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Lou v. Lopinto, LA, Statement of Interest, Wrongful Death-ADA, 2023

Brief • May 12, 2023

Filed under: Americans with Disabilities Act, Wrongful Death, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability

Lou v. Lopinto, LA, Statement of Interest, Wrongful Death-ADA, 2023 Case 2:21-cv-00080-WBV-DPC Document 197 Filed 05/12/23 Page 1 of 21 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA DONNA LOU, ET AL. Plaintiffs, v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 21-80 SECTION “D” (2) SHERIFF JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III, ET AL. Defendants, Judge …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2023 • from PLN May, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On March 26, 2023, a former state prison guard at Easterling Correctional Facility was arrested for taking bribes to smuggle contraband into the lockup. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Quindarius Thagard, 27, was fired and charged with use of office for personal gain and promotion …

Fifth Circuit Reinstates Claim That LaSalle Guards Fatally Beat Louisiana Pre-Trial Detainee

Article • May 1, 2023 • from PLN May, 2023

Filed under: LaSalle Management Company, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death)

Fifth Circuit Reinstates Claim That LaSalle Guards Fatally Beat Louisiana Pre-Trial Detainee by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On July 22, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reinstated claims previously dismissed in a lawsuit filed over a detainee’s fatal beating at a prison privately operated by …

Louisiana High Court Abandons Ab Initio Precedent in Favor of “Victim’s Rights”

Article • May 1, 2023 • from PLN May, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Crime Victims Rights Act, Suicides, Murder/Felony Murder

Louisiana High Court Abandons Ab Initio Precedent in Favor of “Victim’s Rights” by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Confronted with the appeal of a defendant who died on November 10, 2022, the Supreme Court of Louisiana reversed its own precedent and refused to abandon his prosecution. With that, the …

News in Brief

Article • April 1, 2023 • from PLN April, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: WBAM in Birmingham reported that a guard at the Blount County Jail was taken into custody and fired on January 31, 2023. Joseph Snow, 43, was charged with second-degree assault for injuring a detainee during an incident captured on surveillance video. Sheriff Mike Moon called …

In an Ominous Pattern, People Are Dying Once Transferred to Louisiana Prison

Article • March 1, 2023 • from PLN March, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Death

In an Ominous Pattern, People Are Dying Once Transferred to Louisiana Prison by Victoria Law by Victoria Law, Truthout On November 18, 2020, 37-year-old Javon Kennerson was transferred to Louisiana’s Catahoula Correctional Center, a prison that until recently was run by LaSalle Corrections, a private prison corporation. Less than one month …

Fifth Circuit Greenlights Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Held in Local Jails Beyond Release Date

Article • March 1, 2023 • from PLN March, 2023

Filed under: Release and Reentry, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Excessive Charges

Fifth Circuit Greenlights Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Held in Local Jails Beyond Release Date by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 10, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that Louisiana prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity (QI) for delays in calculating release …

Burning Tires Left Louisiana Prisoners With Migraines, Breathing Problems, and Minimal Medical Care As black smoke poured out of a burning tire dump in Louisiana, people inside the prison next door st...

Article • February 1, 2023 • from PLN February, 2023

Filed under: Medical Misconduct, Rural Prisons

Burning Tires Left Louisiana Prisoners With Migraines, Breathing Problems, and Minimal Medical Care As black smoke poured out of a burning tire dump in Louisiana, people inside the prison next door struggled to keep the fumes out. by Alleen Brown by Alleen Brown, The Intercept Brandon Moore knew something was …

News in Brief

Article • February 1, 2023 • from PLN February, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: WHNT in Huntsville reported on December 16, 2022, that a Morgan County Jail detainee was charged with assaulting a guard. Ashley Nicole Taymon, 36, had gotten into an altercation at the Community Corrections Office five days earlier and was taken to a hospital. There she …

DOJ Investigative Finding-Louisiana DOC, Jan. 2023

Publication • January 25, 2023

Filed under: Overdetention

DOJ Investigative Finding-Louisiana DOC, Jan. 2023 Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Investigative Findings and Next Steps On January 25, 2023, following an extensive investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and the three U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the State of Louisiana notified the Louisiana Department …

Investigation of the Lousiana Dept. Of Public Safety & Corrections-Jan. 2023

Publication • January 25, 2023

Filed under: Overdetention

Investigation of the Lousiana Dept. Of Public Safety & Corrections-Jan. 2023 INVESTIGATION OF THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY & CORRECTIONS United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division January 25, 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 II. SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 1 III. INVESTIGATION .................................................................................................................. 3 IV. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................... …

News in Brief

Article • January 1, 2023 • from PLN January, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On November 2, 2022, a former state prison guard at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility near Birmingham pleaded guilty to federal contraband smuggling charges. The Birmingham News reported that Wilson Brian Clemons, 32, was arrested on November 23, 2021, on state counts of marijuana …

Fifth Circuit Holds PLRA’s ‘Three-Strikes’ Provision Does Not Apply to Actions Removed From State Court

Article • January 1, 2023 • from PLN January, 2023

Filed under: Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), Three Strike Litigants

Fifth Circuit Holds PLRA’s ‘Three-Strikes’ Provision Does Not Apply to Actions Removed From State Court by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 9, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that prisoners claiming indigent status in a federal civil rights suit are not barred by …

“No Room”: Louisiana Juvenile System No Longer Accepting Kids

Article • December 12, 2022

Filed under: Overcrowding, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders

“No Room”: Louisiana Juvenile System No Longer Accepting Kids by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On November 10, 2022, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) notified judges in state juvenile courts that the agency was “at full bed capacity” in both “secure and non-secure beds,” so it …

News in Brief

Article • October 31, 2022 • from PLN November, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A convicted bank robber had 30 months added to his 17-year prison sentence on September 26, 2022, for bribing an Alabama jail guard to smuggle him a cellphone, K2 “spice” paper, and other contraband. According to a federal Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, while …

Fletcher v. Whittington, LA, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2022

Brief • October 24, 2022

Filed under: Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Fletcher v. Whittington, LA, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2022 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA (Shreveport) THOMAS B. FLETCHER, et al., Plaintiffs, No. 5:18-cv-01153-SMH-KLH Chief Judge: S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. Magistrate Judge: Kayla D. McClusky v. JULIAN C. WHITTINGTON, et al., Defendants. CIVlL ACTION -LAW …

News in Brief

Article • September 30, 2022 • from PLN October, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A jail guard in Chilton County, Alabama, was arrested on July 21, 2022, and charged with promoting contraband, the Clanton Advertiser reported. The guard, Tyler Ryan Couch, is accused of organizing an effort to smuggle drugs to detainees. Though jail policy forbids guards from transmitting …

Five Hospitalized After Prisoner Take-Over Put Down at Short-Staffed New Orleans Jail

Article • September 29, 2022

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Staffing

Five Hospitalized After Prisoner Take-Over Put Down at Short-Staffed New Orleans Jail by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On Sunday, August 14, 2022, barely one hundred days into her tenure as New Orleans Parish Sheriff, Susan Hutson was confronted with a prisoner takeover of a cellblock in the …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2022 • from PLN September, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A federal prisoner in Birmingham was gunned down outside a privately-operated reentry facility on July 16, 2022. The Associated Press reported that the prisoner, Larry Taylor, 47, had just been released from the facility, which is operated under contract from the federal Bureau of Prisons …

Louisiana Moves Juvenile Offenders to Troubled State Penitentiary at Angola

Article • August 5, 2022

Filed under: Juvenile Prisons

Louisiana Moves Juvenile Offenders to Troubled State Penitentiary at Angola by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced on July 19, 2022, that approximately 25 teenage juvenile offenders will be transferred from a residential center near New Orleans to temporary housing at the …