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Jury Awards $39,000 in Texas Scalding by On September 21, 1995, a federal jury in Houston awarded Texas state prisoner Roland Rudd $39,000 in damages against prison guards Robert Bergeron and Leonardo Herrera. The jury found that the Bergeron splashed a pitcher of hot coffee on Rudd's face and refused …
Failure to Provide Medical Treatment Unlawful by The court of appeals for the fourth circuit has held that jail guards have a duty to provide medical care for injuries resulting from attacks by other prisoners. Failure to do so may subject them to eighth amendment liability. In its ruling the …
Sexual Extortion Violates Eighth Amendment by Afederal court in the District of Columbia held that a prisoner who was extorted for sex by a prison guard and labeled a snitch as a result states a claim for an eighth amendment violation and qualified immunity is not appropriate. Gregory Thomas is …
Open Prison Barracks Unsafe by In the past fifteen years of massive prison expansion many prison systems have opted to build open dormitory type prison barracks because they are substantially cheaper to build than conventional cell blocks. There are inherent shortcomings in this type of prison design. The Connecticut DOC …
No Change in Michigan Consent Decrees by For almost 20 years Michigan state prisoners have been embroiled in class action prison litigation designed to ensure constitutional conditions within the Michigan prison system. Despite entry of consent decrees, the Michigan DOC has constantly sought to terminate their legal obligations imposed under …
Sexual Harassment Violates Eighth Amendment by A federal district court in the District of Columbia (DC) granted extensive injunctive and declaratory relief for a class of women prisoners who filed suit challenging their conditions of confinement in DC prison facilities. The rights of women prisoners were also violated under Title …
Charging for Medication May Violate Eighth Amendment by A federal district court in Indiana has held that requiring prisoners to pay for medication when they are able to does not violate the eighth amendment. However, prison officials' refusal to provide over the counter medication to indigent prisoners with serious medical …
Lethal Gas Execution Cruel and Unusual by Dale Gardner Derek Humphry, President of the Hemlock Society, and Judge Marilyn Hall Patel have differing views on the virtues of inhaling lethal gas. Humphry, in his how-to-suicide-it manual Final Exit, recommends the use of potassium cyanide as a quick and "humane", although …
Prisoners Entitled to Safe Jail by The eleventh circuit court of appeals has reaffirmed that county officials can be held liable for failing to protect jail detainees from violence by other detainees. In 1990 Larry Hale was held in the Tallapoosa County Jail in Alabama after failing to appear in …
Article • November 15, 1995 • from PLN November, 1995
Billing Prisoners for Medical Care Blocks Access by Kara Chayriques by Mark Lopez and Kara Chayriques In 1976, the Supreme Court established in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976), that the government has an obligation to provide medical care for prisoners. This fundamental premise has been upheld in subsequent …
7th Cir. Clarifies "Deliberate Indifference" for Medical Cases by To state an eighth amendment violation, prisoners must do more than claim mere negligence by prison medical staff. Willie Sellers was a federal prisoner held at the infamous penitentiary at Marion. He is also a diabetic. He filed suit claiming that …
Trial Required on Clothing Claim by When prison guards apply force maliciously and sadistically, they are violating the eighth amendment and can be held liable for their actions. Courtney Wilkens is a Missouri state prisoner. Prison guards claimed Wilkens was wearing gang colors in the prison dining hall and attempted …
Article • September 15, 1995 • from PLN September, 1995
Court Formulates New "Use of Force" Standard by While pretrial detainees are imprisoned against their will and in many cases are similar in circumstance to convicted detainees they are legally innocent of any crime. This is an important distinction when it comes to detainees litigating jail conditions. PLN regularly reports …
Fear Constitutes Actual Injury by A district court in Illinois has held that the fear a prisoner experiences when attacked by another prisoner, in the absence of any physical injury, is sufficient injury to state a claim for compensatory damages under section 1983. Anthony Jones is an Illinois state prisoner …
Article • August 15, 1995 • from PLN August, 1995
8th Amendment Discussed by In a lengthy ruling a district court in Iowa gave an extensive discussion of the history of the eighth amendment and numerous cases regarding its application to medical neglect cases. This case is useful not so much for the facts or issues presented in the underlying …
Helms Amendment Ruled On by In the December, 1994, issue of PLN we analyzed various provisions of the federal crime bill that was passed that year. One of the provisions was the Helms amendment which limited the relief that federal courts could grant in class action suits brought by prisoners …
Qualified Immunity Granted for Denial of Exercise by In the May, 1994, issue of PLN we reported Allen v. City and County of Honolulu, 39 F.3d 936 (9th Cir. 1994) which held that prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity for denying a segregated prisoner at least one hour …
Article • July 15, 1995 • from PLN July, 1995
Denial of Food May Violate Eighth Amendment by As district court in New York has held that depriving a prisoner of all meals for a two day period may violate the eighth amendment when imposed as a punitive sanction. Sean Williams is a New York prisoner confined in a control …
PA Class Action Settlement Published by The October, 1994, issue of PLN reported that on August 12, 1994, attorneys representing all Pennsylvania state prisoners had reached a settlement with prison officials of that state regarding almost every aspect of prison conditions in that state. The district court has published the …
Article • February 15, 1995 • from PLN February, 1995
Exposure to Cold Illegal, Rectal Search Upheld by Ronald Del Raine is a long time PLN supporter and an even longer term prisoner at the US Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois. In 1984 Del Raine filed suit claiming that assorted guards and officials at Marion had violated his eighth amendment rights …
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