"The Judge Gave Me Ten Years--He Didn't Sentence Me to Death" by Anne-Marie Cusac "The Judge Gave Me Ten Years--He Didn't Sentence Me to Death" Prisoners with HIV deprived of proper care By Anne-Marie Cusac In prisons and jails across the country, prisoners with HIV or AIDS are denied proper …
$1.75 Million Verdict in Juvenile Death Suit by On February 9, 2000, a federal jury in Macon, Georgia held that Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice employees were liable for the death of a 15 year old female juvenile prisoner who was given Tylenol to treat a serious brain injury and …
Tide Turns Against Prison Privatization by North Carolina, Georgia, Utah and Louisiana are among states that experimented with private prisons and because of problems encountered have eliminated them altogether or scaled back plans for future privatization. North Carolina officials converted both of the state's private prisons to public operation, and …
No Immunity for Private Prison Physician by The U.S. court of appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a privately employed prison physician was ineligible to claim qualified immunity. Disputed material facts surrounding his response to a prisoner's serious medical condition also precluded summary judgment on the merits. In June …
Private Citizen Liable for Jail Slavery Under §1983 by Private Citizen Liable for Jail Slavery Under §1983 A federal district court in Georgia held that a private citizen who exercises authority over a county prisoner can be held liable under 42 U.S.C. §1983 as a state actor. Lamar County, Georgia …
Claim Exhausted When Prison Refuses Grievance Appeal by The court of appeals for the Eleventh circuit held that a Georgia prisoner had exhausted his administrative remedies as required under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) when the prison refused to process his grievance appeal. Tracy Miller, a paraplegic Georgia state …
The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane? by Anne-Marie Cusac Jail and prison employees call it the "strap-o-lounger," the "barcalounger," the "we care chair," and the "be sweet chair." Prisoners and their lawyers have other names for the device: "torture chair," "slave chair," and "devil's chair." They are not referring to …
Change in Fulton County, GA: Indigent Defense, HIV, and Community Organizing by Lisa Zahren The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta is the largest jail in Georgia, with approximately 3,000 prisoners held there for months and sometimes years waiting for their cases to be resolved or to be transferred to a …
BOP Settles Medical Death Suit for $700,000 by In February, 1999, the federal Bu reau of Prisons settled a medical neglect suit for $700,000. David Deen, a BOP prisoner, was 30 years old and confined at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia for five months. He was prescribed nitroglycerin for …
$100,000 Awarded Under ICCPR in GA Jail Suit by On February 24, 2000, a federal jury In Augusta, Georgia awarded 1100,000 in damages to a Danish citizen who was denied medical care and phone calls to his family in Denmark while he was awaiting trial in the Lincoln county jail …
Pro Se Tips and Tactics by John Midgley Supreme Court Decides Georgia Parole Case by John Midgley In many states, there are parole boards that decide when prisoners will be released. In these states, the timing of when the parole board will consider parole the timing of "initial" parole consideration …
$59,177 in Damages and Fees Awarded in Georgia Braille Suit by On April 15, 1999, a federal district court in Georgia issued a directed verdict awarding a blind Georgia state prisoner $2,000 in damages. Eddy Stephens, a blind prisoner, was denied access to braile books and writing instruments. He was …
$600,000 In GA Medical Neglect Suit by On February 27, 1999, a Baldwin county superior court jury in Georgia awarded prisoner Stephanie Stitt $600,000 in damages in a medical neglect suit against Correctional Medical Systems (CMS). Stitt fell and injured her back while playing volleyball at the Baldwin State Prison. …
Inquiry Required Before Dismissal for Failure to Pay Partial Filing Fee by Inquiry Required Before Dismissal for Failure to Pay Partial Filing Fee The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held a district court must inquire into why a prisoner failed to pay an initial partial filing fee as ordered …
Georgia Prisoner Wins $60,000 Retaliation Verdict by On September 30, 1999, U.S. district court judge Orinda Evans awarded Georgia state prisoner Ray Yelverton $60,000 in compensatory and punitive damages in a retaliation suit against prison officials. Yelverton was convicted of child molestation charges in 1990. He was imprisoned at the …
Ex-Welfare Workers in Georgia Replaced with Prison Slaves by To save money, a South Georgia recycling plant fired 50 trash sorters, including 35 who had taken jobs to get off welfare, and replaced them with prison slave labor. The former welfare clients had been earning $5.20/ hour before they were …
Go Directly to Jail: At the Academy in Alpharetta, Men Pay Big Bucks to Pretend They're in Prison by Dan Savage By Dan Savage Alpharetta, Georgia- I'm naked, and I'm not happy. In just under an hour, I've been subjected to two of three punishments I'd specifically asked to be …
Georgia Parole Regulation Still Ex Post Facto by The U.S. court of appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the retroactive application of an amendment to the Georgia parole regulations, changing the frequency of required parole reconsideration hearings, continues to violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the federal constitution. …
Georgia Court Access Consent Decree Terminated by After being in effect less than a decade, a consent decree stemming from a class action lawsuit and providing for a mixed system of court access for Georgia state prisoners was dissolved on November 11, 1998, as U.S. District judge Anthony Alaimo vacated …
PLRA Doesn't Ban Class Actions by A federal district court in Georgia held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) does not ban class action suits by prisoners. In the October, 1998, issue of PLN we reported the Georgia DOC's settlement of a class action suit involving the beating and …
