader Jean Marc Rouillain, a political prisoner in France, has written and informed us that the April, 1991, issue of PLN (which just happened to have his article about the worsening prison conditions in France …

Legal Mail May Not be Read

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Attorney Client, Civil Procedure, Damages, Qualified Immunity, Legal Mail

Legal Mail May Not be Read by Legal Mail May Not Be Read A Florida prisoner filed suit under § 1983 after a letter from his attorney, addressed to him and marked "legal mail," was opened and read in his presence by a prison guard. The guard confiscated the letter …

Drug Profits Fund Prison

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Forfeiture

Drug Profits Fund Prison by The Justice Department Asset Forfeiture Fund has collected more than $1.5 billion in the last six years, including $460 million in cash and property in 1990, a 28 percent increase over 1989, according to U.S. Attorney General Thornburgh. Since the forfeiture fund began in 1985, …

Walla Walla 'Lifers With Hope'

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Prisoner Privileges

Walla Walla 'Lifers With Hope' by Here's one for you. How many remember Walla Walla's Lifers With Hope group? Well, there's a rumor floating around they might try to get back in business. I'm sure there are some of you that remember that this organization put 600 inmates, all lifers, …

A Lesson From Japan

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Prisoners-International

A Lesson From Japan by Dan Pens The Japanese may arguably have the most effective justice system in the Western World. A glance at the accompanying graphs will readily verify this statement. So what are the Japanese doing right? If one were to believe proponents of popular trends in the …

Mass. Corrections Policy "Disaster" Says Task Force

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: News, State Legislation

Mass. Corrections Policy "Disaster" Says Task Force by Mass. Corrections Policy "disaster" Says Task Force Emphasizing that state spending on prisons has skyrocketed while taxpayer confidence in the level of public safety has plummeted, a joint Task Force of the Boston Bar Association and the Crime and Justice Foundation has …

Justice for Jimmy Haynes?

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Justice for Jimmy Haynes? by John Perotti Justice For Jimmy Haynes?? ? By John Perotti On February 9, 1984, Jimmy Haynes, a black prisoner, was beaten and then murdered by 12 white guards at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) al Lucasville, Ohio. The cause of death was a crushed …

Reviews

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Reviews

Reviews by PWA-RAG is a quarterly newsletter edited and published by prisoner James Magner. The title is an abbreviation for "Prisoners With AIDS-Rights Advocacy Group." Its primary purpose is to advocate for the rights of prisoners with AIDS, AIDS related Complex (ARC) and that are HIV positive. They offer educational …

Magistrates May Hear Prison Cases

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Magistrates

Magistrates May Hear Prison Cases by A unanimous Supreme Court ruled that 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b) (1) (B) authorizes the nonconsensual referral to Magistrates for hearing and recommended findings of all prisoner petitions challenging conditions of confinement This ruling allows federal judges to refer to magistrates all prisoners' petitions …

From The Editor

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Editorials, Court Access, Judiciary

From The Editor by Paul Wright By Paul Wright Welcome to another issue of PLN . As I write this, I just saw on the news that Thurgood Marshall, the first and only black person to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, is resigning due to age and health reasons. …

Prisoners Entitled to Exculpatory Evidence In Disciplinary Hearings

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Staff Assistance, Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders, Habeas Corpus

Prisoners Entitled to Exculpatory Evidence In Disciplinary Hearings by Prisoners Entitled To Exculpatory Evidence In Disciplinary Hearings Four prisoners at the U.S. Penitentiary at Marion, IL., were accused of murdering another prisoner. They were infracted and found "guilty" of the murder at a prison disciplinary hearing. Prior to the hearing …

Prisoners Must Be Fed

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Eighth Amendment, Clothing, Qualified Immunity

Prisoners Must Be Fed by Alvin Cooper was a pre-trial detainee in Texas and filed a § 1983 suit claiming that jail guards were refusing to feed him. The officials did not deny the allegation but claimed Cooper wasn't fed because he refused to appear fully dressed at all meals. …

Texas Prison Officials Indicted

Article • August 15, 1991 • from PLN August, 1991

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Work, Prison Industries

Texas Prison Officials Indicted by The manager and bookkeeper at a Texas prison textile mill were indicted April 25 in Huntsville on charges of theft, official misconduct and engaging in organized crime. Authorities said the indictments stemmed from a two-yearlong scheme involving bid rigging and kickbacks on installation and service …

Clallam Bay Double Celling

Article • July 15, 1991 • from PLN July, 1991

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

Clallam Bay Double Celling by On June 12, 1991, Clallam Bay Corrections Center (CBCC) superintendent Neal Brown announced that the 21 million dollar expansion of CBCC was on schedule (but there is no money for teachers and schools in Washington). The expansion plans include renovation of food service and dining …

Pig Park Update

Article • July 15, 1991 • from PLN July, 1991

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews

Pig Park Update by Recently a PLN reader reported that a park for employees of the Washington State penitentiary (WSP) was being built only for employees. The park opened on March 18, 1991, as an "employee park" as a 4-acre area adjacent to the highway and east of the penitentiary, …

Pro Se Litigants Entitled to Litigation Costs

Article • July 15, 1991 • from PLN July, 1991

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Attorney Fee Awards, Costs, Witnesses

Pro Se Litigants Entitled to Litigation Costs by Pro Se Litigants Entitled To Litigation Costs Benton Burt was a pretrial detainee in San Francisco who filed suit under 42 USC, §1983 in federal court claiming he was confined under illegal and unconstitutional conditions. At a bench trial Burt won his …

Overcrowded and Unfair

Article • July 15, 1991 • from PLN July, 1991

Filed under: Overcrowding, Sentencing, Parole

Overcrowded and Unfair by Gary Parker Overcrowded And Unfair By Gary Parker Human nature and society were not transformed when the SRA was implemented in 1984. The transformation was meant to occur in the basic philosophy of this state's justice system. The old system did not work. Some offenders were …

Prison/Community Alliance Update

Article • July 15, 1991 • from PLN July, 1991

Filed under: Parole, Civil Commitment, News, State Legislation

Prison/Community Alliance Update by Carrie Roth By Carrie Roth June 10, 1991 the Legislature went back into session and by the time this is read the session should be over. This is a time when there is a lot of speculation and rumors going around. One rumor is that Senator …