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Kentucky Consolidated Local Government Entitled to Sovereign Immunity

Article • January 21, 2021

Filed under: Sovereign Immunity

Kentucky Consolidated Local Government Entitled to Sovereign Immunity by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Kentucky held that the Louisville Metro Government (LMG) and its employees are entitled to sovereign and qualified in a lawsuit alleging violation of Ky. Rev. Stat. 71.040. The court’s December 17, 2020, opinion was …

Rapper Sues BOP Alleging Torture

Article • January 1, 2021 • from PLN January, 2021

Filed under: Religious Discrimination, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Eighth Amendment, Policy Considerations

Rapper Sues BOP Alleging Torture by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Rapper Kodak Black filed a lawsuit on September 21, 2020, alleging he “is suffering torture and religious persecution” at the hands of Bureau of Prisons (BOP) guards and officials. Kodak Black, whose real name is Bill Kapri, was …

News in Brief

Article • January 1, 2021 • from PLN January, 2021

News in Brief by Alabama: On August 21, 2020, Sylvester Hartley became the seventh prisoner to die of complications from COVID-19 at Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility, according to a report in the St. Clair News-Aegis. The 60-year-old, who was serving a life-without-parole sentence for three counts of first-degree kidnapping, …

6th Circuit: Prisoner’s Seizure Condition Not Attributable to Drug Withdrawal; SHP Nurses Not Deliberately Indifferent

Article • December 6, 2020

Filed under: Seizures, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Eighth Amendment, Jail Specific, Fourteenth Amendment, rights

6th Circuit: Prisoner’s Seizure Condition Not Attributable to Drug Withdrawal; SHP Nurses Not Deliberately Indifferent by  The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that nurses working for Southern Health Partners, Inc. (SHP) were not deliberately indifferent to a prisoner’s detox condition that led to seizures. The court’s September 21, 2020, …

Bramblett v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, KY, Complaint, Sentence Credit, 2020

Brief • November 17, 2020

Filed under: Credits

Bramblett v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, KY, Complaint, Sentence Credit, 2020 Case: 3:17-cv-00100-GFVT-EBA Doc #: 146 Filed: 11/17/20 Page: 1 of 14 - Page ID#: 3774 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY CENTRAL DIVISION at FRANKFORT [Filed Electronically] KEATH BRAMBLETT, et al., individually and on behalf of all others …

News in Brief

Article • November 1, 2020 • from PLN November, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The Birmingham News reported that an Alabama prison guard had been arrested for drug trafficking after a search of his vehicle when he arrived for work at the St. Clair County prison turned up 138 grams of methamphetamine and 16 grams of heroin. Ivan Caldwell, …

$400,000 Settlement in Lawsuit over Kentucky Prisoner’s Starvation Death

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

Filed under: Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$400,000 Settlement in Lawsuit over Kentucky Prisoner’s Starvation Death by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In February 2020, WDRB News revealed a previously undisclosed $400,000 settlement paid by the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC) to the family of a state prisoner who starved to death while in segregation at the …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2020, a grand jury in Limestone County, Alabama, returned an indictment for “possession/receipt of a controlled substance” against Travis Wales, a former guard at the Limestone County Correctional Facility in Harvest. According to Columbus, Georgia, TV station WBRL, Wales was arrested in September …

HRDC v. Henderson County, KY et al, KY, complaint, book censorship, 2020

Filing • September 21, 2020

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship

HRDC v. Henderson County, KY et al, KY, complaint, book censorship, 2020 Case 4:20-cv-00159-JHM-HBB Document 1 Filed 09/21/20 Page 1 of 12 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY OWENSBORO DIVISION [Filed Electronically] HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Plaintiff v. Case Number: 4:20-CV-159-JHM HENDERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY Serve: …

HRDC v. Henderson County, KY et al, KY, complaint, book censorship, 2020

Brief • September 21, 2020

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship

HRDC v. Henderson County, KY et al, KY, complaint, book censorship, 2020 Case 4:20-cv-00159-JHM-HBB Document 1 Filed 09/21/20 Page 1 of 12 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY OWENSBORO DIVISION [Filed Electronically] HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Plaintiff v. Case Number: 4:20-CV-159-JHM HENDERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY Serve: …

Can Kentucky Keep Charging Prisoners for Their Jail Stay if They Are Found Not Guilty?

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

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Fines

Can Kentucky Keep Charging Prisoners for Their Jail Stay if They Are Found Not Guilty? by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Kentucky State law allows county jails to charge prisoners a daily fee during their stay while fighting their case. But what happens when the person is found not guilty …

Sixth Circuit: Courts Must Construe Pro Se Notice of Appeal as Motion for Extension of Time to Appeal

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

Filed under: Exceptional Circumstances, Pleading Requirements/Rules, Timeliness of Motion

Sixth Circuit: Courts Must Construe Pro Se Notice of Appeal as Motion for Extension of Time to Appeal by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell While filing a notice of appeal on time is a mandatory, jurisdictional requirement that may not be waived or ignored, there is a provision that allows …

HRDC Prevails in Censorship Suit Against Kentucky Prison System, Wins $104,711

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

Filed under: Settlements, PLN Litigation, Censorship

HRDC Prevails in Censorship Suit Against Kentucky Prison System, Wins $104,711 by David Reutter by David R. Reutter A Kentucky federal district court awarded the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) and its co-counsels $104,711.37 in attorney fees and costs in a lawsuit alleging the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC) censored …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Daniel Davitt, 60, on January 14,  2020 on charges of second-degree murder in the death of Lower Buckeye Jail guard Gene Lee on October 30. Buckeye Jail video shows Davitt talking to Lee on October 29, then suddenly grabbing …

Prison Postcards: A Plea from Kentucky and Dispatches from Texas and Massachusetts

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

Filed under: Failure to Treat, COVID-19, Lockdowns

Prison Postcards: A Plea from Kentucky and Dispatches from Texas and Massachusetts by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, prisoners, their families and advocates have braced for major outbreaks at America’s prisons and jails. It’s still not clear just how bad prisoners are going to …

Prison Postcards: Official Accounts Differ from Prisoner Accounts as the Pandemic Spreads

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Conditions of Confinement

Prison Postcards: Official Accounts Differ from Prisoner Accounts as the Pandemic Spreads by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein Ever since the coronavirus epidemic exploded in the United States earlier this year, government officials have reassured the public that they had things tightly under control. On February 26, before anyone in …

Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Journalist

Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The silence is deafening. Over a week in mid-May, Prison Legal News tried to contact public information officers at seven federal prisons seeking an answer to a straightforward question: What are you doing …

Human Rights Defense Center v. Ballard, KY, order granting fees and costs, censorship, 2020

Brief • May 15, 2020

Filed under: Reading Materials, Publications/Books, First Amendment, HRDC Publications, First Amendment, rights, Fourteenth Amendment, rights

Human Rights Defense Center v. Ballard, KY, order granting fees and costs, censorship, 2020 Case: 3:17-cv-00057-GFVT-EBA Doc #: 77 Filed: 05/15/20 Page: 1 of 11 - Page ID#: 537 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY CENTRAL DIVISION FRANKFORT ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) …

Undisclosed Settlement in Kentucky Case a Textbook Case of Negligent Privatized Prison Medical Care

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

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors

Undisclosed Settlement in Kentucky Case a Textbook Case of Negligent Privatized Prison Medical Care by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The provision of medical care is an expensive proposition regardless of whether a citizen or prisoner is in need of care. Tight budgets have pushed many jails and prisons …

Kentucky Governor’s Executive Order Restores Voting Rights for Felons

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

Filed under: Voting Rights Act, Incarcerated Felons

Kentucky Governor’s Executive Order Restores Voting Rights for Felons by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear issued an executive order that restored the voting rights of over 140,000 convicted felons. The order was signed just days after Beshear was sworn in in December 2019, and it …