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Disarray in Colorado: Prisoners Hurt by Host of Problems

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Prison Labor, Work Strikes, Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders, Statistics/Trends, Overcrowding, Staffing, Parole, Telephone Rates, State Legislation

Disarray in Colorado: Prisoners Hurt by Host of Problems by Bob Williams Society is dynamic, in a state of con-stant flux where change is the only constant, but recent changes in Colorado are turning up the pressure in Colorado's prison system. Prisoner pay has been nearly eliminated while hygiene items …

PLN Sues Bureau of Prisons Over ADX Censorship

Article • February 15, 2004 • from PLN February, 2004

Filed under: Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, PLN Litigation

PLN Sues Bureau of Prisons Over ADX Censorship by On December 10, 2003, PLN sued Harry Lappin, director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), former director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer; Robert Hood and Michael Pugh, the current and former wardens, respectively, of the Administrative Maximum (ADX) facility in Florence, Colorado. The …

Private Transport Company Settles Female Prisoner's Sexual Assault Suit

Article • January 15, 2004 • from PLN January, 2004

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Transport Companies, Contractor Misconduct, Conditions of Confinement, Transportation

Private Transport Company Settles Female Prisoner's Sexual Assault Suit by Private Transport Company Settles Female Prisoner's Sexual Assault Suit Extraditions International, Inc., now defunct, and its successor company, American Extraditions, Inc., settled with a female prisoner who claimed she had been sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by a company guard …

Religious Garments May Be Worn During Prisoner Transport

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Surgery, Transportation, Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Qualified Immunity, Religious Grooming, Religious Practices

Religious Garments May Be Worn During Prisoner Transport by Bob Williams By Bob Williams The United States District Court for the District of Colorado rejected a plea for qualified immunity by the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) over their refusal to transport a Jewish prisoner while wearing religious Garments. Russell …

Audit Finds Colorado DOC Loses Large Quantities of Drugs

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Medication

Audit Finds Colorado DOC Loses Large Quantities of Drugs by by Matthew T. Clarke A $436,484 shortage in the Colorado Department of Corrections's pharmacy budget in 2003 prompted an internal audit. The audit found that close to a half-million dollars worth of drugs have been lost by the prison system. …

PLN v. Hood, et al., CO, Complaint, censorship, 2003

Filing • December 10, 2003

Filed under: Complaints, PLN Litigation, Censorship

PLN v. Hood, et al., CO, Complaint, censorship, 2003

Brief • December 10, 2003

Filed under: Complaints, PLN Litigation, Censorship

PLN v. Hood, et al., CO, Complaint, censorship, 2003

U.S. v. Verbickas, CO, Opinion, Prison Conditions, 2003

Brief • September 2, 2003

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Conditions of Confinement, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction

U.S. v. Verbickas, CO, Opinion, Prison Conditions, 2003 U.S. v. Verbickas, 75 Fed.Appx. 705 (2003) 75 Fed.Appx. 705 This case was not selected for publication in the Federal Reporter. Not for Publication in West’s Federal Reporter. See Fed. Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1 generally governing citation of judicial decisions issued …

U.S. v. Lavallee, CO, Order, Prison Conditions, 2003

Brief • July 2, 2003

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Threats by Staff, Conditions of Confinement, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

U.S. v. Lavallee, CO, Order, Prison Conditions, 2003 269 F.Supp.2d 1297 (2003) UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Mike LAVALLEE, Rod Schultz, and Robert Verbickas, Defendants. No. CR.A. 00-CR-481-D. United States District Court, D. Colorado. July 2, 2003. 1298 *1298 Mark Blumberg, United States Attorney's Office Criminal Section/CRT, Washington, DC, …

Kosher Diets for Prisoners Upheld in Tenth Circuit

Article • May 15, 2003 • from PLN May, 2003

Filed under: PLRA, Injunctions (PLRA), Religious Diet

Kosher Diets for Prisoners Upheld in Tenth Circuit by Bob Williams The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Colorado Federal District Court's permanent injunction directing the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) to provide kosher meals to qualified prisoners in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law and rejected the CDOC's …

Murder, Mayhem, Corruption and Snitches: BOP Florence Exposed

Article • April 15, 2003 • from PLN April, 2003

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Gang Policies, Racial Discrimination, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Prison/Jail Murders, Informants, Escapes, Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Guard Unions

Murder, Mayhem, Corruption and Snitches: BOP Florence Exposed by Bob Williams Located in the gently rolling hills of Southern Colorado, dotted with juniper, poplar and cedar trees, Florence is a quiet, small town that was once a prison town without a prison. At just over 5,000 town residents, Florence shares …

U.S. v. Lavallee, CO, Opinion, Prison Conditions, 2003

Brief • April 9, 2003

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Conditions of Confinement, Witnesses, Notice of Appeal/Appeal Rights

U.S. v. Lavallee, CO, Opinion, Prison Conditions, 2003 U.S. v. Lavallee, 61 Fed.Appx. 631 (2003) 61 Fed.Appx. 631 This case was not selected for publication in the Federal Reporter. Not for Publication in West’s Federal Reporter See Fed. Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1 generally governing citation of judicial decisions issued …

Maryland Pays $700,000 to Settle Suit Over Murder Committed by Parolee in Colorado

Article • March 15, 2003 • from PLN March, 2003

Filed under: Sexual Assault by Parolees, Parole Liability, Wrongful Death, Murder by Parolees

Maryland Pays $700,000 to Settle Suit Over Murder Committed by Parolee in Colorado by In May 2002, the State of Maryland agreed to pay $700,000 to a Denver woman whose daughter was murdered by a parolee released from a Maryland prison and sent to a drug treatment center in Colorado. …

Schlitters v. Corrections Corporation of America et al, CO, Complaint, failure to treat malpractice angioedema death, 2003

Brief • March 1, 2003

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Malpractice, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Schlitters v. Corrections Corporation of America et al, CO, Complaint, failure to treat malpractice angioedema death, 2003 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO 03-M-500 TAMARA L. SCHLITTERS, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Jeffrey A. Buller, Plaintiff, v. CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA; …

Bryant v. Cassaro, CO, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2003

Brief • January 30, 2003

Filed under: Excessive Force

Bryant v. Cassaro, CO, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2003

The Long Silence: Federal Prisoners' Fight to Get the Word Out Reaches Unprintable Extremes

Article • January 15, 2003 • from PLN January, 2003

Filed under: Retaliation for Media Contact, Publications/Books, Media, Prisoner Media, Censorship

The Long Silence: Federal Prisoners' Fight to Get the Word Out Reaches Unprintable Extremes by Alan Prendergast As an aspiring 26-year-old writer with a dark past, Mark Jordan figures he has plenty to tell the world. He has stories about bank robberies, for instance, and the many episodes of violence …

Colorado Ad-Seg Decisions Subject to Judicial Review

Article • January 15, 2003 • from PLN January, 2003

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Ad-Seg Hearings

Colorado Ad-Seg Decisions Subject to Judicial Review by The Colorado Court of Appeals held that administrative segregation (ad-seg) placement decisions are subject to judicial review. Leonard Baldauf, a prisoner of the Colorado Department of Corrections, (CDOC), was placed in adseg and filed a C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4) complaint seeking judicial review of …

Colorado Sex Offenders Freed from Mandatory Parole

Article • December 15, 2002 • from PLN December, 2002

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Parole

Colorado Sex Offenders Freed from Mandatory Parole by Bob Williams In one of the most criticized and widely reported rulings in Colorado history, the state Supreme Court has held that the state's mandatory parole laws do not apply to sex offenders whose crimes were committed on or after July 1, …

Summary Judgment Denied in Colorado Hepatitis-C Treatment Suit Based on Lack of Internet Access

Article • October 15, 2002 • from PLN October, 2002

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Denied in Colorado Hepatitis-C Treatment Suit Based on Lack of Internet Access by Bob Williams The Colorado Federal District Court has denied summary judgment for the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) in a suit seeking treatment for a prisoner infected with the hepatitisC virus (HCV). Several prisoner cases …

Colorado Denial of Motion to Amend Complaint Reversed

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability, Sovereign Immunity

Colorado Denial of Motion to Amend Complaint Reversed by The Colorado Court of Appeals held that provisions of the Colorado Government Immunity Act (CGIA) which precluded a prisoner's claim does not violate equal protection. The court also held that the trial court erred in denying the prisoner's motion to amend …