Private Capitol Punishment: The Florida Model by David Reutter by Ken Kopczynski, 111 pp. 2004, Authorhouse, softbound Reviewed by David M. Reutter As the prison industrial complex has expanded, the privatization of prisons has increased. The pages of PLN have chronicled the mental and physical abuse, as well as medical …
Prisons, Profits and Prophets by Bill Berkowitz The nation's largest private prison corporation is joining forces with conservative faith-based ministries by Bill Berkowitz In an era where the Bush Administration touts faith-based organizations as engines of individual and social transformation, and is actively recruiting and funding religious organizations to deliver …
Class Action Challenges Treatment of Florida's "Sexual Predator" Civil Detainees by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A federal class action has been filed in the Federal District Court in Ft. Myers by eight residents of the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), seeking to enforce their rights to mental health …
PLRA Indigency Provision Inapplicable When Filing Fee Paid by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Ap-peals held the In Forma Pauperis (IFP) provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) cannot be used to dismiss a case when the plaintiff pays the filing fee. Thomas R. Farese, a federal prisoner, filed …
No Qualified Immunity for Florida Jail Guards in Prisoner Murder by The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case involving a Florida pre-trial detainee's death at the hands of a mentally ill co-prisoner, affirmed denial of qualified immunity to two guards at the North Broward Detention Center (NBDC) …
Florida's Felon Disenfranchisement Law Under Spotlight by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Since the 2000 presidential election, Florida's voting laws have been under scrutiny. One of the issues being debated is Florida's constitutional provision that permanently disenfranchises felons. When Florida gave blacks the right to vote as a condition …
Florida Jail Pays Prisoner's Family $2.5 Million in Methadone Withdrawal Death by On May 23, 2001, Karen Johnson, 43, literally died of medical neglect while being held prisoner in the Orange County Jail in Orlando, Florida. In July, 2002 PLN reported how Johnson desperately pleaded with her captors to continue …
Florida Prisoner Awarded Costs in Successful Records Request Litigation by David Reutter Florida Prisoner Awarded Costs in Successful Records Request Litigation by David M. Reutter Florida's First District Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner who successfully challenges a public agency's failure to produce public records is entitled to …
Florida's Incarceration Cost Recovery Statute Constitutional by The Florida Supreme Court held that a Florida statute that imposes civil liens for recovery of incarceration cost and victim restitution violates neither the Ex Post Facto Clause or Due Process. Florida prisoner 011ie James Goad, who has been incarcerated since February 1991, …
PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applied to Non-Prison Case by PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applied to Non-Prison Case The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to lawsuits that claim injuries suffered during custodial episodes, even if such custody occurred outside prison walls. …
Florida Work Release Prisoners Ripped Off by Private Transport Company by David Reutter Florida Work Release Prisoners Ripped Off by Private Transport Company by David M. Reutter In response to a new law, effective Oc-tober 1, 2003, that prohibited state prisoners from driving state vehicles, the Florida Department of Corrections …
Constitutional Amendment Effort Launched to Bar Florida's Prison Privatization by David Reutter Constitutional Amendment Effort Launched to Bar Florida's Prison Privatization by David M. Reutter The Florida Police Benevolence As-sociation (PBA) has launched a petition drive to enact an amendment to Florida's constitution that would bar privatization of prisons, jails, …
Permanent Injunction Requires Full HCV Retreatment for Florida Prisoner by John E Dannenberg Permanent Injunction Requires Full HCV Retreatment for Florida Prisoner by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. District Court (S.D. Fla.) is-sued a permanent injunction on July 24, 2003 ordering James Crosby, the Secretary of the Florida Department of …
PLN Sues Florida DOC Over Censorship and Writer Punishment by On January 12, 2004, Prison Legal News filed suit in federal district court in Jacksonville, Florida, against James Crosby, Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections and Chester Lambdin, the Warden of the Charlotte Correctional Institution, Joseph Thompson, warden of …
Two Killed in Failed Florida Prison Escape by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A bungled escape attempt at Florida's Charlotte Correctional Institution (CCI) on June 11, 2003, resulted in the first death of a female guard. Darla Lathram, 38, began working at CCI in June 2002. She was beat …
PHS Redux: Sued In A Dozen States, Contract Losses, Stock Plummets, Business Continues by by John E. Dannenberg Prison Health Services (PHS), a subsidiary of America Service Group, Inc. (ASG), continues to face lawsuits and lose contracts for its deplorable record of prisoner health care gaffes in a dozen states. …
Secret Court Docket Practice Exposed by by David M. Reutter and Paul Wright One of the founding principles of the United States judiciary system is the right of access by the public and press. In their infinite wisdom, the authors of the Bill of Rights placed that principle within the …
Florida Juveniles Get Lost among Transfer Shuffle, Extending Stays in Wasting Money by Florida Juveniles Get Lost among Transfer Shuffle, Extending Stays in Wasting Money By David M. Reutter Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) regularly transfers its wards among several programs, resulting in extended terms of incarceration, which has …
PLRA Indigency Provision Inapplicable When Filing Fee Paid by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held the in forma pauperis (IFP) provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) cannot be used to dismiss a case when the plaintiff pays the filing fee. Thomas R. Farese, a federal prisoner, filed …
Uncooperative Prisoner Removed From Disciplinary Hearing by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a state prisoner who is recalcitrant to disciplinary hearing formalities may be removed from a prison disciplinary hearing without violating his rights. Freddie Battle, a Florida state prisoner, was found to be in possession of …
