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Thousands of American prisoners spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Mental Health

Thousands of American prisoners spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement by Greg Rienzi by Greg Rienzi, John Hopkins Magazine Gabriel Eber has no shortage of macabre tales of life inside the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, a notoriously violent and chaotic men's prison on the outskirts of Meridian. Assaults (staff …

The Pen

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Mothers in Prison

The Pen by Rebecca Onion Inmates at America’s oldest women’s prison are writing a history of it—and exploding the myth of its benevolent founders. by Rebecca Onion, Slate In 1873, two Quaker reformers living in Indiana, shocked by allegations of sexual abuse of female prisoners at the state’s unisex institution, pushed …

The Other Conspirator: Secret Origins of the CIA's Torture Program

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Prisoners-International, CIA

The Other Conspirator: Secret Origins of the CIA's Torture Program by Barbara Myers by Barbara Myers, TomDispatch, Truthout The witness reported men being hung by the feet or the thumbs, waterboarded, given electric shocks to the genitals, and suffering from extended solitary confinement in what he said were indescribably inhumane conditions. …

The Dangerous Notion of a Nationwide Crime Wave

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Crime, Statistics/Trends, Police

The Dangerous Notion of a Nationwide Crime Wave by Joseph Margulies by Joseph Margulies, Verdict In a recent Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, Heather MacDonald, a conservative analyst with the Manhattan Institute, blamed the so-called “Ferguson effect” for the increase in violent crime experienced in several U.S. cities last year. As MacDonald …

Stop Kidding Yourself: The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Police

Stop Kidding Yourself: The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People by Sam Mitrani by Sam Mitrani, The Labor and Working-Class History Association In most of the liberal discussions of the recent police killings of unarmed black men, there is an underlying assumption that the police are supposed to …

Prison Reform, Proposition 47 and the California Shell Game

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Private Prisons, Overcrowding

Prison Reform, Proposition 47 and the California Shell Game by Nancy Heitzeg and Kay Whitlock by Nancy A. Heitzeg and Kay Whitlock, Truthout In the deep fog of the yard at Central California Facility for Women (CCFW), the bright shiny headlines declaring California Proposition 47 (which reclassifies certain property and drug …

Poverty, Incarceration, and Criminal Justice Debt

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Cost of Prison Systems, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Poverty, Incarceration, and Criminal Justice Debt by Lauren-Brooke Eisen and Jessica Eaglin by Lauren-Brooke Eisen and Jessica Eaglin, Talk Poverty In today’s economy, overwhelming debt is an unfortunate reality for millions of Americans.  From credit card debt to mortgage debt to student loan debt, Americans increasingly live off of borrowed money. …

Pipeline to Prison: Special Education Too Often Leads to Jail for Thousands of American Children

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Education (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons

Pipeline to Prison: Special Education Too Often Leads to Jail for Thousands of American Children by Jackie Mader and Sarah Butrymowicz by Jackie Mader and Sarah Butrymowicz, The Hechinger Report GRENADA, Miss.— Cody Beck was 12 years old when he was handcuffed in front of several classmates and put in the …

Paying for Your Time: How Charging Inmates Fees Behind Bars May Violate the Excessive Fines Clause

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Cost of Prison Systems, Eighth Amendment, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Booking Fees

Paying for Your Time: How Charging Inmates Fees Behind Bars May Violate the Excessive Fines Clause by Lauren-Brooke Eisen by Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law Introduction In 1846, the United States saw the birth of the first correctional fee law when Michigan enacted legislation authorizing counties to charge …

One Survivor's Crusade Reveals a Plague of Errors in Nation's Sex Offender Registries

Article • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

One Survivor's Crusade Reveals a Plague of Errors in Nation's Sex Offender Registries by Steve Friess Estimates of the number of entries with crucial mistakes run into the tens of thousands. One man—and pretty much only one man—is trying to fix them. by Steve Friess, Take Part Tim Fisher steps slowly …

McDermott v. New Mexico Department of Corrections, NM, Complaint, 2017

Brief • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Whistleblowing

McDermott v. New Mexico Department of Corrections, NM, Complaint, 2017 FILED IN MY OFFICE DISTRICT COURT CLERK 3/31/2017 9:57:12 AM STEPHEN T. PACHECO Jorge Montes STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT BIANCA MCDERMOTT, Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) v. NEW MEXICO CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT, …

Dilworth v. McMahon, NC, Settlement, Pretrial Solitary Confinement, 2017

Brief • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Dilworth v. McMahon, NC, Settlement, Pretrial Solitary Confinement, 2017 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS that I, the undersigned, MICHAEL DILWORTH (hereinafter referred to as "Releasor"), for and in consideration of the sum of THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS N0/100 DOLLARS ($35,000.00) in cash, which is paid …

Joint letter in support of federal law that suspends drivers licenses - April 2017

Publication • March 31, 2017

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, HRDC Sign on Letters

Joint letter in support of federal law that suspends drivers licenses - April 2017 April XX, 2017 Dear Member of Congress, The undersigned organizations urge you to actively support the repeal of 23 U.S.C. 159, a federal law that mandates states to automatically suspend driver’s licenses of people convicted of …

Hensley v. Price, NC, Opinion, Police Excessive Deadly Force, Unreasonable Seizure, 2017

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: Qualified Immunity, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Police), Fourth Amendment, rights, Wrongful Death Action

Hensley v. Price, NC, Opinion, Police Excessive Deadly Force, Unreasonable Seizure, 2017 PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 16-1294 TERESA ANN HENSLEY, as relator on behalf of the State of North Carolina, and as Administrator of the Estate of David Lee Hensley; H.H., a minor, …

Sharbaugh v. Beaundry, FL, Memo in Opposition to Defendant's MSJ, 2017

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Wrongful Death, Accidents

Sharbaugh v. Beaundry, FL, Memo in Opposition to Defendant's MSJ, 2017 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA (Pensacola) RUSSELL K. SHARBAUGH, Plaintiff, : No. 3:16-CV-126 : : Chief Judge M. Casey Rodgers : Magistrate Judge Elizabeth M. Timothy : : CIVIL ACTION – LAW …

Harris v. Calloway, IL, Complaint, Denial of Medical Care, 2017

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: Failure to Treat

Harris v. Calloway, IL, Complaint, Denial of Medical Care, 2017 2:17-cv-02075-MMM-JEH Filed: 03/30/17 UNITED STATES# 1DISTRICT COURT Page 1 of 11 E-FILED CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS Thursday, 30 March, 2017 11:53:17 AM URBANA DIVISION Clerk, U.S. District Court, ILCD LARRY G. HARRIS, N-57672, ) Plaintiff, ) ) -vs- WARDEN VICTOR …

Sharbaugh v. Beaudry, FL, Memo in Opposition to MSJ (2017)

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: Pain, Eighth Amendment, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Wrongful Death, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Sharbaugh v. Beaudry, FL, Memo in Opposition to MSJ (2017) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA (Pensacola) RUSSELL K. SHARBAUGH, Plaintiff, : No. 3:16-CV-126 : : Chief Judge M. Casey Rodgers : Magistrate Judge Elizabeth M. Timothy : : CIVIL ACTION – LAW : …

Gaffney v. Corizon Health, et al., FL, settlement, herniated disc, 2017

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: Corizon, Medication, Pain, Skeletal Injury, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Gaffney v. Corizon Health, et al., FL, settlement, herniated disc, 2017

Zaidan v. Trump, DC, Complaint - DOD Kill List Lawsuit, 2017

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: First Amendment, First Amendment, rights, Fourth Amendment, rights

Zaidan v. Trump, DC, Complaint - DOD Kill List Lawsuit, 2017 Case 1:17-cv-00581 Document 1 Filed 03/30/17 Page 1 of 23 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AHMAD MUAFFAQ ZAIDAN c/o Reprieve US 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 1706 New York, NY 10170 BILAL ABDUL KAREEM, c/o Reprieve …

Gully v. Goines, IL, Merit Review, Retaliation, 2017

Brief • March 30, 2017

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Strip Searches, Conditions of Confinement, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Gully v. Goines, IL, Merit Review, Retaliation, 2017 Case 3:17-cv-00211-DRH-SCW Document 7 Filed 03/30/17 Page 1 of 24 Page ID #84 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS RONNIE GULLY, Jr., Plaintiff, No. 17ïcv–00211ïDRH vs. RUSSEL GOINES, DEREK HUNDLEY, and C/O HOUSER, Defendants. MEMORANDUM AND …