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Department of Homeland Security-Condition of Confinement Worksheet, Dec. 2021

Publication • 2021

Filed under: Prison Conditions

Department of Homeland Security-Condition of Confinement Worksheet, Dec. 2021 Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations Condition of Confinement Inspection Worksheet (This document must be attached to each G-324A Inspection Worksheet) This Form is to be used for Inspections of Facilities Used Over …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2021 • from PLN May, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2021, Huntsville TV station WHNT reported a delay in the trial on theft and ethics charges of Mike Blakely, sheriff of Limestone County, Alabama. According to the report, retired Colbert County Circuit Judge Pride Tompkins, who had been appointed to hear the case …

McGuire v. Dykstra, IN, Settlement Agreement, Medical Neglect, 2020

Brief • March 4, 2021

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Cardiovascular, Second-Hand Smoke, Deliberate Indifference

McGuire v. Dykstra, IN, Settlement Agreement, Medical Neglect, 2020 RELEASE AND SETI'LEMENT lGREEMENT 1. This Agreement between Dustin McG · e, DOC # 248909 [hereinafter referred to as Releasor], and Indiana Department of Correction, all of the Indiana Department of Correction's present and former me , bers, officers, agents, employees, …

News in Brief

Article • March 1, 2021 • from PLN March, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: In January 2021, two women who worked at an Arizona state prison operated by Florida-based GEO Group pleaded guilty to having sex with inmates there. Melony Petrovffsky, 50, ran the commissary for the private contractor at a prison in Golden Valley, where she was allegedly …

Analysis: Federal Executions in Indiana Became ‘Super-Spreader’ Events

Article • March 1, 2021 • from PLN March, 2021

Filed under: COVID-19, Death Penalty

Analysis: Federal Executions in Indiana Became ‘Super-Spreader’ Events by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna It seems inconceivable that prison personnel selected to carry out the ultimate judicial sanction – execution — would willfully violate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and expose themselves, their families, prisoners and staff, clergy, …

Was Indiana Women’s Prison Willfully Ignorant About COVID-19 Numbers?

Article • February 1, 2021 • from PLN February, 2021

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, COVID-19

Was Indiana Women’s Prison Willfully Ignorant About COVID-19 Numbers? by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke During the summer of 2020, Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis went weeks without reporting a single case of COVID-19. That changed in September, when the number of cases at the over 600-bed prison exploded. Between …

Indiana Prisoner Has First Amendment Retaliation Claims Rejected by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Article • December 1, 2020 • from PLN December, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Erroneous Rejection of Challenge

Indiana Prisoner Has First Amendment Retaliation Claims Rejected by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals by Casey Bastian

$2,500 Settlement in Failure to Protect Prisoners During Jail Fire in Indiana

Article • October 4, 2020

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (General), Fire Hazards

$2,500 Settlement in Failure to Protect Prisoners During Jail Fire in Indiana by A pretrial detainee received a $2,500 settlement in a civil rights action alleging jail officials failed to evacuate detainees during a fire and did not treat their injuries. The lawsuit stemmed from a fire in a cellblock …

National Guard Called in to Help Run Indiana State Prisons

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Staffing

National Guard Called in to Help Run Indiana State Prisons by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Indiana National Guard has switched roles in helping the Indiana Department of Correction (“IDOC”) during the coronavirus pandemic, from that of health-care workers to prison guards, as prison staff become infected by COVID-19. …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California:In June 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) commuted 21 state prisoners’ sentences, a dozen of them were for murder convictions, patch.com reported. Seven were committed when the prisoner was 22 or younger. Half of the prisoners are now 59 or older. One commutation went to …

Seventh Circuit: Indiana District Court Erred in Denying Counsel to Prisoner

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Competency

Seventh Circuit: Indiana District Court Erred in Denying Counsel to Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On March 4, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held an Indiana federal district court abused its discretion in denying a prisoner’s motion for appointment of counsel in …

Seventh Circuit: Transfer of Indiana Prisoner Based on Substance of Grievances Not Retaliatory

Article • August 1, 2020 • from PLN August, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Transfers

Seventh Circuit: Transfer of Indiana Prisoner Based on Substance of Grievances Not Retaliatory by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held on March 6, 2020 that prison officials did not retaliate against a prisoner by transferring him to another prison where the transfer was …

Karp v. Knight, IN, Complaint, Retaliation, 2020

Brief • July 29, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

Karp v. Knight, IN, Complaint, Retaliation, 2020 Case 1:20-cv-02012-TWP-TAB Document 1 Filed 07/31/20 Page 1 of 9 PageID #: 1 RECEIVED 40 **** **** JUL 2 8 2020 1:20-cv-2012-TWP-TAB ___ ½'_~f1.11:?'-1'J~!~-~ttf,wc,r-,\e~".l, ____ k!\.J:"l?.~. -1"'A;v_;t\v,,,_,.\ c'""'L ofb<:A<l lPf A-""~ .. · FILED .... ··-·-···-·· · · -···-······· · ·· 3:35 pm, …

Indiana Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Illegal Solitary Confinement Settled for $425,000

Article • July 1, 2020 • from PLN July, 2020

Filed under: Settlements, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Convention Against Torture

Indiana Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Illegal Solitary Confinement Settled for $425,000 by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Taxpayers of the state of Indiana will pay $425,000 to prisoner Jay Vermillion as the result of an agreement reached on October 21, 2019, between him and employees of the Indiana Department of Correction …

News in Brief

Article • May 1, 2020 • from PLN May, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: On March 28, 2020, death row prisoner Lonnie Franklin Jr., 67, aka “Grim Sleeper,” was found unresponsive in his San Quentin cell. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton told reporters, “There were no signs of trauma. They don’t know why he died.” …

Prison Postcards: Prisoners Write About Fears, Incompetence, at Their Facilities

Article • May 1, 2020 • from PLN May, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Prison Postcards: Prisoners Write About Fears, Incompetence, at Their Facilities by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein On April 15, President Donald Trump announced that the coronavirus pandemic had peaked in the United States. That same day, nearly 2,300 people in the country died from COVID-19, the disease cause by the …

Federal Court Grants Default Summary Judgment in Favor of Indiana Prisoner as Sanction for State’s Lies

Article • May 1, 2020 • from PLN May, 2020

Filed under: Excessive Force, False Statements/Perjury, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence

Federal Court Grants Default Summary Judgment in Favor of Indiana Prisoner as Sanction for State’s Lies by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell In a rare move, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on January 3, 2020 granted default judgment in favor of a prisoner who sued …

Women Advocate for the Release of COVID-19 At-Risk Prisoners in Indiana

Article • May 1, 2020 • from PLN May, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Medical Care/Treatment

Women Advocate for the Release of COVID-19 At-Risk Prisoners in Indiana by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss A prisoner advocacy group in April began urging residents to call Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and the state Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Robert Carter to demand the release of nonviolent prisoners, the …

$2,500 Settlement by Indiana County Over Prisoner's Delayed Medical Care

Article • April 15, 2020

Filed under: Pain, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific

$2,500 Settlement by Indiana County Over Prisoner's Delayed Medical Care by Indiana’s Allen County agreed to pay $2,500 to settle a civil rights action alleging it denied medical care to treat a pretrial detainee’s prostate disease. Terry Ray Dowell was arrested on two misdemeanor charges and booked into the Allen County …

$150,000 Settlement for Opioid Withdrawal Death in Indiana County Jail

Article • March 4, 2020 • from PLN March, 2020

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

$150,000 Settlement for Opioid Withdrawal Death in Indiana County Jail by Anthony W. Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Floyd County, Indiana, jail reached a settlement in July in the death of a prisoner related to opioid withdrawal. Hanna Robb, 23, was booked into the Floyd County Jail on March …