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.
Federal charges allege Walker County Jail officers deprived Tony Mitchell and others of basic rights and used an inmate enforcer to assault detainees
Albert Booze pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after using Deputy Christopher Knight’s TASER and a knife in a 2021 fatal confrontation at Bibb County Jail
Investigators say the La Plata County commander accessed sensitive jail videos more than 3,000 times and looked up inmates and colleagues on social media
Courts in Massachusetts have held that when a defendant dies before having an appeal heard, the conviction is vacated
The judge said DA’s office can redact information from the notes before producing copies to protect the ongoing investigation
The measure means corrections department Inspector General Doug Koebernick would be able to begin interviewing inmates and employees about a March uprising in which two inmates were killed
The court has ruled previously that poor defendants whose mental health might be a factor in the criminal charges they are facing have a right to an expert’s evaluation
Since March 1, Bradley County Jail officials have refused entry on medical grounds to at least three men
Arkansas has put to death inmate Marcel Williams, marking the first double execution in the United States since 2000
The union said recent sweeping changes in city’s jails have empowered violent inmates and endangered correction officers
While California has long been what one expert calls “a symbolic death penalty state,” the nation’s most populous state may now be easing back toward allowing executions
Under the proposed bill, corrections officials would have to ask inmates what they want to happen to their pets while they’re incarcerated
The measure bars the release of information that could reveal the identity of a manufacturer or supplier
Federal officials have said the drug has no legal uses in the United States
Judith Clark has served 35 years of a 75-years-to-life sentence for the suburban New York heist, which led to the deaths of two police officers and a security guard
The unanimous ruling dismissed arguments that the trial judge should have reduced Blagojevich’s prison term at an August resentencing because of his good behavior
Lawmakers called Rene Lima-Marin’s continued incarceration and separation from his family “cruel and unusual punishment”
Shayanna Jenkins has filed a lawsuit against the DOC seeking to keep officials from destroying evidence so that the family can conduct an independent investigation
Ledell Lee was pronounced dead four minutes before his death warrant was due to expire at midnight
The average time between sentencing and execution for prisoners executed in 2013 topped 15 years
If confirmed, Reginald Michael would lead an agency that oversees the state’s prisons, youth correctional facilities and probation services
Advocates for the dismissal of the tainted cases said they expect it to become the “single largest dismissal of wrongful convictions in the nation’s history”
Arkansas now faces an uphill battle to execute any inmates before the end of April, when another of its drugs expires
Prosecutors say advances in DNA testing and forensic evidence have called into question the theory of the crime that prosecutors presented at Evin King’s trial in 1995
It’s already a crime in North Dakota for an inmate or someone in police custody to strike a peace or correctional officer with bodily fluids
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, in a ruling Thursday, called the portion of Carman Deck’s trial that led to the latest death sentence “fundamentally unfair”
AG Leslie Rutledge said Arkansas would press ahead with other planned executions, including two set for Thursday
CO Steven Floyd’s family and five other officers who survived the inmate uprising said the state ignored security and staffing problems
Justices on Monday reassigned the cases from Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen
Lawyers for the state of Arkansas fought on multiple legal fronts Monday to begin a series of double executions before a key sedative used in lethal injections expires
Jerry Brown made the announcement Saturday, continuing tradition of timing his decisions around Christian holidays
After barring Arkansas from executing eight inmates, Judge Wendell Griffen made a stir at an anti-death penalty rally
Although the plan faces multiple legal hurdles, no other state has executed that many people so quickly since SCOTUS reauthorized the death penalty in 1976
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