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.
The court ruled that the Bibb County Jail deputy exercised her judgment in handling surveillance duties, protecting the deputy from legal liability in the inmate’s 2020 suicide
Lancaster County Prison corrections officers working in temperatures above 80 degrees are eligible for additional time off under a sustained arbitration ruling
Richard Jordan was sentenced to death in 1976 for killing and kidnapping a mother of two young children
Christian Motorcycle Association brings bikes to the prison each year because it brings a sense of personal satisfaction and lets the members learn more about incarceration
A federal judge gave the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission two weeks to try again and refile charges against Ken Paxton
Jerome Bartee Jr. had been in jail a day after being arrested when the lawsuit claims he requested treatment for a “severe” toothache and was beaten instead
Rapper Jay Z is shining a light on prison reform by co-producing a documentary about Kalief Browder, who spent three years behind bars without trial for allegedly stealing a backpack
California, Nebraska, and Oklahoma are voting in November on whether to repeal, reinstate, or reform capital punishment
The latest round of commutations brings to 774 the number of sentences Obama has shortened, including 590 this year
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that will make it a felony for a prosecutor to intentionally withhold evidence that would have made a difference in the case
The system has reversed course on its contention that reporters couldn’t interview inmates without first obtaining the permission of the victims
Gov. Susana Martinez is pushing to revive the death penalty in response to recent killings of two officers and the sexual assault and killing of a 10-year-old girl
DOC Spokesman Bob Horton said no COs were injured and the prison is on lockdown as the fight is being investigated
Death row inmates Ivan Teleguz and Ricky Gray plan to ask Gov. Terry McAuliffe to halt their executions after the court declined to hear their appeals
The death penalty legislation would reinstate capital punishment for killers of correctional officers, police officers and children under 18
One law will allow prisoners to challenge their convictions with new evidence that would have changed the outcome of their trials
The law requires longer sentences to be served for defendants convicted of assaulting unconscious victims, ending the possibility of brief jail sentences like Brock Turner’s
The state typically keeps about 300 inmates isolated in small cells, some for months or years
The state is the first to convert its private prisons into jails to deal with state budget cuts
The lawsuit argues the ban is an unconstitutional infringement on the right to vote, unfairly punishes people after sentences are complete and impacts minority communities
Thomas Arthur, scheduled to be executed in November, is asking the court to review his claim that Alabama’s lethal injection procedure is inhumane
The national strike began on the anniversary of the 1971 Attica Prison Riot
Judges ruled The Armed Career Criminal Act violated the Fifth Amendment’s due-process provision because it was too vague and “invites arbitrary enforcement”
Lawrence McKinney, who spent 31 years in prison for a 1977 rape and burglary, would be eligible for compensation up to $1M
Mark Leonard’s attorney urged the Indiana Supreme Court to set aside his convictions, saying testimony that he wanted a witness killed should not have been presented at his trial
A federal appeals court has concluded that a redistricting plan that puts all the inmates at the state prison into one ward is politically fair
Several escape attempts, including one in which a CO was bound and gagged, landed the inmate in isolation, although officials have described him as a model inmate over the past 25 years
A lawsuit says the inmate was raped after being locked up in a facility that the local sheriff said would be a major factor in ending the violence that resulted in federal oversight
A federal jury has ordered a medical provider and several employees to pay $11.9 million to the wife and family of a man who killed himself in jail
Officials tried to cover up the death of an ill inmate who was gassed at least three times in a confinement cell as he screamed for help, a lawsuit alleges
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