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.
Officer Robert McFarland was killed by two inmates using hammers and a metal grinder during a failed escape attempt that his widow says was preventable
The 17-year-old inmate says mental illness should exempt him from prison after punching counselor Corey Proulx several times, causing him to fall and hit his head
A judge ruled that prosecutors failed to present credible evidence against Officer Khalil Lewis, who was accused of allowing two inmates to attack another at SCI Dallas
Daniel Jenkins, along with two other men, plotted to kill Detective Thomas C. Williams after Williams testified against Jenkins in a robbery case in 1985
The accusations in both filings are similar: Cuyahoga County did not properly pay employees in both facilities for time spent working more than 40 hours a week
The three Aryan Brotherhood members all initially faced a potential death penalty until prosecutors agreed not to seek it
The move would change marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD, to a Schedule III drug, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids
The union stated that certain health officials should be fired because of jail-condition issues, negligence and for allegedly creating a hostile work environment
In 2022, two inmates rushed to attack a third; of six COs who responded to the incident, only one CO threw a tear gas grenade at them
The inmate said he was stabbed more than 43 times while in the Colorado State Penitentiary, resulting in permanent nerve damage, chronic pain and scarring
The Minnesota DOC said it will conduct unannounced and random visits to ensure ongoing compliance at the Otter Tail County Detention Center
During the “disturbances” at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, two COs were injured and there was significant damage to prison property, the attorney general said
Massive Fla. drug trafficking operation reveals drone was used to try to drop contraband into prison
During the operation, law enforcement, working with prison authorities, successfully thwarted a murder-for-hire plot targeting an inmate
A federal judge found Georgia DOC officials willfully disregarded requirements to improve deplorable conditions inside the high-security Special Management Unit prison
The shooting at the Correctional Training Academy killed 43-year-old Corrections Lt. Rodney Osborne
The Limestone Correctional Facility warden took over the role in 2022 following the retirement of the previous warden; he has been with the ADOC for more than 20 years
Recidivism in Michigan has hovered around 30% in recent years and it reflects a sharp drop from 1998, when the rate was 45.7%, officials said
A Rikers Island CO who enjoys anime testified to smuggling drugs into the jail hidden in issues of the popular manga “Demon Slayer,” under orders from a gang leader
The lawsuit claims that conversations with inmates in city jails are likely recorded and stored on unregulated servers managed by the Correction Department
The CO is asking the court to reverse the board’s decision, removing the termination letter from his personnel file and giving him back pay
The Erie County Holding Center inmate died after being restrained in 2012
“Unlocked: A Jail Experiment” follows 46 inmates for six weeks without locks or officers in the Pulaski County Regional Detention facility
The lawsuit says California’s death penalty violates the state constitution’s equal protection guarantees because courts and prosecutors apply it in a racially biased way
The suspects used coded communications such as describing a picture of marijuana as “nuggets” and an officer willing to bring in drugs as an “Uber,” prosecutors said
The inmate charged at four COs and as the inmate was being restrained, he bit an officer’s thumb and elbowed a second officer in the stomach before spitting bloody saliva onto another officer
After hearing statements from the relatives of the students killed in the attack, the judge sentenced in excess of the recommended sentencing guidelines
The contempt motion seeks $5 per prisoner per day in damages until two baseline conditions are met: CO vacancies are reduced to 30% of budgeted positions and all prisoners are getting at least an hour a day out of their cells
Correctional officers testified about how they feared for their co-worker’s life as an inmate choked him to the point of unconsciousness inside a Lincoln prison in 2022
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is petitioning the county Superior Court to resentence 14 men — all being held in San Quentin State Prison — to terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole
“I’ve decided to drop my appeals and have my sentence carried out… I was fairly tried and convicted. I agreed with the court’s decision,” the inmate said
The inmate attempted to facilitate the killings through his cellmate at Corrigan, court documents state
The six men incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility reached a settlement with the state that will allow them to view the solar eclipse “in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs”
Between September 2020 and May 2022, a group of inmates housed at Donaldson Correctional Facility used telephone scams called “skits” to trick Home Depot employees into activating pre-paid gift cards
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