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A Day at the Prison Fun Park

Article • January 15, 2000 • from PLN January, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Prison Tourism/Consumerism

A Day at the Prison Fun Park by Daniel Burton-Rose "Have you guys been here before?" a female high schooler asks two young guys in baseball caps and shorts. "We have," she goes on. "We liked it so much we came back a second time." I hear an older man …

CCA Settles Youngstown Suit for $2.48 Million

Article • August 15, 1999 • from PLN August, 1999

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Systemic Medical Neglect, Strip Searches, Body Cavity Searches, Failure to Protect (General), Attorney Fee Awards, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Damages, Settlements, Prisoner Property, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice

CCA Settles Youngstown Suit for $2.48 Million by by Alex Friedmann On March 1, 1999 the Corrections Corp. of America agreed to pay $1.65 million plus $803,000 in attorney fees and expenses to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by Washington, D.C. prisoners at the company's Northeast Ohio Corr. Center in …

In Re Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, OH, Class Action Settlement, Excessive Force and Failure to Protect, 1999

Brief • August 11, 1999

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings

In Re Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, OH, Class Action Settlement, Excessive Force and Failure to Protect, 1999 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION IN RE NORTHEAST OHIO CORRECTIONAL CENTER : Case No. 4:97 CV 01995 (Polster, J.) : : CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT The Plaintiffs (as …

Ohio Prisons Cited by EPA

Article • July 15, 1999 • from PLN July, 1999

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Environmental Law, Sewage, Water

Ohio Prisons Cited by EPA by Dan Cahill In Ohio, the task of keeping water safe and pure is delegated to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). The task of keeping prisoners locked up belongs to Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (DORC). Under Ohio Revised Code (R.C.) §2921.44, the …

The Lucasville Trials

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Gang Policies, Prison Rebellion, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Prison/Jail Murders, Informants, Attorney Client

The Lucasville Trials by Staughton Lynd [Editors' note: The identity of persons who provided information to the author confidentially has been withheld. ] On April 21, 1993, 407 prisoners who for eleven days had occupied the L cell block at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) in Lucasville, Ohio, surrendered …

No Liberty Interest in Ohio Ad-Seg Rules

Article • May 15, 1999 • from PLN May, 1999

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Ad-Seg Hearings

No Liberty Interest in Ohio Ad-Seg Rules by The court of appeals for the Sixth circuit held that Ohio prisoners have no state created liberty interest in remaining free of administrative segregation (ad-seg). Alvin Jones, an Ohio state prisoner, filed suit claiming that a 2k year placement in ad seg …

In Re Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, OH, Memo Approving Class Action Settlement, Conditions of Confinement, 1999

Brief • May 11, 1999

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Eighth Amendment

In Re Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, OH, Memo Approving Class Action Settlement, Conditions of Confinement, 1999 ,t:,I ' • ., . '9 UNITED STATES D1STRJcr COURT NORTHERN I)JSTRJCT OF OHIO EASTER>'\' DIVISION IN RE: NORTHEAST 01110 CORJ~ECTIONALCENTER ) CASE NO. 4:97 CV 1995 ) ) ) JUDGE DAN AARON POLSTER …

Timothy "Little Rock" Reed Released on Parole

Article • April 15, 1999 • from PLN April, 1999

Filed under: Discrimination, Political Prisoners, Parole

Timothy "Little Rock" Reed Released on Parole by Timothy "Little Rock" Reed Released on Parole On December 17, 1998, Timothy "Little Rock" Reed was reinstated to his Ohio parole following a five year extradition battle. Reed, a former prison activist, fled Ohio In 1993 when he was accused of violating …

Cheaper Than Lab Rats: Can Prisoners Glow in the Dark?

Article • March 15, 1999 • from PLN March, 1999

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Medical Misconduct, Medical Experiments/Exploitation

Cheaper Than Lab Rats: Can Prisoners Glow in the Dark? by Hans Sherrer We get outraged and indignant when we read or hear of atrocities committed by Nazi doctors in the name of medical science. [1] Yet, if what the Nazis did is what triggers our sense of outrage, then …

Eighth Amendment Applies to Escaped Convicts

Article • March 15, 1999 • from PLN March, 1999

Filed under: Escapes, Excessive Force, Shootings, Qualified Immunity

Eighth Amendment Applies to Escaped Convicts by The court of appeals for the Sixth circuit held that escaped convicts are not subject to Fourth Amendment protections simply because they are outside of a facility. Only the Eighth Amendment applies. Since the law in this regard was unsettled, a guard who …

No Liberty Interest in Ohio Visiting Rules

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Employee Litigation, Marriage

No Liberty Interest in Ohio Visiting Rules by Afederal district court in Ohio held that Ohio state visiting rules do not create a liberty interest in visitation. Melissa Blair is a former Ohio prison guard married to Ohio prisoner Lemont Blair. The Blairs' visiting privileges were suspended after prison officials …

Corrupt Cleveland Cops/Guards Sentenced

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Corrupt Cleveland Cops/Guards Sentenced by In the July 1998 issue of PLN , we reported the arrest of 51 Cleveland area police and jail guards who were lured into an FBI sting with promises of high-paying "moonlighting" jobs as security guards for illegal drug shipments. On August 19, 1998, 49 …

With Advocates Lke These: Capitulation, Collaboration and CURE-Ohio

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Organizing, Work Strikes

With Advocates Lke These: Capitulation, Collaboration and CURE-Ohio by Paul Wright In the May, 1998, issue of PLN we reported on the November 1, 1997, statewide work strike in Ohio. The purpose of this article isn't to rehash last year's events but to examine basic questions of advocacy versus activism, …

Youngstown Break-Out Leads to Political, Financial Fall-Out

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Financing, Escapes

Youngstown Break-Out Leads to Political, Financial Fall-Out by Alex Friedmann On July 25, 1998 a half-dozen prisoners, including four convicted murderers, cut through two fences and escaped from the CCA-operated Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. According to Warden Jimmy Turner the successful break-out was due to errors by …

Ohio Sells Prison Records

Article • October 15, 1998 • from PLN October, 1998

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Ohio Sells Prison Records by The state of Ohio has sold its state prison records, dating back to 1972, to the on-line information service Lexis-Nexis. Other states are expected to follow. Lexis-Nexis is a private on-line computer service that provides news, business and legal information. The service also features on-line …

Ohio Union Officials Protest Prison Labor

Article • October 15, 1998 • from PLN October, 1998

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries

Ohio Union Officials Protest Prison Labor by Ohio state prisoners performed 2.9 million hours of unpaid "community service" labor in 1997 at schools, fairgrounds, churches and other locations. But when the St. Clairsville, Ohio, Board of Education recruited unpaid prison labor in the construction of an outdoor classroom, representatives of …

Prisoner Attendance at Depositions Discussed

Article • October 15, 1998 • from PLN October, 1998

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Discovery, Depositions

Prisoner Attendance at Depositions Discussed by The court of appeals for the Sixth circuit held that a district court erred when it issued an order permitting a prisoner plaintiff to attend the pretrial deposition of prison officials conducted by his lawyer. In doing so, the court set forth standards lower …

FBI Law Enforcement Sting Nabs 53 in Ohio

Article • July 15, 1998 • from PLN July, 1998

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct

FBI Law Enforcement Sting Nabs 53 in Ohio by FBI Law Enforcement Sting Nabs 53 In Ohio In February, 1998, a federal grand jury indicted 53 Cleveland area people as a result of an FBI sting operation where federal agents posed as drug kingpins and hired police, county jail guards, …

$350,000 Awarded in Ohio Prisoner Death

Article • July 15, 1998 • from PLN July, 1998

Filed under: Respiratory, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$350,000 Awarded in Ohio Prisoner Death by $350,000 Awarded In Ohio Prisoner Death Sybil Norris, 29, was doing a six-month stretch for shoplifting at the Ohio Reformatory for Women when she died, needlessly, of an asthma attack. Two years later, in December 1997, the Ohio Court of Claims awarded $350,000 …

Fatal Mismanagement at Ohio CCA Prison

Article • June 15, 1998 • from PLN June, 1998

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Transfers, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

Fatal Mismanagement at Ohio CCA Prison by In February 1998, federal judge Sam Bell ordered the Corrections Corp. of America to halt the transfer of inmates from Washington, D.C., to the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NOCC), a CCA-owned prison in Youngstown, Ohio. Bell agreed with Alphonse Gerhardstein, the Cincinnati attorney …