| Prison Legal News, a monthly print publication that covers criminal justice issues, is a project of the Human Rights Defense Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. |
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Idaho: Private prison official: Bonuses were paid for cutting costs A former regional manager for private prison company Corrections Corporation of America says top employees at a private prison in Idaho were given yearly bonuses if they cut costs on salary, wages and other operational expenses and met other company goals. CCA, which has since changed its name to CoreCivic, operated the Idaho Correctional Center under a $29 million annual contract with the state of Idaho until chronic understaffing, violence and other problems prompted Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to order the state to take over the facility in 2013. Kevin Myers, CCA's former managing director who oversaw the Idaho facility and several others, testified in Boise's U.S. District Court on Thursday as a witness in a lawsuit against the company. A group of inmates at the Idaho prison sued in 2012, contending that CCA understaffed the prison to boost profits in a so-called "ghost worker scheme." The inmates contend the understaffing made the facility more dangerous and led to an attack where they were jumped, beaten and stabbed by members of a prison gang. CCA has vigorously denied those claims. Read More |
The rare, bipartisan push to end judicial override in Alabama There was a rare show of bipartisanship during Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee meeting, and even rarer step taken to end a long-outdated practice. A bill that would bring an end to judicial override - the power that only Alabama now grants judges to overturn the decisions of juries and sentence a defendant to death - passed through the committee with bipartisan support. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) now goes to the floor for a vote. "I think it just makes good common sense," England said. "I believe a large number of juries aren't giving the death penalty the proper weight and consideration because they know it will go to the judge who will have the ultimate say. This puts an end to that and I believe it will lead to a more thoughtful consideration." England's bill also requires that juries be unanimous in deciding on the death penalty - a change from the current law, which requires at least 10 members of the 12-person jury. An amendment that would have struck that language and kept the current law was also defeated by the committee. "If it has to be unanimous to convict, it should be unanimous to sentence a person to die," England said. Read More |
Connecticut: You can think "Inside the Box" with solitary confinement exhibit Starting Monday, the public gets a chance to experience what solitary confinement is like. A traveling exhibition of a replica cell is in New Haven for the next three weeks. The first stop is the New Haven Free Public Library, and if you come to the library to be alone, now you can really be alone. You can step inside a solitary confinement prison cell. For the next three weeks, visitors are encouraged to think inside the box. The box being a solitary confinement cell, just like what you would find in a prison. "It is an exact replica of a solitary confinement cell and it actually also includes the sounds of a true prison that's taken from a Maine penitentiary," explained Yale Law Student Sameer Jaywant. This weekend, a crew installed the cell inside the library, so anyone can step inside and see, hear, and feel what it's like. "We think folks will have a chance to experience isolation themselves in the replica cell, to learn about the harms of solitary confinement, and to develop the tools to advocate against it going forward," said Aleks Sverdlik, another Yale law student. Read More |
| Call to Action! Washington! California! The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) is currently seeking out plaintiffs for litigation against prison debit card vendor NUMI. If you or someone you know has been victimized by this prison profiteer by being charged to access your own money on a debit card after release from prison or jail in Washington State or California, please send your contact information to mmc...@prisonlegalnews.org with the subject line DEBIT. HRDC began the Stop Prison Profiteering campaign in 2015 to expose and stop business practices that result in the financial exploitation and gouging of friends and family members of prisoners and poor people enmeshed in the criminal justice system. We believe that further financial exploitation of poor people perpetuates cycles of crime and poverty and that government should not be partnering with private for profit companies to use their police power and monopoly contracts to exploit and profiteer off the citizens involved in the criminal justice system. HRDC is collecting information about the ways that prisoners and family members of incarcerated people get cheated and gouged by the high cost of sending money to fund prisoner accounts, including costly fees to use pre-paid debit cards upon release from custody, including jails. For more on the Stop Prison Profiteering campaign click the link below. Read More |
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From the PLN in Print Archives Washington: Teen's Death in Tribal Jail Sparks Lawsuit, Contract Scrutiny On January 9, 2017, Seattle attorneys Edwin Budge and Erik Heipt said they plan to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of the family of a teenager who died after warning jailers he had a heart condition and had previously required resuscitation. Although 19-year-old Andrew Westling wasn't a tribal member, when he was arrested on April 10, 2016, police in the city of Yelm took him to the Nisqually Corrections Center - a tribal jail in nearby Thurston County. There, after telling a guard he felt like his heart was "thumping out of his skin," he was found dead roughly 24 hours after being booked into the facility. A Thurston County coroner listed the cause of Westling's death as "cardiac dysrhythmia due to congenital coronary artery heart anomalies," and described the manner of death as natural. However, according to a medical specialist retained by attorneys representing Westling's family, his heart condition was "familiar, readily recognized, and easily treatable." University of Washington medical professor Richard Cummins added, "If it were not for the unreasonable neglect of the staff of the Nisqually Corrections Center, Andrew Westling would be alive today and would very likely enjoy a normal life span." The lawsuit will name the city of Yelm, but because the Nisqually tribe is a sovereign nation it has immunity against federal lawsuits. According to Budge and Heipt, the tribe's contract with Yelm and other non-tribal entities is unique. Former state Attorney General Rob McKenna concluded that Washington law allows for contracts only between cities and counties for jail services, not with native tribes or reservations. Westling's estate will ask the court to declare the jail contract illegal. "It may, in and of itself, violate the constitution to bring a U.S. pretrial detainee into a tribal jail," Heipt said, "without assurances that the constitutional protections ... do apply." Read More |
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CLE Seminar: Representing Victims of Law Enforcement Misconduct West Palm Beach, Florida March 2-3, 2017 Human Rights Defense Center and National Police Accountability Project will be hosting a day and a half CLE seminar on representing the victims of law enforcement misconduct. Presented by some of the best civil rights lawyers in the country it's a great chance to learn more about this critical area of the law and held in sunny West Palm Beach Florida it's an opportunity to escape from the cold and snow if you live in well, a cold and snowy place. The South Florida-based Human Rights Defense Center in collaboration with the National Police Accountability Project are offering a two-day CLE seminar at the Marriott Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a full seminar day on Thursday, March 2 and a half day on Friday, March 3. HRDC and NPAP have secured a fantastic room rate of $185 per night at the Marriott where the seminar will be held, a bargain for a winter getaway in Florida. The hotel is in close proximity to numerous beaches, and we hope that those of you in less-than-temperate winter environments will consider escaping the cold with us. And if your family is jealous of your respite, consider bringing them along! More Info Here Visit the Facebook Event Page |
Former death-row inmate turned prisoner advocate: 'Hate the crime but still love the person' One-time death-row inmate turned prisoner-rights advocate Shujaa Graham had himself and members of the audience in tears Thursday during "Life After Death Row" at the Herberger Theater in Phoenix. Graham recounted his experience spending 11 years in various California penal institutions, part of which included time spent on death row for a wrongful murder conviction. He was later exonerated in the death of a prison guard and released from prison in 1981. Graham, who now lives in Maryland, has toured the world telling his story since. Born in Louisiana, Graham grew up on a plantation in the segregated South of the 1950s. After moving to Southern California, he spent much of his adolescence in juvenile institutions and was sent to Soledad Prison upon turning 18. Graham taught himself to read and write and studied history and world affairs while being mentored by leaders in the Black Prison Movement. He later became a leader of the growing movement within the California prison system as the Black Panther Party expanded. With his head filled with stories of his time in and out of jail and a keen speaking ability, Graham talked throughout the 45 minutes allotted Thursday afternoon until the theater had to excuse everybody for the next show. "I guess I'll just have to talk on the way walking out," Graham said. Read More |
Vermont: Man's suit over prison injury headed for trial A suit filed by a local man injured in a table saw accident while he was serving prison time in 2013 is scheduled for a pretrial conference in Bennington Superior Court Civil Division on March 1. Eric Lambert was serving a sentence on burglary charges in an out-of-state facility in Kentucky in November 2013 when he sustained a severely lacerated hand while operating a power saw, according to the complaint, which said his injuries are "continuing and are permanent." Lambert had been sentenced in January 2013 to a 3- to 15-year term after pleading guilty to six counts of burglary, four counts of selling stolen property, two counts of grand larceny, two charges of violating his curfew, and one count each of petit larceny; unlawful trespass, providing false information to police, possession of marijuana, prescription fraud, and possession of burglary tools. At the time of the injury, he was serving time at a Corrections Corporation of America facility in Beatyville, Ken. The suit was filed in April 2015. Lambert, 29, who currently is paroled under supervision of the Department of Corrections office in Bennington, is represented by Thomas Costello, of the Brattleboro firm Costello, Valente & Gentry. Read More |
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Immigrants Want You to See These Chilling Photos of US Detention Centers U.S. immigration authorities rounded up hundreds of undocumented immigrants across six states in the last week, which begs the question - where do they go? The detention centers maintained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are home to some of the most inhumane prison conditions in the entire country. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which operates under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security, has very little accountability for the conditions of its detention centers, since the people being held are not U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, by default stripping away most of the Constitutional rights guaranteed for prisoners. One of the busiest corridors of the U.S./Mexico border is in what CBP refers to as the Tucson Sector of Arizona, in which border patrol agents rounded up approximately 200,000 people in the last two years alone, according to a legal complaint filed by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). Those who are detained are housed in CBP facilities that are only meant for a 12-hour stay or less before undocumented immigrants are sent to other detention centers, or appear in immigration court. According to the NILC complaint, which was filed on behalf of several detainees housed in the Tucson Sector, conditions at CBP facilities are hellish, with several dozen detainees crammed into cells only meant for a handful of people, often stacked on top of one another or in extremely close proximity. The plaintiffs allege they're held for as long as 72 hours or more, even though the Department of Homeland Security's own 2008 guidelines say the cells aren't meant for more than a 12-hour processing period. Read More and See the Photos |
From prison to college to success Each month, the state of Washington releases roughly 700 people from its prisons. These men and women, having served their time, seek a productive life on the outside. Yet within three years, about one-third wind up back in prison on one or more new felony convictions. Their new trials and imprisonment place an additional burden on taxpayers - not to mention the burden their crimes place on victims. State policymakers, concerned about this cycle, have commissioned studies, convened task forces, and introduced legislation aimed at preventing people from reoffending. Yet the recidivism rate hasn't gotten any better over the last decade, and in the last year has increased. If they want to get serious about recidivism, it's time for them to commit to what we know works. Prisoners live highly regulated lives. Even if they lack education, social skills, stable mental health, and family support, while they're in prison they don't have to worry about finding housing or food. Once they're released, however, these deficiencies matter. On top of that, they leave with pitiful resources: rusty job skills (if any), poor social networks and less cash than many Seattleites spent on dinner last night. They're barred from many avenues to housing and employment. In essence, their punishment continues long after their sentence is over. Since 2005, the Post-Prison Education Program has been giving Washington's former prisoners hope, and has changed their odds. By helping them enroll in college and meeting their legitimate, frugal needs as they arise - for tuition, books, basic housing, transit and other expenses - we have ensured that former prisoners don't revert to the anger and desperation that can lead them to crime. Three-quarters of our students have been classified as high-risk by the corrections system - the category deemed most likely to recidivate. Yet of the students we have served, according to data audited by researchers from the University of Washington Tacoma, only 8 percent have recidivated - a rate one-quarter of the state average. Our students have managed to achieve self-sustaining lives away from crime, as lawyers, scientists, welders, nurses, human-services professionals, nonprofit administrators and more. Read More |
New in our Bookstore! The Federal Prison Handbook 491 pages. The Federal Prison Handbook, by Christopher Zoukis, is the definitive guide to surviving incarceration in a federal prison. This handbook teaches individuals facing incarceration, prisoners who are already inside, and their friends and family everything they need to know to protect themselves and their rights. The thorough information was compiled by someone who has first-hand experience with the federal prison system, as Zoukis is an advocate currently serving time at a federal prison. His insider's view of this unknown world guides inmates through the mental stresses of confinement. In detailed chapters broken down by topical areas, readers discover: - What to expect on the day you're admitted to prison, and how to greet cellmates for the first time
- What to do about sexual harassment or assault
- The best ways to avoid fights, and the options that provide the greatest protection if a fight cannot be avoided
- Medical, psychological and religious services
- How to communicate with the outside world through telephones, computers and mail.
- What you can buy in the official commissary and the underground economy
- How to avoid scams, schemes, theft, and other problems
- Comprehensive analysis of Federal Bureau of Prisons policy and regulatory guidelines
Importantly, this text provides detailed instructions on how prisoners can protect their rights. The author is a college-educated prisoner who has fought extensively to preserve his rights and the rights of other prisoners. Read More and Shop Here |
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