News in Brief by Alabama: According to Birmingham Real-Time News, a kidnapper was recaptured after being erroneously released from jail in Jefferson County, Alabama, on December 17, 2021. The prisoner, Matthew Burke, 35, was apprehended during a traffic stop after being released from the Jefferson County Jail on Dec. 11 …
$7,500 Settlement for Pennsylvania Prisoner Assaulted by Guards And Denied Medical Care by On March 23, 2021, an agreement was executed paying $7,500 to settle three complaints a former pretrial detainee had brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging …
Third Circuit Revives Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Censorship of Incoming Mail Containing Key Evidence by Matthew Clarke, Dale Chappell by Matt Clarke and Dale Chappell On August 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the dismissal of a prisoner’s lawsuit alleging his due-process and access-to-courts …
News in Brief by Alabama: On November 17, 2021, a former Alabama state prison guard was sentenced in federal court in Birmingham to 87 months in prison. As reported by the Birmingham News, a search found the guard, Gary Charles Dixon, Jr., 36, with 497 grams of methamphetamine when he …
Wright v. Westmoreland County, PA, Minutes, Excessive Force, 2021 December 16, 2021 Invocation Rev. Bob Ross of Heritage Baptist Church, Jeannette Pledge of Allegiance Salary Board Agenda Industrial Development Corporation Agenda General Agenda Minutes of the Regular Meeting held November 18, 2021, as presented Notice of Executive Session November 29, …
News in Brief by Alabama: A 20-year-old guard at the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, was arrested on October 29, 2021, on charges that he attempted to smuggle methamphetamine into the jail. According to a report by Huntsville TV station WHNT, the guard, Matthew Moran, faces one count …
Federal Prisons’ Switch to Scanning Mail Is a Surveillance Nightmare by Lauren Gill The Bureau of Prisons has piloted a program that can give authorities “huge secret intelligence into the public sender of postal mail.” by Lauren Gill, originally published by The Intercept, September 26, 2021 In a Pennsylvania federal prison, …
Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Illegal Juvenile LWOP Sentence Undermined Validity of Later Conviction by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that an illegal mandatory sentence of life without parole (“LWOP”) imposed upon a juvenile undermined the validity of a later conviction for assault by a life …
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Sanctions and Award of $118,458 in Attorney Fees Against DOC for Withholding Documents Requested Under Right-to-Know Law by On December 22, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a decision of a lower court finding the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) acted in bad faith in responding …
$23,000 Settlement Against Pennsylvania Dental Healthcare Company for Inadequate Dental Care by Charles Talbert settled with Correctional Dental Associates (CDA) and Dental Practitioner Dr. Schneider for $23,000 in a lawsuit brought by him for inadequate dental treatment while housed in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP). While being held in …
News in Brief by California: A guard at San Quentin State Prison and one of two outside co-conspirators were arraigned on September 8, 2021, on federal charges they smuggled cellphones to an unnamed prisoner on death row at the California lockup. According to a statement by the U.S. Department of …
McGill v. Lebanon County, PA, Settlement, Solitary for Dreadlocks, 2022 GENERAL RELEASE AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WE, ERIC S. MCGILL, JR., LEONTIAYY A. PRATI, AND LAMONT ROBINSON (hereinafter "Releasors"), in consideration of the receipt of the lump sum payment of ONE HUNDRED FORTY SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($147,500), payable as …
Smart Communications v. GTL, PA, Complaint, Antitrust Violations, 2021 Case 1:20-cv-00186-CCC Document 96 Filed 10/06/21 Page 1 of 49 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA HARRISBURG DIVISION SMART COMMUNICATIONS HOLDING, INC. and HLFIP HOLDING, CIVIL ACTION INC. d/b/a SMART NO.__________________________ COMMUNICATIONS IP HOLDINGS, JURY …
News in Brief by Alabama: On August 19, 2021, twoconvicted robbers were convicted of murder in the death of a fellow prisoner they and two others attacked in 2017 at Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent, Alabama. According to a report by Montgomery TV station WSFA, Dominique Covin and Roderick DeLaune …
Local Pennsylvania Voters Ban Solitary Confinement and No-Knock Warrants by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Residents of Allegheny County voted to restrict the use of solitary confinement. The ballot measure was overwhelmingly approved during a May 18, 2021 election. PLN has previously reported on the brutalizing by guards and …
News in Brief by Alabama: A former guard at the Mobile Metro Jail was scheduled to be arraigned on May 19, 2021, after being indicted for his role in an alleged scheme to smuggle cellphones into the Alabama lockup in exchange for bribes. According to a report by local TV …
Abolitionist Law Center, Ltr Re Liability of Allegheny County, 2021 A Abolitionist Law Center P.O. Box 8654 Pittsburgh, PA 15221 +1 412 654 9070 abolitionistlawcenter.org ABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER August 24, 2021 VIA Email Andrew Szefi, County Solicitor Allegheny County Law Dept. 445 Fort Pitt Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 RE: Liability …
News in Brief by Alabama: On June 9, 2021, a former guard at the Federal Correctional Institution in Aliceville, Alabama, agreed to plead guilty to federal charges that he had sexual intercourse with a prisoner in the laundry room at the women’s prison west of Tuscaloosa. According to the Birmingham …
