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Second Circuit Strips Qualified Immunity from Connecticut Officials Who Ignored Prisoner’s Scalp Lesions

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Skin, Failure to Treat, Infections, Qualified Immunity, Medical Expenses/Treatment, Dismissal, Deliberate Indifference

Second Circuit Strips Qualified Immunity from Connecticut Officials Who Ignored Prisoner’s Scalp Lesions by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Observing that “Eighth Amendment claims for the deprivation of medical care are not analyzed body-part by body-part,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on July 14, …

Former New Mexico Guard Convicted of Sexually Assaulting Prisoner, Suit Filed

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation, Whistleblowing

Former New Mexico Guard Convicted of Sexually Assaulting Prisoner, Suit Filed by A month after a former guard pleaded guilty to sexually abusing her, a prisoner at Western New Mexico Corrections Facility (WNMCF) filed suit against the state Corrections Department on July 27, 2023, claiming she was also threatened with …

Former L.A. County Jail Detainees Denied Promised Sentence Credits

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Good Time Credits, Credits

Former L.A. County Jail Detainees Denied Promised Sentence Credits by A nonprofit is asking for help for 23 former Los Angeles County jail detainees who completed work and education programs but were never credited promised time off the sentences they eventually received. KeepYourWordCali says the detainees participated in the Education-Based …

Officials of Pennsylvania Guards Union Charged with Theft

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Threats by Staff, Corrections Audits, Guard Unions

Officials of Pennsylvania Guards Union Charged with Theft by Five former officials of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) were charged with theft in July 2023 after allegedly misappropriating union funds for personal expenses and conspiring to cover it up. A financial crimes investigation by a state police organized …

$10,000 Verdict for Fired Guard’s Failure to Protect Louisiana Prisoner From Stabbing

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Attorney Fee Awards, Attorney Fees (PLRA)

$10,000 Verdict for Fired Guard’s Failure to Protect Louisiana Prisoner From Stabbing by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The federal court for the Middle District of Louisiana found on July 18, 2023, that a guard at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC) violated a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights by failing …

The Good That Prisoner Rights Lawyers Do

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Editorials, Attorney, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Civil Rights Violations

The Good That Prisoner Rights Lawyers Do by On April 23, 2022, UCLA law professor Sharon Dolovich delivered the keynote address at a Prisoner Rights and Prison Conditions symposium. She cited the challenges faced by attorneys who pursue prisoners’ rights litigation—an area of law “stacked a mile high against plaintiffs”—including …

Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Against Kitchen Supervisor for Scalding From Spilled Hot Water

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Food, Water, Sanitation

Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Against Kitchen Supervisor for Scalding From Spilled Hot Water by by Matt Clarke On July 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reinstated a claim brought by an Illinois prisoner who was severely burned when he tripped on a damaged …

Hurdles to Voting for Ex-Felons Rise in Tennessee and Virginia, Fall in Mississippi

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute

Hurdles to Voting for Ex-Felons Rise in Tennessee and Virginia, Fall in Mississippi by On July 21, 2023, Tennessee announced a tough new rule for ex-felons seeking to exercise their voting rights. State Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins said that anyone with a felony conviction in another state whose voting …

How “Big Capital” Learned to Love Mass Incarceration

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN February, 2024

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Corizon, JPay, Inc., Centurion, Commentary/Reviews, Lobbying, Securus

How “Big Capital” Learned to Love Mass Incarceration by How “Big Capital” Learned to Love Mass Incarceration “Who is accountable for the imposition of punishment in our carceral system?” asked Laura I. Appleman, Professor of Law at Willamette University, in an article published on April 13, 2023. An answer is …

Nearly $75 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached For Delayed Releases from N.Y.C. Jails

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Class Certification, Class Notice, Bail/Pretrial Release

Nearly $75 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached For Delayed Releases from N.Y.C. Jails by On July 12, 2023, the federal court for the Southern District of New York granted final approval to a settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging detainees in New York City jails were forced to wait three hours …

Eleventh Circuit Addresses First Amendment, Due Process Interests in Georgia Prisoner Emails

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Electronic Monitoring, Qualified Immunity, Due Process, First Amendment, rights, Attorney Misconduct/Disqualification, Email and IP Addresses, Prison Mail, Legitimate Penological Interests

Eleventh Circuit Addresses First Amendment, Due Process Interests in Georgia Prisoner Emails by New communications technology introduced in prisons and jails has raised questions as to how prisoners’ First Amendment rights are implicated. Such concerns were addressed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on June 23, …

Long Waits for Montana Jail Detainees Needing Competency Restoration Services

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Civil Commitment

Long Waits for Montana Jail Detainees Needing Competency Restoration Services by As of June 30, 2023, an unnamed detainee at Montana’s Flathead County Jail (FCJ) had been held over nine months on a burglary charge, though she was not scheduled for trial. Instead the woman, who suffers from mental illness, …

West Virginia Pretrial Detainee’s Lawsuit for Sexual Abuse Survives Dismissal Stage

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Failure to Protect (General)

West Virginia Pretrial Detainee’s Lawsuit for Sexual Abuse Survives Dismissal Stage by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On June 9, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed denial of defendant state prison officials’ motion to dismiss all but a negligent supervision and training claim that arose …

Washington Agencies Sanctioned for Discovery Violations Reach $3.1 Million Settlement with Disabled Woman Allegedly Abused at State Sanctioned Home

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Attorney Misconduct, Discovery, Sanctions, Discovery - Lateness of

Washington Agencies Sanctioned for Discovery Violations Reach $3.1 Million Settlement with Disabled Woman Allegedly Abused at State Sanctioned Home by “Any lawyer practicing in this State should get an uneasy feeling when a request for sanctions is made under controlling case law in Washington,” wrote a King County Superior Court …

“Brushed It Under the Rug”: Investigation Refutes Florida Sheriff’s Story About Jail Detainee’s Death

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Public Records Act

“Brushed It Under the Rug”: Investigation Refutes Florida Sheriff’s Story About Jail Detainee’s Death by On September 8, 2022, Carl Harper, Jr. died in Florida’s Lee County Jail, a day after his arrest. A press statement five days later from the office of the county Sheriff (LCSO), Carmine Marceno, and …

Oklahoma Prisoner Uses COVID-19 Stimulus Check to Overturn Conviction

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: COVID-19, Informants, Wrongful Conviction

Oklahoma Prisoner Uses COVID-19 Stimulus Check to Overturn Conviction by In June 2023, a judge in Oklahoma’s Sequoyah County overturned the murder conviction of Ricky Dority, 65, after the state prisoner spent his COVID-19 stimulus check to hire a private investigator, who then got a key witness to recant his …

New Head of “Constitutional Sheriffs” Calls MLK a “Thug”

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Media

New Head of “Constitutional Sheriffs” Calls MLK a “Thug” by On June 19, 2023, the 158th anniversary of the “Juneteenth” enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on the last Texas slavers, Sam Bushman, the owner of Liberty News Radio, used his show to broadcast his belief that the late Rev. Dr. …

Ed Mead: Rest in Power

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Eulogies, Prisoner Media, Articles About PLN, PLN related

Ed Mead: Rest in Power by Paul Wright by Paul Wright Over the years the saddest duty I have as PLN’s editor is noting the passing of our friends and supporters. As PLN gets older, we are entering our 34th year of publishing with this issue, it seems like more …

Florida Prisoners Not Required to File Rulemaking Petition to Satisfy PLRA Exhaustion Requirement

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Administrative Exhaustion, RLUIPA, Administrative Procedures Act (State), Right to Grow a Beard

Florida Prisoners Not Required to File Rulemaking Petition to Satisfy PLRA Exhaustion Requirement by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an argument by the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) that a state prisoner’s suit should be …

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Jail Time Must Be Credited When Charge Causing Jailing Read in At Sentencing

Article • January 1, 2024 • from PLN January, 2024

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Credits

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Jail Time Must Be Credited When Charge Causing Jailing Read in At Sentencing by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 14, 2023, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin held that a state prisoner must be given jail time credit on his sentence when the charge resulting in …