Articles by Brian Sonenstein

“[D]uring this [time], no mother will work in the detention center, nor will we send our children to school, not will we use any services here, until we are heard and approved: we want our FREEDOM.” Originally published at Colorlines.com.
April 3, 2015 0

Undocumented mothers put in solitary after 78 launch hunger strike at private prison

Last week, seventy-eight incarcerated mothers at GEO Group’s Karnes County Detention Center in Texas signed a letter announcing a hunger and work strike and to demand their immediate release. Now Roque Planas at the Huffington Post is reporting that some of those mothers were put in solitary confinement with their children in response to the protest. Aura Bogado obtained the prisoners’ letter for Colorlines.com, and writes that “most have brought their children from Guatemala [Continue reading]
PrimeCare Medical Inc.
April 1, 2015 4

Lawsuits highlight multiple inmate deaths under private contractor in Pennsylvania

On March 27th, a jury in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, found that private jail medical contractor PrimeCare Medical Inc. was negligent, but ultimately not responsible for the death of 27-year-old inmate Travis Magditch. The Magditch family sued PrimeCare and Lehigh County in 2012 after Travis was arrested for allegedly possessing drug paraphernalia and died of an asthma attack at the jail one day later. The family’s attorney, David Inscho, told jurors this was Travis’ first time [Continue reading]
Rikers Island reform roundtable
March 30, 2015 5

New solitary confinement unit plagued by old problems on Rikers Island

At the beginning of March, New York City’s Board of Correction released a preliminary report on Rikers Island’s controversial new isolation facility, the Enhanced Supervision Housing Unit (ESHU). The $14.8 million ESHU was proposed to house 250 of Rikers’ so-called “most dangerous” inmates– a small minority of the prison population that officials claim is responsible for the majority of inmate violence. Amid federal, state and municipal investigations and a [Continue reading]
ach
March 13, 2015 3

Private contractor deliberately ignored medical needs of Kentucky inmate: lawsuit

In a lawsuit filed on February 24th, the mother of Brandon Clint Hacker claims that a “continuing policy, pattern, custom and/or practice of … willfully and deliberately ignoring the medical needs of inmates of the Jail” contributed to the death of her 35-year-old son at Kentucky’s Madison County Detention Center (MCDC). Charlotte Diana Winkler is suing private inmate medical contractor Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc. (ACH) and their employees: Dr. Nadir H. [Continue reading]
Corizon
March 5, 2015 1

Lawsuit: Corizon doctor tells New York City inmate to throw severed finger in trash can

On January 26, 2015, Rudolph Richardson sued the city of New York, prison healthcare contractor Corizon Health Services and Dr. Landis Barnes for allegedly delaying and denying him emergency medical care following an incident in which his cell door slammed shut on his fingers. According to the complaint filed in the District Court of the Southern District of New York, Richardson was hanging out in a common room at the Manhattan Detention Complex (MDC) in June, 2014 when he asked a guard if he [Continue reading]
Idaho Correctional Center
February 27, 2015 0

Corrections Corp. of America reaches settlement in Idaho sexual harassment lawsuit

On February 23rd, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) settled a lawsuit brought by a former nurse at the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC) named Michelle Pierce, who claimed she had been fired in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment and abuse by her colleagues. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Pierce’s disturbing story is one of several to have come out in the wake of Idaho’s decision to take back control of the facility last year. Under CCA’s watch, ICC [Continue reading]
ritmo-protest
February 25, 2015 0

Thousands of immigrant prisoners moved to undisclosed locations after protesting conditions

Nearly three thousand immigrant prisoners are being transferred to undisclosed federal facilities after a two-day demonstration against indecent living conditions and medical care left the Willacy County Regional Detention Facility in need of repairs. Willacy is a private prison operated by the Management and Training Corporation (MTC), where thousands of inmates are housed in khaki-colored Kevlar domes. Located less than an hour north of the Mexico border in the town of Raymondville, Texas, [Continue reading]
February 23, 2015 0

Florida plans to rebid and revamp troubled prison medical contracts

Florida’s newly-minted corrections chief Julie Jones has announced that her department will rebid $1.4 billion worth of private contracts to provide healthcare to approximately 100,000 inmates across the state. The majority of those contracts are held by the nation’s largest and most controversial prison medical provider, Corizon Health Services. Another private provider, Wexford Health Sources, will have its contracts put up for bidding as well. Under those agreements, Florida was [Continue reading]
restraint-chair
February 20, 2015 2

Virginia woman dies in custody after being tasered, placed in restraints and anti-spit hood

On February 3rd, a 5’3″, 130 pound Virginia woman was killed after six deputies tased her before locking her in restraints with an anti-spitting hood over her head. Natasha McKenna, who was 37 years old and suffered from schizophrenia from a young age, went into cardiac arrest before ever leaving the jail and later died at the hospital. McKenna called 911 on January 25th to report she had been assaulted. After she was taken to the hospital for an examination, police realized they [Continue reading]
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