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SCOTUS Stops Fourth Circuit from Tossing Federal Prisoner’s Appeal on Technicality

Article • December 1, 2025 • from PLN December, 2025

Filed under: Ad-Seg Hearings, Preservation of Appellate Rights/Issues, Authority and Jurisdiction, Administrative Detention/Segregation

SCOTUS Stops Fourth Circuit from Tossing Federal Prisoner’s Appeal on Technicality by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman A federal prisoner filed a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) complaint against the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which the district court dismissed. Before he got notice of the dismissal, the prisoner was transferred. …

Suicidal West Virginia Prisoner Granted Transfer From 13-Year Solitary Confinement

Article • December 1, 2025 • from PLN December, 2025

Filed under: Contempt (Civil Procedure), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference

Suicidal West Virginia Prisoner Granted Transfer From 13-Year Solitary Confinement by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman In an ruling on August 25, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia found officials with the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) in contempt of an injunction …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2025 • from PLN August, 2025

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft

News in Brief by Alabama: On Sunday, June 15, 2025, state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard Airika Dorsey was arrested for allegedly smuggling food to a prisoner at St. Clair Correctional Facility, according to WABM in Birmingham. The DOC confirmed that Dorsey was caught in the act and subsequently booked …

Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing  of Pretrial Detainee

Article • July 15, 2025 • from PLN July, 2025

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death)

Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing of Pretrial Detainee by A former West Virginia guard who failed to intervene while fellow guards beat to death pretrial detainee Quantez Burks, 37, was sentenced on June 9, 2025, for her role in the 2022 assault.  Ashley Toney, 25, got six and …

West Virginia Prison Chief Tapped to Helm BOP

Article • May 1, 2025 • from PLN May, 2025

Filed under: Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Leader, Manager, Organizer

West Virginia Prison Chief Tapped to Helm BOP by On April 10, 2025, Pres. Donald J. Trump (R) announced his pick to assume control of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP): William K. “Billy” Marshall III, Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR). The BOP has …

Sixth West Virginia Jailer Found Guilty After Detainee Death, Estate Dismisses Claims Against PrimeCare Medical Employees

Article • March 1, 2025 • from PLN March, 2025

Filed under: Primecare Medical, Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Wrongful Death

Sixth West Virginia Jailer Found Guilty After Detainee Death, Estate Dismisses Claims Against PrimeCare Medical Employees by A former West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) guard supervisor was found guilty on January 27, 2025, on charges related to the fatal beating of pretrial detainee Quantez Burks, 37, at …

News in Brief

Article • January 15, 2025 • from PLN January, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Australia: Brisbane Correctional Center prisoner Jack James Peterson, 29, was sentenced to an additional 18 months in January 2023 for assaulting a guard with a squash racket, the Courier reported. Peterson struck the unnamed 34-year-old during a confrontation involving a riot response team, leaving him with …

Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest

Article • January 15, 2025 • from PLN January, 2025

Filed under: State Law Claims, RLUIPA, Religious Diet

Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest by On March 20, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed dismissal of an Islamic prisoner’s federal civil rights lawsuit accusing West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) …

Two More West Virginia Jailers Plead Guilty in Detainee’s Homicide

Article • November 15, 2024 • from PLN November, 2024

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death)

Two More West Virginia Jailers Plead Guilty in Detainee’s Homicide by Guilty pleas from two former guards at West Virginia’s Southern Regional Jail were filed on August 8, 2024, for their roles in the fatal beating of detainee Quantez Burks, 27, in May 2022. As PLN reported, two other former …

Three BOP Prisoners Sentenced for Murder of “Whitey” Bulger at West Virginia Lockup

Article • October 15, 2024 • from PLN October, 2024

Filed under: Prison/Jail Murders, Murder/Felony Murder, Prison Brutality

Three BOP Prisoners Sentenced for Murder of “Whitey” Bulger at West Virginia Lockup by The last of three federal prisoners was sentenced on September 6, 2024, for the murder of fellow prisoner James “Whitey” Bulger, the 89-year-old former boss of Boston’s “Irish Mafia,” who was killed within hours after he …

West Virginia Slammed for High Costs, Low Quality of Privatized Prison Food

Article • July 1, 2024 • from PLN July, 2024

Filed under: Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Aramark, Corrections Audits, Food

West Virginia Slammed for High Costs, Low Quality of Privatized Prison Food by Before food service in West Virginia’s prison system was taken over by Aramark Correctional Services, the nation’s largest for-profit food service provider in prisons and jails, all meals were prepared by prisoners, often using fresh vegetables grown …

$4 Million Settlement in Class Action Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions at West Virginia Jail

Article • July 1, 2024 • from PLN July, 2024

Filed under: Wexford Health Services, Primecare Medical, Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Bankruptcy

$4 Million Settlement in Class Action Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions at West Virginia Jail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter   West Virginia Division of Corrections (WVDC) officials agreed to pay $4 million on November 8, 2023, to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging unconstitutional conditions at the Southern Regional Jail …

Two West Virginia Jail Guards Plead Guilty in Detainee Death, Six More Charged

Article • May 1, 2024 • from PLN May, 2024

Filed under: Primecare Medical, Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death)

Two West Virginia Jail Guards Plead Guilty in Detainee Death, Six More Charged by Six guards at West Virginia’s Southern Regional Jail were charged on November 30, 2023, in the fatal beating of pretrial detainee Quantez Burks, 37, less than a month after two fellow guards pleaded guilty to federal …

West Virginia Supreme Court Orders Prison Officials to Develop Good-Time Credit Policy

Article • May 1, 2024 • from PLN May, 2024

Filed under: Prison Labor, State Law Claims, Good Time

West Virginia Supreme Court Orders Prison Officials to Develop Good-Time Credit Policy by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On October 16, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed denial of mandamus relief to a prisoner and compelled the Commissioner of the state Division of Corrections and …

Fourth Circuit Finds No Defamation for Inaccurate Media Reporting of Criminal Record of Former Federal Prisoner in West Virginia

Article • April 26, 2024

Filed under: Media, Criminal History, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Defamation

Fourth Circuit Finds No Defamation for Inaccurate Media Reporting of Criminal Record of Former Federal Prisoner in West Virginia by After a 2010 explosion killed 29 miners at a Massey Energy Company coal mine in West Virginia, CEO Don Blankenship was convicted of conspiracy to violate federal mine safety regulations …

PrimeCare Bankruptcy

Brief • January 18, 2024

Filed under: Primecare Medical

PrimeCare Bankruptcy Case 5:22-cv-00405 Document 871 Filed 01/18/24 Page 1 of 7 PageID #: 13218 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA AT BECKLEY MICHAEL D. ROSE and EDWARD L. HARMON, on their own behalf and on the behalf of all others similarly situated, …

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 …

West Virginia High Court Decides Medical Practice Liability Act Not Applicable to Prison System

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

Filed under: Primecare Medical, State Law Claims, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), State Statutes

West Virginia High Court Decides Medical Practice Liability Act Not Applicable to Prison System by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that the Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA), W. Va. Code §§ 55-7B-1 to 12, does not apply …

Rose v. Sandy, WV, Order and Propose4d Findings and Recommendation, Conditions of Confinement, 2023

Brief • October 30, 2023

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Overcrowding, Exercise, Plumbing, Sanitation, Lighting

Rose v. Sandy, WV, Order and Propose4d Findings and Recommendation, Conditions of Confinement, 2023 Case 5:22-cv-00405 Document 774 Filed 10/30/23 Page 1 of 39 PageID #: 12449 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA BECKLEY DIVISION MICHAEL D. ROSE, ET AL., Plaintiffs, vs. Civil …

Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees

Article • September 15, 2023 • from PLN September, 2023

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson “I was sentenced and put in prison for choices I made,” said Briane Moore. “I was not sentenced to prison to be raped and abused.” She was testifying at a hearing of the U.S. Senate …