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California Jail Prisoners Claim Sleep Deprivation; Court Issues Injunction

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement

California Jail Prisoners Claim Sleep Deprivation; Court Issues Injunction by Kevin W. Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss In March 2019, Judge James Donato of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction that prohibited Alameda County’s jail system from depriving prisoners of their constitutional …

Study Shows Care for HIV-Positive Prisoners Poor after Release, Worse for Those Re-Incarcerated

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: HIV/AIDS, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Postage, Health care

Study Shows Care for HIV-Positive Prisoners Poor after Release, Worse for Those Re-Incarcerated by Scott Grammer by Scott Grammer A study published by the Public Library of Science on October 18, 2018 found that prisoners with HIV tend not to retain their level of care after being released, and that …

HRDC Prevails in New Mexico Public Records Suit

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Public Records, PLN Litigation

HRDC Prevails in New Mexico Public Records Suit by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon  The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the parent organization of Prison Legal News, has prevailed in a lawsuit filed in New Mexico state court after Otero County violated provisions of the state’s Inspection of Public Records …

Oregon Transitional Leave Violations Require Morrissey Due Process Protections

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Alternative Sentencing

Oregon Transitional Leave Violations Require Morrissey Due Process Protections by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson In a case of first-impression, a federal district court held that Oregon prisoners have a protected liberty interest in transitional leave that may not be revoked without procedural protections required by Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 …

Pennsylvania Town Rejects Private Prison Firm

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut

Pennsylvania Town Rejects Private Prison Firm by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Regular readers of Prison Legal News are well aware of the abysmal reputations that private, for-profit prisons have earned. Apparently word travels and people on the outside eventually listen and pay attention to such matters, as the citizens …

Prosecutorial Misconduct Records Protected by Colorado Supreme Court and SCOTUS

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Public Records

Prosecutorial Misconduct Records Protected by Colorado Supreme Court and SCOTUS by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon In a February 2019 decision that impacts access to public records, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) refused to review a unanimous ruling by Colorado’s Supreme Court issued eight months earlier which denied The Colorado …

New Jersey Women’s Prison Again Under Investigation for Staff Sexual Abuse

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Sexual Harassment

New Jersey Women’s Prison Again Under Investigation for Staff Sexual Abuse by Kevin W. Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss In April 2019, an eighth guard at New Jersey’s Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women (EMCF) was arrested and charged with official misconduct and criminal sexual conduct. Ciera Roddy, 32, faces …

Denver, Colorado Pays $30,000 Settlement Over a $50 Bond Fee

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Settlements, Bond Fees, Bail Bonds

Denver, Colorado Pays $30,000 Settlement Over a $50 Bond Fee by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon  Denver, Colorado resident Mickey Howard, often homeless and unemployed, was arrested on June 9, 2018 and charged with public intoxication and domestic violence. He had $64 when he was booked into jail. The next …

Supreme Court Again Prevents Texas from Executing Intellectually Disabled Prisoner

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row, Mental Health

Supreme Court Again Prevents Texas from Executing Intellectually Disabled Prisoner by In an unusual case where prosecutors sided with the defense and the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court crossed sides, convicted Texas murderer Bobby James Moore has again been ruled intellectually disabled and therefore not a candidate for …

Second Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Lawsuit Dismissed for Failure to Comply with F.R.C.P.

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Medical, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment

Second Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Lawsuit Dismissed for Failure to Comply with F.R.C.P. by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 15, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a prisoner’s pro se lawsuit that had been dismissed for failure to comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8 and …

Prisoners Seek Comprehensive Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Medical, Hepatitis

Prisoners Seek Comprehensive Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment by Kevin W. Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss In December 2018, the U.S. District Court for South Carolina granted class-action status in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Corrections (DOC) by state prisoners claiming they received inadequate medical care due to …

L.A. Sheriff Claims Jail Reforms Resulted in More Violence; Court Appointed Monitors Disagree

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Statistics/Trends

L.A. Sheriff Claims Jail Reforms Resulted in More Violence; Court Appointed Monitors Disagree by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke  Newly elected Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference in late January 2019, claiming that court-ordered reforms in the county’s jail system had caused an increase in violence …

$1.6 Million Awarded to California Family After Man Dies in County Jail

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Settlements, Wrongful Death

$1.6 Million Awarded to California Family After Man Dies in County Jail by Chad Marks by Chad Marks On February 15, 2019, a federal jury ruled that Mark Pajas, Sr. should not have died at a jail in Monterey County, California, prompting an award of $1.6 million to his family …

Ohio Restaurateur Founds Hot Chicken Takeover, Hires Ex-Cons

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, jobs

Ohio Restaurateur Founds Hot Chicken Takeover, Hires Ex-Cons by Scott Grammer by Scott Grammer In 2013, Joe DeLoss founded Hot Chicken Takeover in Columbus, Ohio. HCT is a “Nashville Hot Chicken” restaurant that has nearly 50 employees, 70% of whom have had trouble finding work due to criminal records or …

Corizon Settles Lawsuit Over Colorado Jail Prisoner’s Death for $3.7 Million; County Pays Another $200,000

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Corizon, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Settlements, Wrongful Death

Corizon Settles Lawsuit Over Colorado Jail Prisoner’s Death for $3.7 Million; County Pays Another $200,000 by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A lawsuit over the 2015 death of Adams County, Colorado jail detainee Tyler Tabor was secretly settled for $3.9 million in August 2018. The settlement only became public after …

Cook County to Pay Over $5 Million for Depriving Prisoners of Dental Care

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Dental Care, Settlements

Cook County to Pay Over $5 Million for Depriving Prisoners of Dental Care by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In May 2018, commissioners in Cook County, Illinois agreed to establish a $5,263,000 fund to settle four lawsuits, including one certified as a class-action, alleging a complete denial of dental treatment …

Class Action Challenges Theft of Millions of Digital Music Files from Florida Prisoners

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: JPay, Inc., Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Prisoner Property, Tapes/Music

Class Action Challenges Theft of Millions of Digital Music Files from Florida Prisoners by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter A class-action lawsuit accuses the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) of confiscating prisoners’ “lawfully purchased property without compensation” so the department and its vendor, JPay, could realize profit through …

Lawsuit Against New York Jail, CCS Survives Motion to Dismiss

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Correct Care Solutions, Medical, Failure to Treat, Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Lawsuit Against New York Jail, CCS Survives Motion to Dismiss by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna A federal civil rights complaint brought by the estate of deceased Monroe County, New York pre-trial detainee Pedro Sanchez, Jr. has survived a motion to dismiss filed by the county jail’s medical provider, Correct …

Illinois: Settlement in Suit Against Private Prison Medical Contractor is a Disclosable Public Record

Article • June 5, 2019 • from PLN June, 2019

Filed under: Settlements, Public Records, Public Records Act

Illinois: Settlement in Suit Against Private Prison Medical Contractor is a Disclosable Public Record by The Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) contracts with a private company, Wexford Health Sources, Inc., to provide medical and mental health care in state prisons. In 2012, prisoner Alfonso Franco died from cancer; three years …

Brown v. DPSCS, MD, Final General Settlement Argreement, Discrimination Against Blind Prisoners, 2019

Brief • June 5, 2019

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, Retaliatory Segregation, Work, Failure to Protect (General), Jail Specific, Education, Court Access, Grievances, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fourth Amendment, rights

Brown v. DPSCS, MD, Final General Settlement Argreement, Discrimination Against Blind Prisoners, 2019 RELEASE AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT This Release and Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered this 5th day of June, 2019, between Steven Brown, Wilbert Delano, Gregory Hammond, Sedric Holley, Russell Hopkins, Johnny James, Tyrell Polley, Maynard Snead and Robert …