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News in Brief

Article • March 1, 2021 • from PLN March, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: In January 2021, two women who worked at an Arizona state prison operated by Florida-based GEO Group pleaded guilty to having sex with inmates there. Melony Petrovffsky, 50, ran the commissary for the private contractor at a prison in Golden Valley, where she was allegedly …

Ohio Supreme Court Orders Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to Revise Calculation of Prisoner’s Sentence

Article • March 1, 2021 • from PLN March, 2021

Filed under: Mandamus, Writ of, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review

Ohio Supreme Court Orders Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to Revise Calculation of Prisoner’s Sentence by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On September 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of Ohio granted a state prisoner’s petition for a writ of mandamus and ordered the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) …

Walters v. Jones, OH, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2021

Brief • February 2, 2021

Filed under: Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Police)

Walters v. Jones, OH, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2021 Case: 1:21-cv-00073-JPH Doc #: 3 Filed: 02/02/21 Page: 1 of 3 PAGEID #: 20 I COURT OF COMMON PLEAS HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO .. Co-qrtney Walters, cfo Robert Newm 215 E. 9th St. Ste. 650 Cincinnati, OH 45202 I ! I 0130925085 Case …

Troubled Ohio Jail Faces Two More Lawsuits

Article • February 1, 2021 • from PLN February, 2021

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Settlements

Troubled Ohio Jail Faces Two More Lawsuits by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In late 2020, the Board of Commissioners in Gallia County, Ohio, locked in $12.8 million in tax-exempt bonds to fund construction of a new jail. The move comes after two federal lawsuits were filed the previous summer …

Humphrey v. Stored Value Cards Inc., OH, class-action settlement agreement in debit card case, 2021

Brief • January 12, 2021

Humphrey v. Stored Value Cards Inc., OH, class-action settlement agreement in debit card case, 2021 Case: 1:18-cv-01050-JG Doc #: 121 Filed: 01/12/21 1 of 14. PageID #: 1761 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO AMBER HUMPHREY, On behalf of herself and the class, Plaintiff, vs. STORED VALUE CARDS, …

News in Brief

Article • January 1, 2021 • from PLN January, 2021

News in Brief by Alabama: On August 21, 2020, Sylvester Hartley became the seventh prisoner to die of complications from COVID-19 at Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility, according to a report in the St. Clair News-Aegis. The 60-year-old, who was serving a life-without-parole sentence for three counts of first-degree kidnapping, …

Sixth Circuit Holds Ohio Prisoner Can Be Executed Despite Previous Botched Attempt

Article • January 1, 2021 • from PLN January, 2021

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row

Sixth Circuit Holds Ohio Prisoner Can Be Executed Despite Previous Botched Attempt by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 23, 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Ohio prisoner could be executed despite a previous botched attempt. Romell Broom was taken to the Ohio execution chamber …

Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Prisoner’s Mandamus Petition Seeking to Compel Production of Coroner’s Photographs of Murder Victim

Article • December 15, 2020

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Public Records

Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Prisoner’s Mandamus Petition Seeking to Compel Production of Coroner’s Photographs of Murder Victim by On November 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed a district court of appeals’ dismissal of a prisoner’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to compel the Office …

Researchers, Prison Officials to Study Effects of Prison Violence Comprehensively

Article • December 1, 2020

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Excessive Force

Researchers, Prison Officials to Study Effects of Prison Violence Comprehensively by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A research team of internationally recognized prison experts from multiple academic institutions will be working with state prison officials from Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas to perform the most comprehensive study …

News in Brief

Article • November 1, 2020 • from PLN November, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The Birmingham News reported that an Alabama prison guard had been arrested for drug trafficking after a search of his vehicle when he arrived for work at the St. Clair County prison turned up 138 grams of methamphetamine and 16 grams of heroin. Ivan Caldwell, …

Sixth Circuit Reverses and Allows Ohio Prisoner’s Civil Rights Lawsuit to Proceed

Article • November 1, 2020 • from PLN November, 2020

Filed under: Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Freedom/Worship

Sixth Circuit Reverses and Allows Ohio Prisoner’s Civil Rights Lawsuit to Proceed by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment to Ohio prison officials in a civil rights action alleging a prisoner’s rights were violated because he was denied …

Humphrey v. Stored Value Cards Inc. (d/b/a Numi Financial), OH, motion for final approval of class-action settlement, 2020

Brief • October 12, 2020

Humphrey v. Stored Value Cards Inc. (d/b/a Numi Financial), OH, motion for final approval of class-action settlement, 2020 Case: 1:18-cv-01050-JG Doc #: 117 Filed: 10/12/20 1 of 25. PageID #: 1705 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION AMBER HUMPHREY, on behalf of herself and all others …

Why Did 77 Ohio Prisoners Die of COVID-19, but Just 10 in Pennsylvania?

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Why Did 77 Ohio Prisoners Die of COVID-19, but Just 10 in Pennsylvania? by Cid Standifer, Brie Zeltner A look at how overcrowding and poor design contributed to two of the worst national outbreaks by Cid Standifer and Brie Zeltner, Eye on Ohio, Aug. 21, 2020 This article was provided …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2020, a grand jury in Limestone County, Alabama, returned an indictment for “possession/receipt of a controlled substance” against Travis Wales, a former guard at the Limestone County Correctional Facility in Harvest. According to Columbus, Georgia, TV station WBRL, Wales was arrested in September …

Blackman v. Ohio Dept of Rehab. And Correction, OH, Complaint, Negligence, 2020

Brief • September 17, 2020

Filed under: Negligence/Reckless Endangerment

Blackman v. Ohio Dept of Rehab. And Correction, OH, Complaint, Negligence, 2020 IN THE COURT OF CLAIMS STATE OF OHIO WAYNE BLACKMAN c/o Mark Vander Laan, Ohio Justice and Policy Center 215 E. 9th Street, Suite 601 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 CASE NO. JUDGE Plaintiff, vs. COMPLAINT OHIO DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION …

Ohio Jails Under Investigation

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: Escapes, Wrongful Death, Official Investigation

Ohio Jails Under Investigation by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins A pattern of deaths, escapes and alleged civil rights abuses statewide have spurred investigations of at least two major county jails and increased oversight of 313 detention facilities in Ohio, local media revealed in January 2020. Governor Mike DeWine admitted …

The Prison Was Built to Hold 1,500 Inmates. It Had Over 2,000 Coronavirus Cases

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: Criminal justice system reform, COVID-19, Overcrowding

The Prison Was Built to Hold 1,500 Inmates. It Had Over 2,000 Coronavirus Cases by Dara Lind Prison overcrowding has been quietly tolerated for decades. But the pandemic is forcing a reckoning. by Dara Lind, ProPublica This article was originally published June 18, 2020, by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California:In June 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) commuted 21 state prisoners’ sentences, a dozen of them were for murder convictions, patch.com reported. Seven were committed when the prisoner was 22 or younger. Half of the prisoners are now 59 or older. One commutation went to …

Prison Postcards: “I feel as though I was either in a car accident or beaten by a baseball bat.”

Article • August 1, 2020 • from PLN August, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Prison Mail

Prison Postcards: “I feel as though I was either in a car accident or beaten by a baseball bat.” by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein We’re now nearly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and geographically the coronavirus epicenter has shifted from its origins in the United States in New …

$110,000 Settlement Reached in Ohio Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit

Article • August 1, 2020 • from PLN August, 2020

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements

$110,000 Settlement Reached in Ohio Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter An Ohio prisoner received a $110,518.94 settlement in a civil rights action that alleged guards used excessive force on him. The settlement, finalized on February 13, 2020, further provided for reversal of misconduct reports …