5 hurt in electrical fire at Pendleton Correctional Facility
Five people were taken to local hospitals after they were injured in an electrical fire Tuesday afternoon at Pendleton Correctional Facility, authorities said.
Indiana Department of Correction
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Inmates seeking COVID compassionate release face higher hurdle with 7th Circuit ruling
Since March 2020, attorney Kathryn DiNardo has taken up dozens of cases through the Indiana Federal Community Defenders from inmates hoping to be released early because of the pandemic. Those cases are but a drop in the bucket of inmates who have applied for compassionate release, and a July ruling from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has seemingly further dwindled their chances of success.
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Indy woman tries to aid incarcerated son filing pro se lawsuits against prison guards
A pair of complaints filed in 2021 by Pendleton Correctional Facility inmate Danny Johnson is showing the lawsuits can add to the frustration and sadness felt by the families who have relatives behind bars.
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DOC partnership provides Narcan kits to released inmates
In light of an increase of relapses and overdose numbers, the Indiana Department of Correction this month announced it would start offering naloxone, an agent used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to every offender released from a DOC facility.
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Home again: Elkhart man released after 15 years in prison, but case likely isn’t over
Andrew Royer has been granted a new trial after a special judge determined his 2005 trial was tainted by false evidence and coercive investigative techniques that exploited his mental disability. But the possibility of a retrial remains.
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Articles
Druidism now recognized as distinct religion at DOC
The Indiana Department of Correction is now allowing followers of Druidism to study and worship as a distinct religion pursuant to a court-approved consent decree.
Making litigants’ voices heard: Indy attorney Sniderman takes on additional role helping recruited counsel represent prisoners
Attorney Mark Sniderman is taking his respect for the client’s story to his new role as consulting attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s Recruited Counsel Program. He will continue his private practice and serve in this new position, which started Feb. 1, on an as-needed basis, providing materials and offering guidance to attorneys in the program.
7th Circuit: Solitary confinement prisoner failed to exhaust administrative remedies
A prisoner who spent nearly four years in solitary confinement failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing a federal claim about his prison conditions. He also failed to budge a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirming judgment against him.
Bill allowing Level 6 offenders to go to DOC heads to full Indiana Senate
A bill that would roll back a major provision of Indiana criminal justice reform legislation is headed for the full Indiana Senate, but concerns still linger over whether the state is doing its part to provide treatment to criminal offenders with mental illnesses and addictions.
House Courts and Criminal Code Committee to hear sentencing bills
A trio of Republican Indiana House bills will be heard before the Courts and Criminal Code Committee on Monday, including two pieces of legislation focused on sentencing.
Indiana lawmakers eye returning to more prison sentences
A big jump in Indiana county jail overcrowding has state lawmakers looking to partially roll back a nearly decade-old criminal sentencing overhaul and let judges send more people convicted of low-level felonies into state prisons.
Late lawmaker’s husband dies while serving sentence for killing lawyer
The husband of a late Indiana legislator has died in state prison, where he was serving a 55-year sentence for the 2018 shooting death of a northwestern Indiana attorney.
COA allows prisoner’s negligence complaint to proceed
The Court of Appeals of Indiana is allowing a negligence complaint by a prisoner against the Indiana Department of Correction to proceed, partially reversing a dismissal by the Perry Circuit Court.
Man sentenced to prison for string of arsons in Indianapolis
A man has been sentenced to prison for a string of arsons over a number of years in Indianapolis. David Bradshaw will serve 32 years in the Indiana Department of Correction as part of a 40-year total sentence, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Inmates claim Indiana prison kept them in cruel conditions
The lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana claim the conditions at the maximum-security Miami Correctional Facility near Peru amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
Indiana court rules prison can take cash from inmate account
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled against an inmate who sued after money was withdrawn from his prison account to pay for the medical bills of a correctional officer he injured 30 years ago.
$12M OK’d for design work on rebuild of Westville Correctional Facility
The State Budget Committee has approved spending $12 million for engineering and design work on a planned $400 million rebuild of a deteriorating state prison in northwest Indiana.
Justices reverse, remand man’s reincarceration after being released too soon
It’s now up to a trial court to calculate credit time and determine whether a man who was released from prison too soon should be reincarcerated or remain free, the Indiana Supreme Court wrote in a Monday reversal.
Pendleton inmate represents himself in lengthy court battle
An inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility represented himself against a former guard for use of excessive force in a legal battle that lasted for nearly six years before culminating in March in an in-person bench trial and an award of $35,000.
Indiana sees big cost jump with new prison medical contract
Indiana could pay about 50% more a year for prison medical services with a new contractor picked by state officials.
House passes juvenile justice bill on strong bipartisan vote
Described as a “model of the nation,” an Indiana juvenile justice reform bill passed the Indiana House of Representatives with Democrats and Republicans all voting in support of the measure.
Justices to hear arguments on order for informant to sit for face-to-face interview
An order requiring a confidential informant to sit for a face-to-face interview with defense counsel will be reviewed by the Indiana Supreme Court during oral arguments Thursday. Justices will also hear arguments on petition to transfer in a case where a defendant was erroneously released from prison then reincarcerated.
Murder convictions ineligible for expungement, appeals court rules
An Indiana trial court properly denied expungement to an out-of-state inmate convicted of murder in Indiana, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Justices: Juvenile convicted of attempted murder failed to show parent ‘essential’
When juvenile defendants are tried in adult court, parents who are also witnesses may be excluded from witness-separation orders if their children establish them as “essential” to the presentation of evidence, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled. However, applying that holding to the facts of the case before them, justices concluded an Elkhart County teen failed to establish his mom was “essential” to his attempted murder defense.