Search | Wrongly Convicted

'Invisible' Prisoner Gets $36,200 for Wrongful Imprisonment

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

'Invisible' Prisoner Gets $36,200 for Wrongful Imprisonment by A Mississippi man who was improperly jailed for nearly 10 months because of a "bureaucratic snafu" was awarded just $36,200 ...

Unlawful Imprisonment Nets Ohio Man $25,000

Article • June 15, 2001 • from PLN June, 2001

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Unlawful Imprisonment Nets Ohio Man $25,000 by In late 2000 ex-Ohio state prisoner Ricky Carter, 44, agreed to accept a $25,000 award to compensate him for being incarcerated over 13 months past his release date. Carter, who was due to be released March 15, 1998, was instead illegally held until …

$49,999 Settlement in CA Sex Extortion Suit

Article • February 15, 2001 • from PLN February, 2001

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

$49,999 Settlement in CA Sex Extortion Suit by On February 1, 2000, San Bernadino County, California settled a lawsuit with Jeffrey Darr for $49,999. Darr filed suit claiming that county sheriff deputy James Wiebeld (now promoted to detective) had framed him on methamphetamine manufacturing charges, for which he spent three …

$5,500 Awarded in NY Unlawful Imprisonment Suit

Article • February 15, 2001 • from PLN February, 2001

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment

$5,500 Awarded in NY Unlawful Imprisonment Suit by On May 4, 2000, the New York court of Claims awarded Allen Israel $5,600 in damages after New York parole officials wrongfully violated his parole. Israel had a maximum parole expiration date of April 12, 1996. His parole was later revoked due …

$3,000 Awarded in Wrongful Release Suit

Article • April 15, 2000 • from PLN April, 2000

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Wrongful Imprisonment

$3,000 Awarded in Wrongful Release Suit by On October 29, 1999, the New York court of claims awarded. $3,000 in damages to Frank Nicchio. Nicchio was a New York state prisoner who was wrongly held 30 days past his release date from prison. Nicchio was granted summary judgment on the …

$105,000 Awarded in Michigan Wrongful Imprisonment Suit

Article • April 15, 2000 • from PLN April, 2000

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Wrongful Imprisonment

$105,000 Awarded in Michigan Wrongful Imprisonment Suit by On April 14, 1999, a Wayne county jury in Michigan awarded Willie Thomas Jr., Larry Reid and Edward Grant $35,000 in damages each ...

BOP Can't Keep Prisoner Who Refuses to Pay Fine Indefinitely

Article • January 15, 2000 • from PLN January, 2000

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Imprisonment, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Restitution

BOP Can't Keep Prisoner Who Refuses to Pay Fine Indefinitely by A federal district court judge in Virginia held that a prisoner's refusal to sign an agreement to pay a court ordered fine does not allow the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to keep him imprisoned indefinitely. This ruling amply illustrates …

CSC Cancels Florida Juvenile Facility Contract

Article • December 15, 1999 • from PLN December, 1999

Filed under: Esmor/CSC, Contractor Misconduct, Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Education, Disclosure of Records, Wrongful Imprisonment

CSC Cancels Florida Juvenile Facility Contract by Correctional Services Corp. (CSC) announced Aug. 23, 1999 that it was withdrawing from an $8.7 million-a-year contract to operate the Pahokee Youth Development Center, a 350 bed Florida juvenile facility, 8 months before the contract is due to expire. The announcement came six …

Probable Cause Hearing Delay Actionable

Article • November 15, 1999 • from PLN November, 1999

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Municipal Liability

Probable Cause Hearing Delay Actionable by Ronald Young The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that the fact issue as to whether an arrestee's detention without a probable cause hearing resulted from the sheriff's deliberate decision not to monitor detainees brought to jail by outside agencies precluded summary …

Juveniles Held Hostage for Profit by CSC in Florida

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Esmor/CSC, Contractor Misconduct, Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Education, Wrongful Imprisonment, Juveniles, Juvenile Prisons

Juveniles Held Hostage for Profit by CSC in Florida by Alex Friedmann According to a consultant hired by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the Pahokee Youth Development Center (Juvenile prison) operated by the Correctional Services Corporation (CSC) kept ten juvenile detainees beyond their release dates for no other reason …

Mitigation Instruction and Excluding Indemnification Evidence Reversible Error

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Jury Instructions, Wrongful Imprisonment, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Mitigation Instruction and Excluding Indemnification Evidence Reversible Error by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a district court erred when it did not allow a jail detainee plaintiff to introduce evidence of a state indemnification statute after the defendants told a jury that a damages verdict …

Pardon Satisfies Heck

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency

Pardon Satisfies Heck by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a governor's pardon invalidates a criminal conviction in order to permit a 42 U.S.C. 1983 claim for damages to proceed. Johnny Wilson, a mentally retarded Missourian, pleaded guilty to a murder he did not commit in …

Illegal Detention Violates Substantive Due Process

Article • April 15, 1999 • from PLN April, 1999

Filed under: Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity, Supervisory Liability, Municipal Liability

Illegal Detention Violates Substantive Due Process by The court of appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the detention of an individual for 57 days in a county jail on a civil contempt warrant "shocks the conscience" and violates substantive due process. The court further held that this right was …

Spencer Applied to Parolee's § 1983 Claim

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Searches, Parole/Probation Searches, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment

Spencer Applied to Parolee's § 1983 Claim by Spencer Applied to Parolee's § 1983 Claim Afederal district court in California held that a state parolee could file suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenging his parole revocation and an illegal parole search without first having a favorable ruling on these …

Cases of Interest From the U.S. Supreme Court's 1997-98 Term

Article • September 15, 1998 • from PLN September, 1998

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Damages, Settlements, Parole, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Imprisonment, Forfeiture, Immunity/Liability, Prosecutorial Immunity

Cases of Interest From the U.S. Supreme Court's 1997-98 Term by Forfeitures: In a federal criminal case the supreme court held that the Excessive Fines clause of the Eighth amendment prohibits "grossly disproportionate" forfeitures of funds. The court held that forfeitures are "fines'' if they are punishment for a crime. …

Zain Fallout Continues

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Settlements, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Zain Fallout Continues by Fred Zain was a crime lab serologist, who tested evidence for the West Virginia state police from 1979 to 1989, and was chief of serology his last five years. During that time Zain falsified evidence and testified about the results of tests he never performed. In …

No Immunity for Florida Private Jail

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity, Municipal Liability, Contractor Liability

No Immunity for Florida Private Jail by The district court for the middle district of Florida held that the sheriff, the county and a private corporation operating the county jail were liable for detaining an arrestee for 30 days without a probable cause hearing. The court also held that monetary …

Prisoners Held Beyond Release Date Sue

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Suit Waivers, Good Time, Wrongful Imprisonment

Prisoners Held Beyond Release Date Sue by Four civil rights attorneys filed suit against Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block and other officials for falsely imprisoning thousands of people each year by holding them beyond their scheduled release dates. "We intend to seek an injunction under the taxpayer action and …

Res Judicata No Bar to Damages in Illegal Sentence

Article • August 15, 1997 • from PLN August, 1997

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Res Judicata, Good Time, Wrongful Imprisonment

Res Judicata No Bar to Damages in Illegal Sentence by In the May and July, 1995, issues of PLN we reported Rooding v. Peters, 876 F. Supp. 946 (ND IL 1994) in which a district court held that res judicata prevented a prisoner from filing suit in federal court for …

County Liable for Trustee's Work; No Remedy for Illegal Detention

Article • February 15, 1997 • from PLN January, 1997

Filed under: Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Civil Procedure, Damages, State Law Claims, Wrongful Imprisonment, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Qualified Immunity, Municipal Liability, Judicial Immunity, Prosecutorial Immunity

County Liable for Trustee's Work; No Remedy for Illegal Detention by The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that a county was properly liable where it did not reimburse a jail detainee for work he performed on public property. The court also held that a pretrial detainee's work …