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Eighth Circuit Rules Previous Dismissals Not “Strikes” For Iowa Prisoner

Article • September 15, 2011

Filed under: PLRA, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation

Eighth Circuit Rules Previous Dismissals Not “Strikes” For Iowa Prisoner by On December 29, 2006, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the dismissal of a prisoner’s previous federal lawsuits could not be counted as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) because the prisoner had not yet exhausted …

Voting Rights Must Be “Earned” Back, Says Iowa Governor

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Organizing, Voting

Voting Rights Must Be “Earned” Back, Says Iowa Governor by Brandon Sample Regaining voting rights for former felons in Iowa just got harder. Making good on a campaign promise, the newly-elected governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, a Republican, has rescinded a July 4, 2005 executive order that allowed felons to …

Iowa Supreme Court Holds Inmate Assault Statute Only Requires Bodily Fluids from Another for Conviction

Article • March 15, 2011 • from PLN March, 2011

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Assaults on Staff

Iowa Supreme Court Holds Inmate Assault Statute Only Requires Bodily Fluids from Another for Conviction by The Supreme Court of Iowa held that for a prisoner to be convicted of “inmate assault” in violation of Iowa Code § 708.3B (2005), there need only be proof that the prisoner caused a …

$42,000 Verdict in Iowa Jail Excessive Force Case

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Medical, Blood, Restraints, Failure to Train/Supervise

$42,000 Verdict in Iowa Jail Excessive Force Case by A federal jury has awarded $42,000 to a woman who was placed in a restraint chair for seven hours. On January 25, 2006, while incarcerated at the Scott County Jail in Scott County, Iowa, Lillian Slater had a painful flare-up of …

Iowa Prisoners Perform Private Sector Work for Parole Board Member

Article • December 15, 2010 • from PLN December, 2010

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Parole Board Misconduct, Prison Industries, Prison Labor

Iowa Prisoners Perform Private Sector Work for Parole Board Member by In order to avoid interfering with private sector commerce, Iowa Prison Industries (IPI) is supposed to only perform work for governmental and non-profit organizations. That does not always happen, though. In April 2010, a crew of prisoners installed several …

Clergy Who Advocate for Prisoners Barred from Prisons and Jails

Article • September 15, 2010 • from PLN September, 2010

Filed under: Organizing, Clergy

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 …

Prosecutorial Misconduct Case Pending Before Supreme Court Settles for $12 Million

Article • August 15, 2010 • from PLN August, 2010

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Immunity/Liability, Prosecutorial Immunity

Prosecutorial Misconduct Case Pending Before Supreme Court Settles for $12 Million by Brandon Sample On January 4, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court side-stepped resolving an important case that would have likely exposed prosecutors to greater liability when they engage in prosecutorial misconduct. The case, Pottawamie County v. McGhee and Harrington, …

Iowa Good Time Statute Violates Ex Post Facto Clause

Article • April 15, 2010 • from PLN April, 2010

Filed under: Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Sex Offender Treatment, News, State Legislation

Iowa Good Time Statute Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by Brandon Sample A 2005 amendment to Iowa’s good time statute making participation in a sex offender treatment program (SOTP) a prerequisite to earning good time may not be applied to sex offenders convicted before the amendment’s effective date, the Supreme …

Iowa Supreme Court: Retroactive Good Conduct Time Denial is Unconstitutional, Depending on Date of Conviction

Article • January 15, 2010 • from PLN January, 2010

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Sex Offender Treatment

Iowa Supreme Court: Retroactive Good Conduct Time Denial is Unconstitutional, Depending on Date of Conviction by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On January 23, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court held that state law amendments enacted in 2001 and 2005, which required that certain prisoners must participate in rehabilitative programs to …

$145,000 Settlement in Iowa Prisoner’s Self-Mutilation Mental Health Claim

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

$145,000 Settlement in Iowa Prisoner’s Self-Mutilation Mental Health Claim by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) paid $144,523.20 to settle a civil rights action that claimed prison officials sat idly watching a mentally ill prisoner physically maim herself. In 1976 at the age of …

Prisoners Not Evacuated, Parolees Rounded Up as Hurricanes Hit

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Ventilation, Toilets, Sewage

Prisoners Not Evacuated, Parolees Rounded Up as Hurricanes Hit by Gary Hunter On September 8, 2008, Texas Governor Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration for 88 counties as Hurricane Ike bore down on the Texas coastline. The 900-mile wide storm, with winds in excess of 100 mph “...is now in …

Strip-Searched Iowa Bush Protesters Awarded Damages at Trial, Re-Trial

Article • July 15, 2009 • from PLN July, 2009

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Organizing, Protests, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Attorney Fee Awards, Damages, New Trial Motions

Strip-Searched Iowa Bush Protesters Awarded Damages at Trial, Re-Trial by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 4, 2008, a federal jury in Iowa awarded $750,000 to two political protesters who were arrested at the direction of the Secret Service, taken to jail and unlawfully strip-searched. After the court ordered …

Iowa Sex Offenders May Be Civilly Committed Based on Lifetime Risk of Future Dangerousness

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Mental Health, Sex Offender Treatment, Civil Commitment

Iowa Sex Offenders May Be Civilly Committed Based on Lifetime Risk of Future Dangerousness by Sex offenders in Iowa may be civilly committed based on their lifetime risk of future dangerousness, the Supreme Court of Iowa held May 9, 2008. Bryan Pierce was convicted in 1987 and 2000 for sexual …

Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cornell Corrections, GRW Corp., Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …

Iowa Parental Rights Not Terminated Upon Imprisonment

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Family, Family Law, Fathers in Prison, Mothers in Prison

Iowa Parental Rights Not Terminated Upon Imprisonment by The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s order refusing to terminate the parental rights of a couple imprisoned for selling drugs in the presence of their minor children. On January 22, 2007, Juan and Maria were arrested for selling …

$50,000 Settlement for Illegal Strip Search After Arrest at Bush Rally

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Protests, Strip Searches, Damages, Settlements, Police, False Arrest

$50,000 Settlement for Illegal Strip Search After Arrest at Bush Rally by Iowa’s State Appeal Board has settled a lawsuit claiming retired school teachers Alice McCabe and Christine Nelson were illegally strip searched after being arrested at a 2004 campaign stop by President Bush. The settlement of $50,000 comes in …

Eighth Circuit Upholds SORNA Against Constitutional Challenges

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Criminal Prosecution, Federal Statutory Law, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

Eighth Circuit Upholds SORNA Against Constitutional Challenges by On July 31, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected numerous constitutional challenges to the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). David Louis May was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in violation …

Illinois Guards Protest Prison’s Failure to Treat Scabies Outbreak

Article • April 15, 2009 • from PLN April, 2009

Filed under: Skin, Conditions of Confinement, Vermin, Guard Unions

Illinois Guards Protest Prison’s Failure to Treat Scabies Outbreak by Illinois Guards Protest Prison’s Failure to Treat Scabies Outbreak An outbreak of scabies, a mite infestation that causes itching and rash-like symptoms, has hit the Illinois River Correctional Center. Guards protested outside the facility on October 1, 2008 to decry …

Renda v. Ackles, IA, Complaint, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation, 2009

Brief • April 3, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

Renda v. Ackles, IA, Complaint, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation, 2009 Case 4:09-cv-00122-JEG-RAW Document 1 Filed 04/03/09 Page 1 of 12 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA MELISSA LEE RENDA DOB: 4/6/1970 Plaintiff, v. JIM ACKLES, MIKE THOMAS, and VICKI GARRETT, individually and in their …

Ashcroft, Justice Department Campaign to Expand Capital Punishment

Article • January 15, 2009

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Ashcroft, Justice Department Campaign to Expand Capital Punishment by by Michael Rigby During his four years as head of the U.S. Justice Department, Attorney General John Ashcroft has led a sinister campaign to force the federal death penalty in states that have either abolished capital punishment or rarely impose it. …