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County May be Liable for Hogtying Death of Arrestee

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force, Restraints, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Municipal Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise

County May be Liable for Hogtying Death of Arrestee by Hog-tying an obviously mentally deranged suspect constituted excessive force, though the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established that such conduct was unlawful. However, defendants are not entitled to immunity under state law because …

Wyoming Federal Court Defers Termination Of Consent Decree, Allows Discovery

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, PLRA, Consent Decrees (PLRA), Discovery

Wyoming Federal Court Defers Termination Of Consent Decree, Allows Discovery by by Michael Rigby In this case involving a motion by Carbon County officials to terminate a 1987 consent decree regarding prisoner medical care, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming twice granted plaintiffs' discovery motions: once to …

Jail Immune in Alcohol Withdrawal Death

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Jail Immune in Alcohol Withdrawal Death by The decedent was arrested for DUI and died in jail about 18 hours later. An autopsy found that he died from an arrhythmia resulting from an electrolyte imbalance caused by fatty liver. The court assumes that alcohol withdrawal is a serious medical need, …

Wyoming Federal Court Awards Attorney $18,000 for Compliance Monitoring

Article • March 15, 2007 • from PLN March, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Consent Decrees (PLRA), Discovery

Wyoming Federal Court Awards Attorney $18,000 for Compliance Monitoring by Michael Rigby On March 9, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming awarded $16,200.50 in enhanced fees plus $2,105.28 in costs to an attorney for time spent monitoring compliance with remedial measures at the Carbon County (Wyoming) …

Guard Out on Bond, Woman He Allegedly Raped Jailed Beyond Her Sentence

Article • July 15, 2006 • from PLN July, 2006

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Criminal Prosecution, Immigration

Guard Out on Bond, Woman He Allegedly Raped Jailed Beyond Her Sentence by Platte County (Wyoming) Detention Center control clerk Jeremy King was charged with two counts of second-degree felony sexual assault for having sex with a female Jamaican prisoner convicted of federal drug offenses. The woman, who was not …

Remedial Plan And $427,158 Attorney Fees In Wyoming Failure to Protect Suit

Article • December 15, 2005 • from PLN December, 2005

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Attorney Fees (PLRA), Injunctions, Expert Witnesses, Supervisory Liability

Remedial Plan And $427,158 Attorney Fees In Wyoming Failure to Protect Suit by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) settled an Eighth Amendment-based class action complaint brought by prisoner Brad Skinner for WDOC's failure to protect prisoners from assault by other prisoners. The …

Guards Rape, Sexually Harass and Smuggle at Colorado Prisons

Article • October 15, 2005 • from PLN October, 2005

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Dominion Group, Staff-Staff Harassment, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Staffing

Guards Rape, Sexually Harass and Smuggle at Colorado Prisons by by Matthew T. Clarke There are new troubles at several prisons in Colorado. At a 250-bed GRW-run private prison in Brush, a tiny town 91 miles northwest of Denver, the newly-resigned ex-warden and two guards have been indicted in relation …

Hermaphroditic Wyoming Prisoner Awarded $1,000 for 14 Months in Solitary

Article • December 15, 2004 • from PLN December, 2004

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

Hermaphroditic Wyoming Prisoner Awarded $1,000 for 14 Months in Solitary by Hermaphroditic Wyoming Prisoner Awarded $1,000 For 14 Months In Solitary In a bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming has awarded $1,000 to a hermaphroditic Wyoming state prisoner who was made to serve her entire …

Indictment Dismissed for Failure to Comply with Interstate Agreement on Detainers

Article • June 15, 2004 • from PLN June, 2004

Filed under: Escapes, Sentencing, Detainers

Indictment Dismissed for Failure to Comply with Interstate Agreement on Detainers by The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed a conviction and dismissed the underlying indictment because the State failed to bring the defendant to trial within the time period allotted in the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD). In 1997, Janvirgo Odhinn …

PHS Redux: Sued In A Dozen States, Contract Losses, Stock Plummets, Business Continues

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Prison Health Services, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Stroke, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

PHS Redux: Sued In A Dozen States, Contract Losses, Stock Plummets, Business Continues by by John E. Dannenberg Prison Health Services (PHS), a subsidiary of America Service Group, Inc. (ASG), continues to face lawsuits and lose contracts for its deplorable record of prisoner health care gaffes in a dozen states. …

Wyoming Jail Must Disclose Suicide Prevention Critique

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

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Mental Health, Suicides

Wyoming Jail Must Disclose Suicide Prevention Critique by The Wyoming Supreme Court has held that the Wyoming Public Records Act (WPRA) requires that state's jails to disclose to the press reports evaluating jail suicide prevention procedures. In 1998, prisoner suicide attempts increased in the county jail in Laramie, Wyoming. Laramie …

Wyoming Prison Officials Settle Poisoning and Medical Suits for over $200,000

Article • July 15, 2001 • from PLN July, 2001

Filed under: Wexford Health Services, Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Cardiovascular, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Accidents

Wyoming Prison Officials Settle Poisoning and Medical Suits for over $200,000 by Wyoming Prison Officials Settle Poisoning And Medical Suits for over $200,000 In August 2000, Wyoming officials agreed to settle two consolidated cases for $200,000 in damages, costs, and attorney fees. The cases were filed in a Wyoming federal …

Sandin Limits Property Interests

Article • December 15, 2000 • from PLN December, 2000

Filed under: Prisoner Privileges, Court Access, Prisoner Property

Sandin Limits Property Interests by The court of appeals for the Tenth circuit held that Sandin v. Connor, 515 U.S. 472,115 S.Ct. 2293 (1995) applies to property interests asserted by prisoners, as well as liberty interests. In 1997 a guard at the Wyoming State Penitentiary (WSP) was killed by prisoners …

Dismissal of Medical Claim Reversed After Prisoner's Death

Article • November 15, 2000 • from PLN November, 2000

Filed under: Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Cardiovascular, Blood, Diabetes, Frivolous Litigation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Dismissal of Medical Claim Reversed After Prisoner's Death by The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed a lawsuit, filed by the estate of a Wyoming prisoner, that claimed prison officials showed a deliberate indifference to his medical needs relating to …

Wyoming Prisoners Win Summary Judgment for Increased Security

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Injunctions (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Supervisory Liability

Wyoming Prisoners Win Summary Judgment for Increased Security by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The class of all Wyoming state pris-oners won injunctive relief forcing prison officials to protect them from unprovoked assault, bodily injury and death at the hands of other prisoners, now, and in the future. …

Mystery of Guard's Death Unlocked

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Escapes

Mystery of Guard's Death Unlocked by B K The guard who was murdered [during an escape attempt at the Wyoming state penitentiary in June 1997] was in a cage built for the "Shift Commander" when he was stabbed to death. The cage is made of brick, concrete, steel, and bullet-proof …

Outgoing Mail Censorship Illegal

Article • August 15, 1995 • from PLN August, 1995

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Notice of Rules, Legality of Rules, Qualified Immunity, Mail Regulations, Censorship

Outgoing Mail Censorship Illegal by A district court has reaffirmed the long-standing principle that the censorship of outgoing prisoner mail rarely implicates prison security interests. Donald Gee, a Wyoming state prisoner, wrote a letter to his brother about his conditions of confinement, that he was being retaliated against by prison …

Health Problems in WY

Article • July 15, 1995 • from PLN July, 1995

Filed under: Private Prisons, Wexford Health Services, Systemic Medical Neglect

Health Problems in WY by We have a new Health Service provider that took over from the state. They worry about costs over and above prisoners' health care. The name of the provider is Wexford Health Services, Inc. Their home office address is 4500 PGA Blvd. Suite 302, Palm Beach, …

WY Trailer Visits Taken

Article • May 15, 1995 • from PLN May, 1995

Filed under: Overcrowding, Visiting, Extended Family Visiting

WY Trailer Visits Taken by Wyoming penitentiary warden, Duane Shillinger, issued a memorandum to "All Inmates" notifying them that the "Family Visiting Center" would be closed effective April 1, 1995. The warden said he regrets making this difficult decision. The reasons stated in the memo for terminating the trailer visit …

Attorney Fees for Contempt Hearing

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Attorney Fee Awards, Costs, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Consent Decrees

Attorney Fees for Contempt Hearing by Jail prisoners of the Natrona County jail in Wyoming initiated contempt proceedings against jail officials for not having complied with the terms of a consent decree entered into between prisoners and jail officials over jail conditions. The district court concluded that the county jail …