Doctor of Death: Former Jail Physician Leaves Trail of Prisoner Deaths, Injuries

by Matt Clarke

An Illinois doctor whose medical care – or lack thereof – was linked to the deaths of prisoners in multiple states has lost his license to practice medicine, has been fined at least $50,000 by ...

Pennsylvania: Wexford Settles Case Involving Death of Prisoner’s Baby

A federal civil rights complaint filed in March 2013 accused employees of Wexford Health Sources of failing to provide appropriate medical care to a pregnant prisoner at Pennsylvania’s Westmoreland County Prison (WCP), resulting in the death of her nearly 8-month-old unborn son.

The suit was filed by Tiffany Pollitt and her husband, Brian C. Camp, Sr. Pollitt learned she was pregnant in January 2012, and an ultrasound five months later showed a healthy baby with no abnormalities. Pollitt was in the custody of WCP on July 28, 2012 when she was exercising with a volleyball in an outdoor gym.

She was accosted by two other prisoners, Gabriella Wade and LeAnn Armstrong, who demanded that Pollitt give them the ball. As she argued with Wade, Armstrong tried to take the volleyball and hit Pollitt hard in the abdomen. Pollitt confronted Armstrong about hitting her when she was pregnant. A guard arrived, issued Pollitt a disciplinary report for creating a disturbance and placed her in solitary confinement.

Pollitt awoke the next day with uterine cramping, tightness in her lower back and vaginal spotting. Her requests for a sick call form or to see ...

$66,000 Jury Award in New Mexico CCA Sexual Abuse, Retaliation Case

by Matt Clarke

On November 15, 2012, a New Mexico federal jury awarded $66,000 to a woman formerly incarcerated at a prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a Correctional ...

Summary Judgment Denied in California Jail Excessive Force Death; $8.3 Million Settlement Plus Injunctive Relief

by Mark Wilson

In April 2014, a California federal district court denied summary judgment to jail guards and medical staff in a case involving the death of a detainee caused by Tasing and severe beating ...

Illinois Prisoner Receives $12 Million Jury Award in Medical Neglect Suit

by Matt Clarke

n January 18, 2013, an Illinois federal jury awarded a state prisoner $12 million against an Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) certified medical technician (CMT) who failed to provide anti-seizure medication, which caused the prisoner to ...

GEO Group’s Florida Immigration Detention Center “Horrifying”

by David M. Reutter

Hundreds of undocumented immigrants are housed at the GEO Group-operated Broward Transitional Center (BTC) in Pompano Beach, Florida, and many are victims of mistreatment and policy violations according to a report issued by an immigrants’ rights group.

The 71-page report, released on April 29, 2013 by Americans for Immigrant Justice (AIJ), included stories told by detainees to AIJ attorneys over the previous two years.

The report described incidents of alleged substandard or callous medical care, such as the case of one woman who was taken for ovarian surgery and returned to BTC the same day; she was still bleeding when placed back in her cell. Then there was a male detainee who had been passing blood for days without seeing a doctor. The report also included examples of food poisoning, sexual assaults, refusal of access to legal resources and substandard pay for detainee labor.

“There are a lot of different problems there,” said AIJ policy director Susanna Barciela. “There are Dreamers who were detained there,” she stated, referring to the DREAM Act, which would provide conditional permanent residency to immigrants who meet certain requirements.

“There have been cases of ...

“Damning” Audit Sharply Criticizes Corizon in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

by Gregory Dober

In December 2014, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Controller Chelsa Wagner released an audit report on Corizon Health’s compliance with its contract to provide medical care at the county jail in Pittsburgh.

The audit cited 14 areas in which the company allegedly failed to perform contractually-required services, ranging from failure to maintain emergency equipment to long delays in providing prisoners with physical exams and medication. According to Marion Damick, a representative of the Pennsylvania Prison Society and past director of the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU, “None of the 14 allegations were a surprise to anyone who has been around the Allegheny County Jail this past year. The problem is how to correct the situation considering the contract.”

The jail holds approximately 2,700 prisoners on any given day. Allegheny Correctional Health Services (ACHS), a nonprofit organization affiliated with the county’s health department, previously provided medical services to prisoners before the county contracted with Corizon in September 2013. Like other jurisdictions that contract with private companies, Allegheny County was trying to find a better solution to manage and reduce costs at the jail.

Corizon’s contract with the county, for an initial ...

Lawsuits Over Riot at CCA Prison in Colorado Settle for $600,000

by Derek Gilna

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), confronted with the prospect of a jury trial scheduled to last 25 weeks on the claims of almost 200 current and former prisoners who suffered injuries during a 2004 riot at ...

Private Prison Information Act Reintroduced in Congress with PLN’s Help

On December 10, 2014, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) reintroduced the Private Prison Information Act (PPIA) in Congress. The bill, HR 5838, requires non-federal correctional and detention facilities that house federal prisoners to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), by making certain records available to the public.

Currently, private prison companies such as Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group are not required to comply with FOIA requests even when they operate facilities that hold federal prisoners through contracts with federal agencies, and are paid with public funds. This includes privately-operated immigration detention centers.

PLN managing editor Alex Friedmann and Christopher Petrella, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley, have worked closely with Rep. Jackson Lee’s staff over the past two years to reintroduce the PPIA, and helped draft the legislation. [See: PLN, Feb. 2013, p.14].

Various versions of the PPIA have been introduced since 2005; however, private prison firms and their supporters have lobbied against the bills. For example, CCA’s federal lobbying disclosure statements have specifically referenced lobbying related to the PPIA.

Friedmann and Petrella argue that because private prison companies rely almost entirely on ...

GEO Group Rescinds $6 Million Donation to Name Stadium at Florida University

by David M. Reutter

A student-led coalition against naming the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) football stadium after private prison firm GEO Group claimed victory in April 2013, when the company withdrew its $6 million donation to the school for stadium naming rights following a high-profile opposition campaign.

“We won!” enthused a statement from the Stop Owlcatraz Coalition, a group composed of students, faculty and community members that was formed to fight GEO’s attempt to name the football stadium after the company. The coalition took its name from the FAU Owls, the school’s mascot.

“We’d like to thank everyone who signed our petition as well as all other allies and supporters who helped make our victory possible,” the statement continued.

In the aftermath of the controversy, FAU President Mary Jane Saunders resigned her position on May 14, 2013, although university officials said her contract guaranteed her a position at the school at 80% of her former salary. She is now employed as a professor in the university’s College of Science.

Saunders wrote in her resignation letter that “there is no doubt the recent controversies have been significant and distracting ...