$11,000 Recovery for Asthmatic Indiana Prisoner in Denial of Treatment After Cell Block Fire by A combined $11,000 settlement and default judgment was obtained by a pro se asthmatic prisoner in a lawsuit alleging guards were deliberately indifferent to the prisoner’s health during and after a cell block fire at …
News in Brief by Australia: A February 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court in the Australian province of Victoria presented “a rare win” for a prisoner contesting prison procedures, according to a report by The Conversation. The convict, 56-year-old Craig Minogue, argued that Barwon Prison’s random drug testing and strip-searching …
Six Howard County, Indiana Jail Guards Fired Over Sexual Assaults and Harassment of Prisoners by Michael Fortino, Ph.D by Michael Fortino, Ph.D. Following multiple PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) investigations into the inappropriate actions of six sheriff’s Office employees, all were summarily fired from their positions at the Howard County …
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 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 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 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 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? 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 …
$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 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 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 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 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 …
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 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 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 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 …
