Texas Capital Defendants with Hired Attorneys Rarely Receive Death Sentences by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In February 2010, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) published an issue brief on the relationship between hired defense counsel and the death penalty. The brief concluded that defendants charged with …
Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds by Mark Wilson Throughout the 1990s, “Supermax” prisons and control units – commonly called Security Housing Units (SHUs) or Intensive Management Units (IMUs) – sprang up across the nation. Between 1995 and 2000 the general prison population increased by 28 percent, but according …
$389,548.55 Total Award in Texas Jail Strip Search Suit by On February 5, 2009, a former jail prisoner in Wood County, Texas was awarded $60,000 by a federal jury after being subjected to an unlawful strip search. She had previously settled claims against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) for …
Former Texas Youth Commission Official Gets Ten Years in Prison by On April 22, 2010, a former Texas Youth Commission (TYC) official convicted of sexually abusing a young offender was sentenced to ten years in prison. Ray Edwards Brookins, formerly the assistant superintendent of TYC’s West Texas State School, was …
Prison Legal News v. Livingston et al., TX, Order, TDCJ censorship, 2011 Case 2:09-cv-00296 Document 96 Filed in TXSD on 01/04/11 Page 1 of 32 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS, Plaintiff, VS. BRAD LIVINGSTON, et al, Defendants. § § § § …
How to Subpoena a Government Agent, Compliance with Touhy Regulations, Federal Public Defenders Office-Western District Texas, 2011 How To Subpoena A Government Agent: Compliance With Touhy Regulations for ICE, CBP, DEA and FBI Elizabeth A. O’Connell, Research and Writing Specialist, Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of Texas …
The Graying of America’s Prisons by James Ridgeway Frank Soffen, now 70 years old, has lived more than half his life in prison, and will likely die there. Sentenced to life for second-degree murder, Soffen has suffered four heart attacks and is confined to a wheelchair. He has lately been …
Texas Sues Former Prisoner Over Unauthorized Practice of Law by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 12, 2010, the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (UPLC), a nine-member body appointed by the Texas Supreme Court that is responsible for enforcing statutes prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law, filed suit against …
Over $26 Million Owed for Forfeited Bail Bonds in Harris County, Texas by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke If you are arrested in Harris County (Houston), Texas, you can usually pay a bondsman 10% of the bail amount to get out of jail. The bondsman pledges the full amount and …
Steep Surcharges for Driving Violations Clog Texas Courts, Create Criminals by Michael Rigby by Mike Rigby A program designed to raise money for highway projects and trauma care by assessing steep surcharges for drunk driving and other traffic violations is clogging Texas courts and causing the dismissal rate for DWI …
That’s a Lot of Honeybuns: Texas Prison Commissaries a $95 Million-a-Year Business by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Recent reports in the Texas media have focused attention on the state’s prison commissaries. However, none have presented the point of view of prisoners or their families. Instead, such reports tend to …
Texas Democrat Politicians Keep Private Prison Consulting in the Family by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In 2003 and 2004, Texas state Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D) was a consultant for Management & Training Corporation, a private prison firm, and Corplan Corrections, a prison design and development company. Now his …
Fifth Circuit Delineates Process Due Before Imposition of Sex Offender Parole Conditions by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 20, 2010, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Texas parolees who had never been convicted of a sex offense, but were subject to onerous sex offender parole conditions …
Kinney County, Amended Agreement (GEO, CEC), 2010 (__ AMENDED AND RESTATED FACILITY OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT This Amended and Restated Facility Operation and Management Agreement (hereinafter "Agreement'') is entered into by and between KINNEY COUNTY, TEXAS (hereinafter "County11) and COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTERS, INC., (hereinafter called 11 0perator11) to become effective …
Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In April 2009, New York passed a statutory amendment that expanded the state’s compassionate release program for terminally ill prisoners. The amendment permitted medical parole for prisoners convicted of certain violent crimes who were …
Texas Controversy: Governor Guts Forensic Science Commission by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Texas Governor Rick Perry caused considerable controversy on Sept. 30, 2009 when he replaced three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, just two days before the commission’s hearing on a report that an innocent man may …
Thou Shalt Not: Sexual Misconduct by Prison and Jail Chaplains by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Traditionally, the role of a chaplain in the correctional setting is to serve as a spiritual advisor to prisoners and help them meet the requirements of their religious faiths. Equally traditionally, chaplains have …
Clergy Who Advocate for Prisoners Barred from Prisons and Jails by As described in this month’s cover story, prison and jail chaplains accused of sexual misconduct often resign, retire, are fired or are sometimes prosecuted. In other cases, though, well-meaning clergy members who seek to help prisoners have been locked …
Texas Judge Sharon “Killer” Keller Receives Sanctions by by Matt Clarke On January 20, 2010, San Antonio judge David A. Berchelmann, Jr., acting as a special master for the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct, issued findings of fact in a disciplinary complaint against Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of …
GEO Group Settles $47.5 Million Texas Prisoner Wrongful Death Suit by On January 7, 2010, GEO Group settled a lawsuit over the beating death of a prisoner in Willacy County, Texas that had already resulted in a jury verdict of $47.5 million – one of the largest prisoner wrongful death …
