Court Formulates New "Use of Force" Standard by While pretrial detainees are imprisoned against their will and in many cases are similar in circumstance to convicted detainees they are legally innocent of any crime. This is an important distinction when it comes to detainees litigating jail conditions. PLN regularly reports …
Two Strikes and You're Out - of Prison Space by In past issues of PLN we have reported on Georgia's "two-strike" law. Before the November, 1994, elections both Governor Zell "Zig Zag" Miller and Corrections Commissioner Allen Ault assured the GA legislature and voters that the state had enough prison …
$50,000 Awarded in Groin Kneeing by Fred Culver is a mentally disabled alcoholic. He was arrested by city police in Sparta, Georgia and taken into custody. Once in the jail he began slapping at one of the policemen. In an ensuing melee Culver was twice kneed in the groin. He …
No Liberty Interest in GA Parole Rules by In the April, 1994, issue of PLN we reported Sultenfuss v. Snow, 7 F.3d 1543 (l1th Cir 1993). Stephen Sultenfuss is a Georgia state prisoner serving sentences for two drug convictions. Under the rules of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole …
BOP Guard Killed by A report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution states that the US penitentiary in Atlanta is the most dangerous federal prison in the country with five prisoners killed in a year. During a May, 1994, tour by BOP director Kathleen Hawk, one prisoner stabbed and killed another. …
One and Two Strike Laws Passed by Paul Wright By Paul Wright In the June, 1994, issue of PLN, my article "Three Strikes Racks 'em Up" made reference to then pending proposals to pass a "Two Strikes" law in Georgia and a "One Strike" law in California for sex offenders. …
No Immunity for Delay of Medical Care by Willie Harris was a pretrial detainee in the Coweta County, Georgia, jail. When he was arrested his hand was injured by tight handcuffs. Upon arrival at the jail, on September 6, 1990, he requested treatment for the injury. He was seen by …
Prisoner Unrest in Georgia by GA Prisoner, Anonymous By A Georgia Reader On Sunday, June 19, 1994, prisoners at Hancock Correctional Institution in Sparta, Georgia revolted in one of the worst prison riots in Georgia history. Damages were estimated at over one million dollars. Establishment media reports erroneously blamed the …
Three Strikes Racks 'em Up by Paul Wright Three Strikes Racks 'Em Up By Paul Wright In November of 1993 voters in Washington state passed Initiative 593 which mandates life without parole for defendants convicted of one of 42 qualifying felonies for the third time. PLN covered the initiative process …
$35,000 Awarded for Beating by Leon Davis is a Georgia state prisoner. He filed suit claiming that his eighth amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment was violated when a guard shoved him down the stairs of a fire escape and another guard punched him in the …
GA Parole Rules Create Liberty Interest by Stephen Sultenfuss is a Georgia state prisoner serving sentences for two drug convictions. Under the rules of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole (GBPP) he should have served 10 months in prison. Disregarding their own rules the GBPP imposed a period of …
Delay of Medical Care States Claim by Willie Harris was a pretrial detainee in the Coweta County, Georgia, jail. When he was arrested his hand was injured by tight handcuffs. Upon arrival at the jail, on September 6, 1990, he requested treatment for the injury. He was seen by the …
Needs Haircut Information by John Harris I need to know if any prisons in the United States, state or federal, allow their prisoners to grow beards and have long hair. If you don't have their address just listing their names would be a start. Prisoners here at the Georgia State …
Default Appropriate for Obstructing Discovery by This is not a prison case but a personal injury suit concerning the faulty design of Suzuki Samurais. We are reporting it in PLN because obstruction of the discovery process by litigants is quite common and this is a good case explaining the sanctions …
Dismissal Error for Failing to Obey Local Rules by Ronald Kilgo is a Georgia state prisoner. When he was in the Fulton County Jail he filed suit under § 1983 because jail officials had repeatedly refused his requests for medical treatment of a back injury and had subjected him to …
Prisoners Retain Right of Bodily Privacy by Male Georgia state prisoners filed suit concerning the assignment of female prison guards to prison living units. The prisoners claim that the female guards act unprofessionally when they view male prisoners in their undershorts, showering and using the toilet. They claim that the …
Money Damages Available for Consent Decree Violations by Two prisoners at the Georgia State Prison (GSP) filed suit under § 1983 concerning the confiscation of personal property and the procedures at prison disciplinary hearings. In the mid-70's these issues had been litigated as part of a class action suit by …
Inquiry Stepped up in Georgia Prison Sex Case by Authorities in Georgia said they have intensified an investigation into alleged sexual abuse at a Georgia women's prison after 14 current and former state corrections employees were indicted on rape and sexual assault charges. A grand jury returned the indictments after …
BOP Prisoners Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies by PLN recently reported the U.S. Supreme Court decision in McCarthy v. Madigan , 503 US ___, 112 S.Ct. 1081 (1992), which held that federal prisoners did not have to exhaust administrative remedies (the grievance system) prior to filing suit in federal court. In …
Guards Can't Be Prevented From Making Positive Recommendations To Parole Board by A policy prohibiting correctional employees from making recommendations directly to the parole board could be challenged by inmate asserting correctional employee's first amendment rights; such communications were not "purely personal," the court held, but rather involved matters of …
