Individual Capacity Claims Can Be Inferred From Complaint by Whether a plaintiff sued defendants in their individual or official capacities is determined by a "course of proceedings" test. The court disingenuously denies that it has applied a rigid rule that capacity must be spelled out explicitly or it will be …
TN DNA Collection Statute Held Constitutional by Bruce Scarborough and Mack Transou, Tennessee state prisoners, are both convicted sex-offenders. Upon their admission to the state prison system both were asked to provide blood samples for DNA testing per Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-3231, et seq. (DNA Statute). Had they refused …
TN Prisoner States Medical Malpractice Claim Re: Failure to Provide Remedial Surgery by Sheila Proffitt, a Tennessee state prisoner, had a cast put on her broken leg by Prison Health Services, Inc. (defendants). The cast was secured by two bolts, which orthopedic physicians later said should be removed to promote …
Federal Law Requiring Felons Submit DNA Sample Constitutional by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a federal statute, 42 U.S.C. § 14135a, that requires persons convicted of federal felonies to submit a DNA sample is constitutional. That ruling comes in the appeal of Bobbie J. Conley, who …
Prisoner Legal Advisor's Transfer Upheld by The plaintiff, an inmate legal advisor, alleged that he was reclassified and transferred in retaliation for filing grievances. At 1037: In this case, the Warden terminated Smith from his position as inmate legal advisor and transferred him to another prison because of his aggressive …
TN Prisoner Not Entitled by State PRA to Free Inspection of Records Kept Outside of Prison by TN Prisoner Not Entitled by State PRA to Free Inspection of Records Kept Outside of Prison Between 1997 and 1999, Omawali Ashanti Shabazz (AKA Fred E. Dean), a Tennessee state prisoner, asked prison …
TN Chancery Court Must Award Reasonable, Rather Than All, Costs and Fees to Winner in Public Records by TN Chancery Court Must Award Reasonable, Rather Than All, Costs and Fees to Winner in Public Records Act Cases The Pollow family settled a civil rights action against police in Memphis, Tennessee …
Tennessee Prison Contracting Official Engaged to Contractor by The Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) is investigating whether a romance between a prison contract oversight official and a prison contractor involved any impropriety. TDOC purchasing director Nola Butler disclosed her romantic relationship with prison commissary contractor Martin Jennen, president of American …
Prisoners In 13 States Allowed Work-Access To Social Security Numbers by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that prisoners in thirteen states had access to Social Security numbers (SSNs) during the course of their prison employment. Following a nationwide survey, the …
Eight Tennessee Guards Convicted in Prisoners’ Beatings, Death by Gary Hunter Eight Tennessee Guards Convicted in Prisoners? Beatings, Death by Gary Hunter Walter "Steve" Kuntz was beaten to death by jailers in Wilson County, Tennessee. His murder led to a federal investigation, the indictment of nine jailers, six guilty pleas …
Reese v. Corrections Corporation of America, TN, Settlement, 2007 RELEASE In consideration for the payment by Corrections Corporation of America ("CCA") to James Andrew Reese ("Reese") of the amount of Six Thousand One Hundred Eighty Four Dollars and Seventy One Cents ($6,184.71), after the execution of this Release, Reese hereby …
Sixth Circuit Extends Abela Ruling to Parole Denial Habeas Petitions by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the 90-day period to apply for certiorari review to the U.S. Supreme Court tolls the one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions challenging parole denial. In so holding, the …
Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of ETS/Retaliation Claims by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(10)(1) dismissal of an environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) claim filed by a Tennessee prisoner, concluding that the plaintiff alleged sufficient facts to state a cognizable Eighth Amendment claim. The appeals court …
A Captive Audience For Salvation by Jane Lampman A for-profit prison company stirs hope - and church-state issues - pursuing partnerships with Evangelical Christian ministries. NASHVILLE, TENN. - America has the highest incarceration level in the world, and its prisons serve too consistently as revolving doors. Are faith-based programs in …
$500,000 CCA Escape/Hostage Damage Award Upheld by The Tennessee State Court of Appeals upheld a $500,000 compensatory damage award against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), to a woman who was taken hostage by an escaped CCA prisoner. Mike Settle was a prisoner at Hardeman County Correctional Facility (HCCF), a CCA …
PHS Parent Company Fires Executives For Cause In Billing Scandal by America Service Group, the parent company of Prison Health Services, has fired two high level employees in connection with billing improprieties by its prison pharmacy division. ASG fired Trey Hartman, president and chief operating officer of Prison Health Services, …
Four CCA Guards Indicted in Murder of Nashville Prisoner by Matthew T. Clarke Four guards have been indicted for reckless homicide and aggravated assault in the July 2004 murder of a female prisoner at the Metro Detention Facility in Nashville, Tennessee, previously reported in PLN. [see PLN, Apr. 2005, p. …
PLN Questions John Ashcroft on the Death Penalty by by Alex Friedmann On Feb. 13, 2006, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft gave a presentation in favor of the death penalty at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee as part of the school's Project Dialog series. The series' theme for 2006 …
