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.
“I’m not taking it down,” Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank said of his post that stated his office would not hire noncitizens as corrections officers or deputies
The pilot program replaces legislation that would have mandated systemwide oversight across the state’s correctional system
Cedric Ricks addressed the surviving child he stabbed 25 times before receiving a lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit
Armor Correctional Health Services Inc. was charged in 2018 with felony abuse of residents of a penal facility in the death of Terrill Thomas
Investigation cited a failure to release information, as required by law, about incriminating statements gathered by informants to lawyers for the accused
Murray Hooper will die by lethal injection or gas in an execution scheduled for Nov. 16
A federal grand jury in April 2021 indicted Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, saying he violated the civil rights of four people in his custody
the Southern Regional Jail has been the “subject of many questions and concerns” since March 2022
Sergeant found not liable after breaking inmate’s arm with a baton to end a violent struggle with officers
As part of the jail’s focus on preventing recidivism, researchers are examining racial inequities in jail policies, practices and culture
The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the ruling rejecting the appeal from inmate Andre Thomas, who killed his estranged wife and two children in 2004
A state investigation found that jailers failed to check on Dean Stewart, 50, three times in the 24 hours leading up to his death
Juan Archuleta misused alcohol and heroin and became sick — sometimes experiencing tremors and seizures — when he stopped
Advocates for overhauling the nation’s drug laws are hopeful that Biden’s pardons lead state lawmakers to pardon and expunge minor drug offenses from people’s records
“Unethical” medical experiments were performed on mostly Black inmates at its Holmesburg Prison from the 1950s through the 1970s
Alex Friedmann was convicted of hiding guns, ammunition, handcuff keys and hacksaw blades inside the walls of Nashville’s new jail while it was being built
The president is also calling on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses
John Ramirez challenged state prison rules that prevented his pastor from touching him and praying aloud during his execution, saying his religious freedom was being violated
J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao reported to the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday morning; authorities have not said which facility they will go to
Alex Friedmann claimed he was being punished for his years of advocacy on behalf of prisoners prior to his arrest
The 52 inmates who each sought a $1 million payment were among 77 prisoners at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison who had been given overdoses of the Pfizer vaccine by prison nursing staff
There have been 237 vacated convictions in recent years linked to former Sgt. Ronald Watts
Gov. approved measures to seal criminal records and free dying inmates but denied bids to restrict solitary confinement and boost inmates’ wages
“AB 2632 establishes standards that are overly broad and exclusions that could risk the safety of both the staff and incarcerated population within these facilities,” he said
Colette Peters cautioned that it’ll take time to turn around the Justice Department’s largest component, with 122 facilities, 159,000 inmates and a budget of more than $8 billion
Migrants within the Torrance County Detention Facility in N.M. describe broken plumbing, insect infestations, insufficient access to medical care and water
Porfirio Duarte-Herrera was convicted in 2010 of killing a hot dog stand vendor using a motion-activated bomb atop a car parked at the Luxor casino
Randy Halprin, 45, was among the inmates who escaped from a Texas prison in Dec. 2000, committing numerous robberies and killing Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins
The Federal Prison Oversight Act would require the Justice Department to create a prisons ombudsman to field complaints about prison conditions
The pair has pushed for improvements to inmate conditions and medical care for nearly three years
Defense argued the two performed as trained when confronted with a man who was “delusional, hallucinating, combative” and high on methamphetamine
The indictments are the latest development in a state criminal probe that resulted in significant fallout, including the departure of the state’s corrections commissioner
Suit alleges jail’s contracted medical provider said she was withdrawing from drugs, not in labor, and some jail staffers and medical staff laughed at her
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