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.
Bare Hill Correctional Facility will close in early 2026 due to underuse and staffing redistribution needs
Stephen Bryant, convicted of killing three people in 2004, was the seventh inmate executed in South Carolina since the state resumed capital punishment in 2024
The CO planted a sharpened 4.5-inch piece of plexiglass in an inmate’s cell, then filed four false reports, the DA said
The case against him was largely based on testimony from jailhouse informants who claimed Deering admitted starting the fire that killed 5 children
Rape and sexual battery of female inmates at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center “was rampant, routine, and widespread,” according to the woman’s lawsuit
The incident drew national attention when Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced that the reporter who wrote the story was under criminal investigation
“These three-digit temperature days and the heat index is pretty strong evidence that we need to take a real look at what needs to be done,” an official said
Congressman “dismayed” that Michael Carvajal is staying on through the end of the month as a senior adviser to Peters, the former director of Oregon’s state prison system
Lawyers for four South Carolina death row inmates argued this week the prisoners would feel terrible pain whether their bodies were “cooking” by electricity or heart stopped by marksman’s bullet
James Coddington, 50, was convicted and sentenced to die for killing 73-year-old Albert Hale by beating him on the head with a hammer
“This is one of the worst cases of murder I’ve ever seen,” said Jones, a former Houston, Texas, prosecutor.
Lawyers content officials can’t know whether killing someone by these methods won’t cause “unacceptable levels of mutilation and damage to the body.”
Two men say a former New Orleans judge forced them to use and pay for ankle monitors from ETOH, a company owned by the judge’s former law partner
Published in 2016, the book is one of the most comprehensive accounts of the uprising, where more than 1,300 inmates took over part of a prison in upstate New York
Colette Peters, former director of the Oregon state prison system, replaces Michael Carvajal
Gregory A. Evans admitted he abused an inmate by strangling him, putting him in a chokehold, and punching him in April 2021
The judge said that deficiencies in supervision and staffing lead to “a stunning array of assaults, as well as deaths
Leesa L. Wiseman’s attorney said the verdict recognized the years of discrimination, mistreatment and retaliation that his client endured
Kowalewski is facing up to 10 more years in prison after pleading guilty to mailing a threatening communication to a U.S. district court judge
Eden Hendrick is leading the troubled agency after two of her predecessors resigned following state audits that found major faults, from a “useless and ineffective” in-house police force to an inability to keep children safe
Problems included rodents, sewage backups, mold, ubiquitous contraband and a troubling suicide rate among inmates at the prison, also known as U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta
Jeremy Michael Brown is being held on felony federal weapons charges stemming from his arrest for misdemeanor trespassing and disruptive conduct in connection to the attack on the U.S. Capitol
The effort by attorneys for accused Aryan Brotherhood member Brant “Two Scoops” Daniel comes as two guards at the prison have pleaded guilty to a cover-up at the facility
The change proceeds from litigation challenging a 1973 law that prevents someone convicted of a felony from having voting rights restored while they are still on probation, parole or post-release supervision
Prosecutors said the officers can be seen on surveillance video walking past Feliciano and taking no action for seven minutes and 51 seconds
The women claim that a jail officer gave two male detainees keys to the interior of the jail in exchange for $1,000
Lawsuit alleges women detained at the Beaufort County Detention Center were “routinely subjected to humiliating strip and body cavity searches” while similar searches were not performed on men
James, 49, is set to be die by lethal injection on July 28 at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore
When the heat picks up in Florida, advocates and family members say temperatures can exceed 100°F inside, putting prisoners with medical issues like asthma at risk
Another guard from the facility known as New Folsom already has pleaded guilty in connection with the inmate’s death and an attempt to cover it up by filing phony reports
“I wanted to uplift them and give them some classical inspiration with a little bit of the free world,” said the director of the women’s prison seminary.
Prison reform advocate disguised himself as a construction worker to hide guns, handcuff keys and hacksaw blades inside the walls of a Nashville jail under construction
Lawsuit contends conditions in the jail demonstrate a willful, wanton disregard for the safety of officers, inmates and the public
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