Media
Lisa Fernandez, KTVU
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate passed legislation Wednesday to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons where reporting from The Associated Press exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and reporting from KTVU highlighted the intense sexual abuses at the all-women's prison in Dublin, Calif.
Michael R. Sisak and Michael Balsamo, Associated Press
The Senate passed legislation Wednesday to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, The Appeal
Incarcerated laborers on Angola’s Farm Line face “substantial risk of injury or death” during extreme heat, a federal judge ruled this week, ordering corrections officials to make policy changes to “preserve human health and safety.”
Bonnie Bolden and Da'Shawn Johnson, BRProud
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A federal judge heard arguments on a motion to stop using the Farm Line at Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly called Angola, during the high summer heat in Louisiana.
CBS Bay Area
DUBLIN – Following three days of testimony from incarcerated survivors of sexual abuse at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, the legal teams representing the victims held a press conference Friday outside of U.S. District Court in Oakland.
Dana Difiippo, New Jersey Monitor
New Jersey correctional officers showed “deliberate indifference” when they confiscated the cane an incarcerated man used because of a painful spinal condition and repeatedly refused to return it to him, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Lisa Fernandez, KTVU
OAKLAND, Calif. - Sex abuse survivors at an all-women's prison in Dublin filed a sweeping and major class-action lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that people incarcerated there have been raped, forced to undress in order to be released from cells, drugged, groped and targeted with threats of deportation, among other atrocities.
Sydney Johnson, KQED
Survivors of sexual abuse on Wednesday filed a class-action lawsuit against guards and officials at FCI Dublin, a federal women’s prison where plaintiffs argue there are inadequate systems for preventing, detecting, investigating and responding to rape and sexual assault at the facility.
Olga R. Rodriguez, Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Eight inmates at a San Francisco Bay Area lockup — dubbed the “rape club” by prisoners and workers alike — filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal Bureau of Prisons, saying sexual abuse and exploitation has not stopped despite the prosecution of the former warden and several former officers.
Luis Fieldman, MassLive
The controversial policy triggered a lawsuit from Lawyers for Civil Rights and Rights Behind Bars in 2022 on behalf of a statewide coalition that challenged the agreement between the sheriff’s office and immigration authorities.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, The Messenger
Incarcerated people in jails throughout the country are left to ask the courts to protect their rights.
Frank Mulligan and Staff Reports, South Coast Today
Sixteen former immigrant detainees in the Bristol County House of Correction Immigrant Detention Center have filed suit against Sheriff Thomas Hodgson and the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office on 21 counts, alleging cruel treatment and conditions of confinement.
Nick Stoico, Boston Globe
The lawsuit, filed Thursday by two organizations, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Rights Behind Bars, on behalf of 25 petitioners, asks the Supreme Judicial Court to weigh in on whether the sheriff’s office has the authority to enter such an agreement with ICE.
Beth Schwartzapfel and Tony Plohetski, The Marshall Project
It’s the first time in years the highest court allowed such a suit to proceed. The ruling suggests it is reconsidering protections for officers who cause harm.
Adam Liptak, New York Times
The Supreme Court has hinted that it is ready to trim the doctrine of qualified immunity, which makes it difficult to sue government officials for violence and cruelty.
Joanna Schwatz, The Atlantic
And those paying attention haven’t missed it.
Samuel Weiss, The Appeal
Rights Behind Bars Executive Director, Samuel Weiss, discusses how Trump-appointed judges have decisively hampered legal efforts to force prisons and jails to address the coronavirus.
Samuel Weiss, The Appeal
Rights Behind Bars Executive Director, Samuel Weiss, writes about how Hepatitis C has ripped through prisons and jails, despite more effective treatments for the disease.
In the News
Publications
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An Open Letter to Mount Olive Correctional Complex.
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An Open Letter to FCI Dublin.
Press Releases
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12 Survivors of Sexual Assault File Lawsuits Against FCI Dublin, Bringing Current Total to 63
FCI Dublin is facing an avalanche of lawsuits stemming from the systemic staff sexual abuse and misconduct that has long gone unchecked at this facility.
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RBB Files Emergency Litigation on Behalf of Activist on Hunger Strike in Protest of Retaliatory Solitary Confinement
Writer, Artist, and Activist Rashid Johnson has been on hunger strike for 41 days, during which Virginia Department of Corrections officials have subjected him to cruel and life-threatening treatment.
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Trans Woman Files Lawsuit Challenging Illegal Ban on Gender-Affirming Surgery in Georgia Department of Corrections
Ms. Doe received recommendations for gender-affirming surgeries from four GDC psychiatrists over the course of six years. Despite this uncontested evidence of her medical needs, Ms. Doe has been told time and again that GDC will not allow her to get gender-affirming surgery.
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RBB and Partners Issue Demand Letter on Behalf of Indigenous People Facing Religous Discrimination in West Virginia Prison
Incarcerated Native people at Mount Olive State Prison face significant, unlawful barriers to their religious practice.
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As Trial Begins for Former FCI Dublin Official, Community Groups Demand Support and Sanctuary for Survivors of Prison Staff Sexual Abuse
The Coalition has been calling for sweeping changes at FCI Dublin as the best way to promote true institutional accountability and ensure that such harms are not perpetrated in the future.
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RBB and partners pen letter to the BOP detailing ongoing abuses at FCI Dublin
After the revelations of serious sexual abuse at the facility, there have been a handful of prosecutions of individual actors, but no meaningful efforts have been made to remedy the harms or seriously change the system that facilitated them.
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Washington v. Massachusetts Department of Corrections, et al. Filed in Federal Court
Filing Marks Two-Year Anniversary of Wave of Guard Assaults at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center
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Facing Lawsuit, Barnstable County's New Sheriff Ends Contract with ICE
Move eliminates last “278g Agreement” by sheriffs in New England.
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Victory in Qualified Immunity Excessive Force Case
The Ninth Circuit Decision in Getzen v. Long affirms that the deputy involved should not be granted qualified immunity for his use of excessive force in clear violation of Mr. Getzen’s civil rights.
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Supreme Court reverses Fifth Circuit ruling in Taylor v. Riojas
RBB wins rare Supreme Court qualified immunity reversal
