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.
During a Senate committee hearing, former inmates, corrections staff and victims’ families described violence, extortion and lack of transparency in Alabama prisons
Gov. Kay Ivey said executing Charles “Sonny” Burton would be “unjust” because the man who fired the fatal shot received life in prison
The Sacramento prison officer suffered multiple puncture wounds in the attack
Attorneys for Benjamin Cole, 57, who killed his 9-month-old daughter, Breanna, in 2002, argued that he is severely mentally ill
The organization Both Sides of the Wall called for the strike Mon. morning to address reforms to Alabama’s sentencing and parole laws
In exchange with Gov. Phil Bryant, Favre suggested “the prison industry possibly as a builder” for his volleyball stadium
Mass. CO Matthew Tidman remains hospitalized after inmate’s assault with 15-lb. barbell
The corrections worker is alleged to have shared information in violation of the department’s informational technology, confidentiality and ethics policies
Two longtime jail employees alleged in sexual discrimination lawsuits they were reprimanded when they repeatedly failed to pass screening machines
A judge ordered that Syed’s conviction be vacated as she OK’d the release of the now-41-year-old who has spent more than two decades behind bars
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels has called on Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to halt all paroles in the state
Yusef Maisonet, an imam to Muslim death row inmates Dominique Ray and Nathaniel Wood, alleged that Alabama violated his rights by barring him from attending the inmates’ executions
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is barred from holding a person in the jail system’s inmate reception center for more than 24 hours
Alex Toro pleaded not guilty to a four-count indictment alleging he’s been moonlighting as a drug dealer
Lee Boyd Malvo and his accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, shot and killed 10 people and wounded three others over a three-week span in October 2002
“Someone slashes someone in jail, what do I do with him? I remove him from population and put him someplace by himself until he corrects his action.”
A federal lawsuit alleged that county officers and supervisors shackled the woman’s wrists, ankles and waist during prenatal visits, and during labor and childbirth
“New York City is better than solitary confinement,” Speaker Adams said
While nitrogen hypoxia has been authorized by Alabama and two other states for executions, it has never been used by a state
California Correctional Center in Susanville has remained open because the town sued, saying they face economic devastation if they lose more than 1,000 prison jobs
Werner Gramajo, a senior corrections officer at Northern State Prison in Newark, smuggled cash and goods into the prison for Thomas De Vingo, a 64-year-old inmate
The nation’s only medical prison for women, FMC Carswell, had the highest rate of sexual assault allegations at any federal women’s prison from 2014 to 2018
Lawyers for four men on the state’s death row testified that the prisoners would feel terrible pain whether their bodies were “cooking” by electricity or heart stopped by a marksman’s bullet
Lawsuit concerns how state handled rollout of letting the men and women awaiting execution know about ending their lives via nitrogen hypoxia
73 defendants are currently in jail awaiting court-mandated mental health treatment before they can stand trial, due to hospital space constraints
State argued the lawsuit by Alan Eugene Miller, who was convicted of killing three men in a workplace shooting in 1999, does not state a claim a judge could use to block the execution
“Violence is through the roof. The percentage of violence since the HALT Act is going to exceed last year’s record numbers of assaults on staff, and inmate on inmate assaults,” said union head
The judge erred on instructions involving Anthony Harris’ prior criminal history, photos police used in their investigation, and who identified Harris as alleged gunman
The proposal would restrict the use of confinement to no more than 15 consecutive days and a total of 45 days in a six-month span
The man alleges he was seen by multiple medical and mental health providers who failed to notice his decomposing leg
The man was in court to respond to numerous charges, including second-degree assault
Ninety-one California inmates died while they were awaiting compassionate release between January 2015 and April 2021, according to the nonprofit advocacy group FAMM
Deputies took two hours to respond to the homeless woman’s call for help, then stopped at Starbucks on the way to the hospital; the woman lost the pregnancy
