Legal
Legal issues in the correctional system encompass various topics, including inmate rights, staff conduct, and compliance with state and federal laws. This directory offers articles and resources on the legal aspects of correctional facility operations, helping staff stay informed about the regulations and policies that govern their work. Understanding legal responsibilities is essential for minimizing liability and ensuring facilities operate within the law. For more information, explore our section on Corrections Policies.
Leon Wilson, who took the stand in his own defense, told the jury that he thought he had interrupted a jailbreak in process but couldn’t reach his radio to call for help
Leon Wilson told jurors he believed a suspected contraband drop might have been part of an escape attempt and said he was in shock, unable to call 911 after opening fire
The reforms include new use of force rules, BWCs, bans on stress positions and K-9 patrols, and mandatory diversity training for staff at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
Prosecutors said they couldn’t determine if the incident was intentional, as one deputy claimed the inmate’s “own momentum” caused his head to hit the wall
The bill would overturn a DOC practice of recording and retaining phone calls for extended periods to assist in investigations of jail misconduct or public safety threats
A jury convicted Former President Donald Trump of falsifying business records at his own company; the charge carries up to four years in prison
The lawsuit alleges the CO failed to shut the inmate’s cell door, allowing two or three other prisoners to follow him inside and assault him
Lt. Joel Garcia was fired, then reinstated and placed on administrative leave in connection to a Tarrant County Jail inmate’s death
A review of the inmate’s phone conversations and mail revealed that he had ordered the failed hit, which targeted his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend
Waupun Correctional Institution’s warden is charged with misconduct in public office; the other eight staff members, including COs, face charges of felony inmate abuse
The most dramatic reform would take juvenile detention out of the control of the Probation Department and instead place it under Youth Development’s oversight
NYC’s mayor said he vetoed the ban because the DOC “would no longer be able to protect people in custody, or the union workers charged with their safety, from violent individuals”
The bill would allow beneficiaries to receive the pension benefits of the deceased corrections officer if they had retired on the date of their death
The law requires Colorado’s county jails to provide at least six hours of in-person voting in the days before Election Day
The Georgia DOC has awarded a $2.4 billion contract for healthcare in the prison system to a new company without the competitive process legally required, a lawsuit alleges
The Georgia DOC said the inmate’s death was a “result of an altercation” and that the CO was immediately fired
The group made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling “faces,” described as squares of paper soaked in drugs, and planned to sell a novel-style book with drug-soaked pages
Sen. Cory Booker spoke during a hearing aimed at looking at ways to rethink prison labor, suggesting voluntary jobs, higher wages and better protection against injuries
FCI Sheridan had 28 CO vacancies out of 145 positions last winter, leading to the use of mandated overtime and temporary assignments of non-correctional staff
BOP to face trial over corrections officers’ abuse of incarcerated women at now-shuttered FCI Dublin
FCI Dublin inmates sued the prisons bureau last August alleging the agency had failed to root out sexual abuse
COs, for their own safety and success, need to understand the difference between apathy, sympathy and empathy
Stephanie Lazarus, a 25-year veteran detective, was arrested in 2009 for a 1986 murder after DNA from a bite mark on the victim linked Lazarus to the victim’s death
The inmate alleges it would be unconstitutionally cruel for him to die by lethal injection
The large-scale contraband smuggling operation involved Dixon Correctional Institute inmates, trustees, an employee and several civilians, Louisiana State Police said
The lawsuit says the unallocated funds were misused by the sheriff’s office to pay for perks “unrelated to the upkeep of the jail or the wellbeing of those in custody at the jail”
The CO is accused of recording about 2,000 bogus hours — both overtime and regular pay hours — on time sheets between July and December 2023
Violence erupted at a Boise hospital as Idaho Department of Correction officers were preparing to transport the inmate back to prison after he was treated for injuries
The investigation will examine whether Kentucky protects the facilities’ juveniles from excessive force, prolonged isolation, violence and sexual abuse, the DOJ said
James “Whitey” Bulger was killed just hours after he was transferred from a Florida lockup to USP Hazelton in West Virginia and placed in the general population
The lawsuit stemmed from the botched transfer of infected inmates in May 2020 from a Southern California prison to San Quentin, which at the time had no infections
Pittsburg County District Judge Tim Mills wrote that psychologists found that Wade Greely Lay, 63, lacks a “rational understanding” of why he is to be executed
The court found the governor lacked the authority to return the woman to Coffee Creek Correctional Institution because her sentence had expired
The former CO at Dade Correctional Institution was found guilty of a single count of culpable negligence but was credited with time served
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