Federal Prisoners Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies Before Suing by The court of appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that federal prisoners must exhaust administrative remedies before filing a Bivens suit against prison officials. Michael Alexander, a federal prisoner, filed a Bivens suit challenging the constitutionality of prison regulations prohibiting …
Publication Reviews by Voices Behind the Walls is a bi-monthly newsletter published by Pennsylvania prisoners. Each issue covers news and events in the PA prison system as well as commentaries on the criminal justice system. Subscriptions are $10 for prisoners and $20 for everyone else. Contact: VBTW, P.O. Box 474, …
Suicides Plague Florida Women's Prison by Alex Friedmann Florence Krell, a 40-year-old mother of two serving an 18-month sentence for grand theft after she failed to return her boyfriend's rental car, hanged herself from her cell door at the Jefferson Corr. Institution on October 11, 1998. She had been at …
Florida Nicotine Addiction Suit Settled by The cover story in the January, 1998, issue of PLN , "Smoking, Lies and Hypocrisy," by Paul Wright, mentioned the case of Thomas Waugh. Waugh, a Florida prisoner, had sued Florida prison officials for failing to provide him with any type of treatment to …
"Tough" Florida Sheriff Arrested by "Tough" Florida Sheriff Arrested Admitting he committed a "sinful, wrong and criminal act," Marion County (FL) Sheriff Ken Ergle resigned October 15, 1998, after state officials charged him with grand theft and official misconduct. Ergle surrendered to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigators, who …
No Right to Mutual Legal Assistance in 11th Circuit by The court of appeals for the eleventh circuit held that actual injury is a threshold requirement in all prisoner access to courts claims. Without such a showing, under the doctrine of standing, federal courts do not have jurisdiction to address …
University Professor Shills for Private Prison Industry by Alex Friedmann Much of the statistical and academic information regarding prison privatization that is reported in the media (and consequently relied upon by lawmakers deciding whether to contract with private prison companies) comes from Charles W. Thomas, director of the Private Corrections …
PLN Writer Settles Nude Photo Suit for $3,000 by On June 2, 1998, a Florida prisoner and Assistant Attorney General struck a settlement deal in the midst of a federal trial. The prisoner regained possession of two nude photos confiscated by DOC officials in 1993 and received approximately $3,000 in …
Juvenile Crime Still Pays -- But at What Cost? by Alex Friedmann Juvenile Crime Still Pays – But at What Cost? by Alex Friedmann [Last February, PLN published a cover article, "Juvenile Crime Pays," concerning the proliferation of for-profit juvenile justice services. This month we revisit the topic following recent …
Ex-Prisoner Sues Over Phony Jail Dentist by When Timothy Stanley, 32, was in the Marion County (FL) Jail in January, 1997, facing drug charges, he needed some dental work done. According to the jail's medical log, Sheriff Ken Ergle's "dentist", Illya Fitzgerald Hathorn, pulled one of Stanley's teeth. Now Stanley …
No Qualified Immunity for Private Health Care Provider by Afederal district court in Florida denied qualified immunity to a private provider of health care services to a county jail. Health care personnel failed to give a prisoner with a history of heart attacks her heart medication and ignored her complaints …
PLRA Termination Provision Constitutional in Eleventh Circuit by The court of appeals for the Eleventh circuit held that the termination provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3626(b)(2), does not violate the separation-of-powers doctrine, the due process clause, nor the equal protection clause of the fifth …
Nine Florida Prison Guards Indicted, Fired by Nine Florida state prison guards were indicted July 10, 1998, on federal conspiracy and civil rights violation felony charges in the death of a prisoner who was chained, beaten, and left to bleed to death. A tenth guard, presumably the one who broke …
FL DOC Violates Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by Afederal district court in Florida held that § 944.801(4), Fla. Stat. (1997), which permits prisoners under 22 years of age, who qualify for special educational services and programs pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1415, …
ADA/RA Apply to FL Prison Gain Time Issues; Suit Settled by ADA/RA Apply To FL Prison Gain Time Issues; Suit Settled A federal district court in Florida held that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C § 12101 et seq., and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (RA), 29 …
Lee v. Singletary, FL, Appeal Brief, Prisoner Transport Black Box Handcuffs, 1998 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT CASE NO. 97-3428 WILLIAM L. LEE, et al., Plaintiffs - Appellants, vs. HARRY K. SINGLETARY, et al., ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Defendants - …
MCI Refund to Florida Prisoner Families by Friends and family of Florida prisoners may be entitled to $190,000 worth of free telephone calls under a recommendation issued by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). Between February and July 1996, as previously reported in several PLN articles, telephone giant MCI overcharged …
Another Florida Gain-Time Statute Unconstitutional by In a 5-2 decision the Supreme Court of Florida held that a recently enacted statute requiring the mandatory abrogation of state prisoners' right to earn "incentive gain-time"1 for up to six months following prison disciplinary convictions, was an unconstitutional ex post facto law, as …
Florida Prisoners Have Right to Present Evidence at Disciplinary Hearings by Florida Prisoners Have Right To Present Evidence At Disciplinary Hearings A Florida state appellate court held that a denial by prison authorities of an opportunity for a prisoner to present exculpatory evidence at a prison disciplinary hearing states a …
