Search | Prison Phone Justice

Guards Used “Blast Grenades” to Break Up Mob Attack  in California Prison

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

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Prisoner Privileges, Telephone Access

Guards Used “Blast Grenades” to Break Up Mob Attack in California Prison by On June 6, 2025, Julian Mendez, 46, a prisoner on death row at the Kern Valley State Prison in Riverside County, California, was killed by inmate Mario Renteria, 36, using a makeshift weapon, KGET in Bakersfield reported. …

Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup

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

Filed under: Cell Searches, Drug Testing, Prison/Jail Murders, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Cell Phone Access, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet

Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup by The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a notorious federal jail in Brooklyn, New York, has made the news repeatedly thanks to some high-profile detainees held there to await trial. But federal prosecutors have also charged nine detainees for a series of …

Washington v. City of New York, NY, Settlement, Inmate Abuse, 2019

Brief • October 18, 2019

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Jail Specific, Attorney Client, Excessive Force, Class Notice, Telephones, Failure to Protect (Staff), Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Sixth Amendment, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

is not resolved, plaintiffs' counsel shall notify the County by letter and request that counsel meet and confer. Plaintiffs' counsel and the County shall meet (in person or by telephone conference) within five (5 ...

Washington v. City of New York, NY, Second Amended Complaint, Inmate Abuse, 2019

Brief • June 6, 2019

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Jail Specific, Excessive Force, Class Notice, Attorney Calls, Failure to Protect (Staff), Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Sixth Amendment, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Washington v. City of New York, NY, Second Amended Complaint, Inmate Abuse, 2019 Case 1:18-cv-12306-CM Document 112 Filed 06/06/19 Page 1 of 103 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DAVON WASHINGTON, PARIIS TILLERY, JOHN DOE, and STEVEN ESPINAL, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, …

Osegueda v. Stanislaus County Public Safety Center, CA, Amended Complaint, Solitary Conditions and Classification, 2017

Brief • February 5, 2017

Filed under: Classification, Gang Policies, Shootings, Grenades, Telephone Access, Ad-Seg Hearings, Mental Health

. 1202 H Street, Suite A Modesto, CA 95354 Telephone: (209) 857-8608 LOREN L. LUNSFORD, ESQ. ( CSB No. 213966) THE LUNSFORD LAW FIRM 980 Ninth Street, 16th Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Telephone: (916) 575 ...

NY: Prisoner's Abuse Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss

Article • October 31, 2016

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Eighth Amendment, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Telephones, Failure to Train/Supervise, Mental Health, Denial of Religious Services

case, Smith sued because jail officials changed his telephone PIN number without notice. While that case was pending, Smith filed another case against Riker's Island alleging improper religious ...

Los Angeles Sheriff's Office Settles Visitor Beating Case for $1 Million

Article • August 11, 2016

Filed under: Visitor Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Cell Phone Access

Los Angeles Sheriff's Office Settles Visitor Beating Case for $1 Million by Derek Gilna Los Angeles County Jail deputies have a reputation for brutal treatment of prisoners, and have paid out millions of dollars in settlements as a result. However, even a man visiting his brother Robert at Men's Central …

Second Circuit Allows Muslim Prisoners’ Bivens Claims to Proceed

Article • April 1, 2016 • from PLN April, 2016

Filed under: Religious Discrimination, Strip Searches, War on Terror, Food, Eighth Amendment, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Telephone Access

;; and not allowed to move around their unit or freely use the telephone and commissary, or access MDC handbooks “which explained how to file complaints about mistreatment.” Additionally, the Court ...

Abuse in Los Angeles Jails Leads to Investigations, Lawsuits and Eventual Reforms

Article • March 15, 2013 • from PLN March, 2013

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Retaliation against Staff, Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Exercise, Clothing, Jail Specific, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Telephone Access

that ordered the county to improve jail conditions – including overcrowding, inadequate exercise, and lack of clean clothing and telephone access. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had initially ...

More Damages, Costs & Attorney Fees Awarded in NH False Disciplinary Case

Article • February 15, 2009 • from PLN February, 2009

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Retaliatory Discipline, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Clothing, Showers, Toilets, Water, Strip Cells, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Restraints, Damages, Settlements, Costs, Telephone Access, Mail Regulations

for a quick shower while wearing shackles. They were not allowed telephone calls, mail or non-attorney visits, and their food was half the normal portion. The conditions were especially onerous for Palacio ...

Millions Paid in Mississippi Jail Deaths; Ten Guards Sentenced for Abuses; Corruption Continues

Article • September 15, 2008 • from PLN September, 2008

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Correctional Services Corp., Jail Misconduct, Judicial Misconduct, Prison Labor, OB/GYN, Criminal Prosecution, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Damages, Disclosure of Records, Telephone Access, Suicides, ACA

Millions Paid in Mississippi Jail Deaths; Ten Guards Sentenced for Abuses; Corruption Continues by Bob Williams “The house always wins,” Warden Don Cabana proclaimed to the Sun Herald, a Mississippi newspaper, in July 2007. However, Harrison County, home of the Harrison County Adult Detention Center (ADC), has agreed to pay …

Sandin Inapplicable to Pretrial Detainees

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Dental Care, Escapes, Strip Cells, Restraints, Attorney Calls, Mail, Mail Regulations, Ad-Seg Hearings, Access to Media

Sandin Inapplicable to Pretrial Detainees by Procedural Due Process--Disciplinary Proceedings (920): Sandin does not apply to detainees, who are entitled to procedural due process in disciplinary proceedings. Here there was some evidence because staff said the plaintiff had confessed. Procedural Due Process--Administrative Segregation (921): Placement of an escape risk in …

GAO Audit: Alien Detention Facilities Suffer Continuing Deficiencies

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Overcrowding, Attorneys, Attorney Client, Stun Guns/Tasers, Dogs, Immigration, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls

. These included telephone access, medical care, holding room procedures, use of force, food service, recreation, access to legal materials and grievance procedures. The most persistent problem was inadequate ...

Florida’s Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual

Article • June 15, 2007 • from PLN June, 2007

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Telephones, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

recorded all phone calls, including privileged calls between prisoners and their lawyers. A BSO official claimed the recording was due to a "glitch" in the phone system, and only one attorney call had been ...

Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Race/Exposure Claims

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Furloughs, Racial Discrimination, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Court Access, Telephone Access

for failure to state a claim, of Flournoy's race-based denial of telephone and visiting claims. The court found that dismissal was precipitous because officials may not deny prisoners privileges based on race ...

$163,900 Settlement in Illegal Shackling of Chicago Jail Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force, Restraints, Telephone Access

and $6,500, respectively under the settlement. The prisoners were handcuffed to beds at the Cook County Hospital, which prevented them from going to court, using the telephone, writing and reading ...

Confronting Confinement, A Report On Safety and Abuse In America’s Prisons, Vera Justice Institute (2006), 118 pp.

Article • February 15, 2007 • from PLN February, 2007

Filed under: Reviews, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Telephone Rates

Confronting Confinement, A Report On Safety and Abuse In America’s Prisons, Vera Justice Institute (2006), 118 pp. by John Dannenberg Confronting Confinement, A Report On Safety and Abuse In America's Prisons, Vera Justice Institute (2006), 118 pp. Reviewed by John E. Dannenberg The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's …

Cleaning up Mississippi’s Supermax: Conditions Suit Settled

Article • February 15, 2007 • from PLN February, 2007

Filed under: CMS, Medical, Contagious Disease -- Misc., Exercise, Sewage, Sanitation, Reading Materials, Vermin, Restraints, Telephone Rates, Ad-Seg Hearings, ACA

Cleaning up Mississippi’s Supermax: Conditions Suit Settled by David Reutter Cleaning up Mississippi's Supermax: Conditions Suit Settled by David M. Reutter A class action lawsuit filed on behalf of prisoners at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman charged that the totality of conditions are so "hellish" that it makes "Unit …

Settlement Agreement Reached in Wisconsin Supermax Suit

Article • November 15, 2002 • from PLN November, 2002

Filed under: Food, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Reading Materials, Lighting, Exposure to Heat, Restraints, Education, Telephone Access, Ad-Seg Hearings, Mental Health

Settlement Agreement Reached in Wisconsin Supermax Suit by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) officials settled the 42 USC § 1983 class action civil rights suit brought by seriously mentally ill prisoners housed in the Boscobel, WI Supermax state prison by agreeing not to …

No Qualified Immunity for Shackling Prisoner to Hospital Bed

Article • February 15, 2002 • from PLN February, 2002

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Jail Specific, Reading Materials, Attorney Client, Restraints, Court Appearances, Complaints, Appeals, Americans with Disabilities Act, Telephone Access, Qualified Immunity

prisoners access to attorneys, visitors, legal materials, telephones, typewriters, computers, magazines, and recreational activities. The policy also banned personnel from bringing hospital prisoners ...