Michigan Consent Decree Not Changed by It seems that not a year goes by where PLN does not report at least two or three rulings concerning the ongoing effort by the Michigan DOC to vacate the various consent decrees it entered into with prisoners to settle various conditions lawsuits in …
Grievance Retaliation Unlawful by A federal district court in Michigan has held that it is unlawful for prison officials to retaliate against prisoners who complain of misconduct by guards and for prison officials to read legal mail sent to prisoners from the courts. Those claims were set for trial and …
Michigan ACLU Protests Religious Prison College by The ACLU of Michigan has sent a complaint to the attorney general's office against Spring Arbor College, which holds a $560,000 DOC contract to teach college courses at four Michigan state prisons. The complaint was filed after the school sent out letters to …
An Angry White Man by C L I would like you to know that I was so offended by your editorial in the November 1995 issue that I canceled my subscription. I will not support financially or in any way be associated with a publication ran by such blatantly Europhobic …
Back on the Chain Gang by John Stossel of ABC's 20/20 calls himself a libertarian. But rather than criticizing the reappearance of chain gangs as an assault on human liberty, Stossel promoted them on the June 9, 1995, broadcast as "reasonable punishment" and "only fair." When one Alabama prisoner pointed …
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 …
Jury Demand Must Be Timely by The court of appeals for the eleventh circuit, in a case of first impression for that circuit, held that the right to a jury trial is fundamental and reversed a bench trial ruling against a prisoner holding he should have received a jury trial. …
AL Adds Rock Breaking to its Repertoire by Recent issues of PLN have re ported on plans by the Alabama Department of Corrections to dress alleged exhibitionist prisoners in hot pink outfits, to reinstitute chain gangs and to chain those prisoners who refuse to work on the chain gangs to …
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 …
Gunslingers Dressed in Hot Pink by Alabama has been in the forefront of new, not necessarily good, ideas lately. The state that brought back chain gangs has announced, in May, 1995, that it will begin dressing male prisoners who habitually expose themselves to female guards in hot pink pants and …
Chain Gangs Challenged in Court by In the July, 1995, PLN, we reported that the state of Alabama had reintroduced chain gangs to its prison system on May 3, 1995. We did not give much attention to the issue because it has received enormous media coverage, most of it rather …
MI Drug Patch Testing by A reader submitted a copy of a MDOC memorandum from the acting warden of Egler Prison, in Jackson Michigan, which we quote in full: AThis facility has been selected to participate in a Pilot Study of the PharmChem Sweat Patch as a means for testing …
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 …
AL Brings Back Chain Gangs by Ron Jones, commissioner of the Alabama DOC, has announced that it has ordered 300 sets of leg irons to the tune of $17,000 so prisoners can be put to work for the first 90 days of their sentences. Jones is carrying out a directive …
Pen, Photocopies and Exercise Must Be Provided by Prisoners held in segregation and control units have a clearly defined right to court access, which includes proper writing materials and adequate writing materials. They also have a well defined right to outdoor exercise. John Allen and Terry Smith are Hawaii state …
AG Mail Must be Treated as Legal Mail by Rakim Muhammad is a Michigan state prisoner. He challenged a Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) policy of treating mail to prisoners from the state Attorney generals office as ordinary mail, i.e. opened outside the addressees presence, rather than as legal mail …
Police Report Inadmissible in Rape Case by William Miller is a Michigan state prisoner. He filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming that he was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment when a prison supervisor and two guards were informed he was in danger, did nothing to protect him …
MI DOC Visitor Ban Overturned by Randy Kelley is a Michigan state prisoner who was infracted and found guilty by a prison disciplinary board of sexual misconduct, namely, cupping his hands over his wifes breasts during a visit. As a result, both he and his wife were given a permanent …
MI DOC Has Duty to Give Women Prisoners Legal Aid by Past issues of PLN have detailed the long running saga by Michigan state prisoners to ensure their right of access to the courts [See: PLN, Nov. 1994] whereby the DOC must provide them with either law library access or …
From a Michigan Reader by Reader Mail I was curious as to how you get your stories. They are very interesting, and that one in the Sept. issue about Emmett Jones and jury rigging in Michigan really hit close to home. I might have a story for you. I recently …
