News in Brief by Alabama: Within 48-hours of booking into the Morgan County Jail on August 29, 2023, Miles Rea Batson, 39, had two second-degree assault charges added to his public intoxication charge as well as another for disarming a law enforcement agent. WHNT in Huntsville reported that during booking …
Fifth Circuit: 12-Hour Delay in Treating Texas Prisoner’s Stroke Wasn’t Deliberate Indifference by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On May 5, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a Texas prisoner’s civil rights complaint that alleged prison staff delayed and impeded his access …
“Missing” Texas Prisoner Prompts Lockdown by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On December 20, 2022, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDJC) said that a prisoner reported missing the day before at the Stiles Unit in Beaumont had been “found within the prison’s perimeter fence.” But in a letter …
Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Texas Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim by Texas state prisoner Richard Luna saw his claim revived against officials with the state Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) on February 6, 2023, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that a lower court erred when …
Two-Week Texas Prison Lockdown Ends With Puny Contraband Haul by After locking down almost 129,000 prisoners for nearly two weeks to search for contraband, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) announced on September 18, 2023, that “normal operations” had resumed at 64 of its 98 facilities. But prison officials …
News in Brief by Alabama: On August 12, 2023, an Alabama jail guard was caught – in uniform – stealing Pokemon cards from a Walmart. WBMA in Birmingham reported that Josh Hardy then fled store security on foot before cops caught him in a nearby restaurant. Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew …
400 Prisoners Relocated After Fire at Texas State Penitentiary by A fire erupted at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville early on August 25, 2023, forcing the state Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to evacuate 655 prisoners – 400 of whom had to be relocated to other prisons due to …
Texas Death Row Prisoners Challenge Blanket Policy of Automatic Solitary Confinement by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On January 26, 2023, Texas death-row prisoners Mark Robertson, George Curry, Tony Egbuna Ford and Rickey Cummings filed suit in federal court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of themselves and …
In Re Tehum Care Services, Inc, Stip and Order Re Christopher Brightlys Motion to Lift Stay, 2023 Case 23-90086 Document 966 Filed in TXSB on 09/19/23 Page 1 of 3 United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Texas ENTERED IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF …
News in Brief by Alabama: According to WSFA in Montgomery, a guard at the Montgomery County Detention Center was charged on July 18, 2023, with conspiracy to provide contraband to a prisoner as well as bribing a public official. Timothy Bernard Summerlin, 33, had worked at the lockup for roughly …
After $300,000 Settlement for Detainee’s Death, Texas County Looks to Replace Jail by Using detainees’ money to push forward with plans to replace Texas’ Nueces County Jail, Sheriff J.C. Hooper tapped a commissary fund in April 2023 to spend up to $220,770 for an outside consultant to prepare a study …
As e-Messaging Takes Off in U.S. Prisons, Complaints Over Service and Costs Multiply by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Historically, prisoners have been largely left out of the technology wave changing the way the rest of the world communicates and does business. It wasn’t until March 2009 that the …
“Frozen in Solitude’’: Heat-Sensitive Texas Prisoners Get More Than Air Conditioning Locked Inside Former Segregation Cells by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke After the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) settled a lawsuit over life-threatening excessive heat at the Wallace Pack Unit in 2018, it realized it needed to apply …
Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In 2022, at least 28 detainees died while awaiting trial in the custody of the Harris County Jail (HCJ) – the highest number of deaths at the Texas facility in nearly two …
Prison Looks Different for Two Celebrity Women by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi On May 30, 2023, over a year after her felony conviction for fraud and conspiracy, Elizabeth Holmes, 39, founder of bogus and bankrupt blood-test maker Theranos, arrived at her home for the next 11 years: the Federal …
Jimenez v. Lumpkin, TX, Order to Dismiss, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 Case 1:12-cv-00373-RP Document 116 Filed 08/03/23 Page 1 of 2 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS AUSTIN DIVISION ROSA ESTELLA OLVERA JIMENEZ, PETITIONER, V. Case No. A-12-CV-373-RP BOBBY LUMPKIN, RESPONDENT. __________________________________________ ORDER In 2016, …
Jimenez v. Lumpkin, TX, Mandate, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 Case: 19-51083 Document: 233-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/01/2023 United States Court of Appeals FIFTH CIRCUIT OFFICE OF THE CLERK LYLE W. CAYCE CLERK TEL. 504-310-7700 600 S. MAESTRI PLACE, Suite 115 NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130 August 01, 2023 Mr. Philip Devlin …
News in Brief by Alabama: A guard with the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was indicted on April 27, 2023, on charges he sexually abused two prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Aliceville, according to a report by the Birmingham News. Robert D. Smith allegedly had sexual intercourse …
Texas Prisons are Fire Traps by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon With almost 122,000 prisoners, Texas has the largest state prison system in the U.S. According to a report on January 9, 2023, it appears to be the most fire prone system, as well. Fire and safety spending by the …
$500,000 Settlement for Texas Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Child Sex Abuse by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart In 2013, Greg Kelley was a 17-year-old high school football star from Cedar Park, Texas. A good student, he already had a full scholarship to play football for the University of Texas in …
