US to payout nearly $116M to victims of sexual abuse at Calif. prison
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons agreed on Tuesday, Dec. 17, to a historic payout of nearly $116 million to more than 100 survivors of sexual abuse at a California women’s prison. The now-shuttered prison facility, internally dubbed “the rape club,” was plagued by rampant accusations of sexual abuse of prisoners by staff.
Eight former prison employees, including the former warden, have been convicted of sex crimes. Additionally, more than 20 workers were placed on leave and under investigation.
Officials announced the permanent closure of the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, in December 2024.
Tuesday’s settlement is reportedly the largest single payout in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons history. Under the agreement, each of the 103 women will be paid around $1.1 million.
One of the sexual abuse victims told the Associated Press that she hopes the settlement will help the healing process, but warned that “money will not repair” the harm done to them “or free survivors who continue to suffer in prison.”
The payout is a breakthrough for advocates fighting to end sexual abuse across the U.S. federal prison system.
A U.S. Senate inquiry in 2022 found that sexual abuse by staff against inmates happened at two-thirds of federal prisons in the United States over the past decade.
The settlement on Tuesday follows a separate class-action lawsuit last week in which the U.S. Bureau of Prisons agreed have some of its facilities court-monitored and publicly acknowledged rampant sexual abuse at FCI Dublin.
Pennsylvania prison accused of abusing inmates by depriving them of basic rights
Prison staff in Pennsylvania allegedly waged a “campaign of mass torture,” according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Dec. 17. It alleges that guards outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County Prison, punished entire cell blocks after suspecting some inmates were smoking synthetic marijuana.
The lawsuit says that top jail officials cut power and heat. It also claims officials kept toilet paper, soap and warm clothing from prisoners during a monthslong punishment last year.
A Dauphin County commissioner said he is “deeply disturbed” by the accusations in the lawsuit. He maintains an investigation must play out to determine the “appropriate consequences.”
The abuses described by inmates happened in the prison’s restricted housing unit, typically for prisoners who break the rules and where jail officials believed inmates were using drugs.
Court documents note that prison officials responded to the alleged violations by taking personal items and shutting off communication outside the prison to inmates. Prison workers also allegedly cut the heat when temperatures outside were below freezing, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are reportedly looking for monetary damages on behalf of the detainees. Defendants in the lawsuits include the warden, chief deputy warden and other prison officials.
The plaintiff’s lawyers say DCP has a “widespread and well-earned reputation as a troubled facility,” noting, “more than 20 people have died in custody at the jail since 2019.”
Department of Justice launches operation at NYC jail housing Diddy
Federal investigators from two agencies reportedly launched an “interagency operation” on Monday, Oct. 28, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Both Sean “Diddy” Combs and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are housed in the facility.
The agencies involved include the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons, both revealing little about the reasons for the operation. They say that it is to ensure safety for both employees and inmates at the facility.
Federal authorities say the exact nature of the operation will not be revealed until it is complete, citing security interests. The agencies maintained that the actions were preplanned and there is “no active threat.”
The probe comes as the jail faces criticism for reportedly abhorrent conditions, widespread violence and multiple deaths. The DOJ and Bureau of Prisons previously vowed to fix the problems at the jail and enhance accountability.
Federal prosecutors charged nine inmates last month in connection with a series of attacks from April to August, including two inmates who were stabbed to death and another pierced through the spine with a makeshift icepick. Separately, a correctional officer is accused of shooting at a car during a high-speed chase that was unauthorized.
Prisoners have reportedly long complained over the conditions at the jail and claim they are barred from leaving their cells for showers, exercise, visits and calls. The facility is also reportedly plagued by rampant drug and contraband smuggling, sometimes organized by employees.
Private prison operator under investigation after $4M in settlements
CoreCivic, the largest private prison operator in the U.S., is under federal investigation following years of allegations of inmate mistreatment in its Tennessee facilities. The company has spent $4.4 million since 2016 to settle nearly 80 lawsuits, involving claims ranging from violent beatings to medical neglect resulting in more than 20 deaths.
CoreCivic’s Trousdale Turner Correctional Center is a focal point of the investigation, with the Department of Justice focusing on incidents of violence, contraband smuggling and severe staff shortages.
One of the largest settlements, for $900,000, involved the suicide of an inmate where staff allegedly falsified records. Despite paying millions in fines and settlements, CoreCivic continued to renew its contracts with Tennessee.
Whistleblowers and advocates have raised concerns that CoreCivic views these settlements as a routine cost of doing business, prioritizing profits over inmate welfare. Since 2016, Tennessee has fined CoreCivic $37.7 million for contractual violations, but the company has not admitted wrongdoing in any of its settlements.
Families of the victims are calling for systemic changes to ensure accountability and improve conditions inside the facilities.
Justice Department calls Georgia prisons ‘inhumane,’ gangs, extortion rampant
Georgia’s state prisons are plagued with deadly violence, extortion, drug use and sexual abuse, according to a new report from the Justice Department. Attorneys for the federal government are now telling the state to take immediate steps to fix the problem or be sued.
Investigators described the conditions in Georgia’s prisons as horrific and inhumane.
“People Georgia holds in its prisons people are assaulted, stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish inside facilities that are woefully understaffed,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said.
The findings are part of a state-wide civil rights investigation that dates back to 2021. At the time, federal officials said they were concerned about stabbings, beatings and other acts of violence.
The investigators determined the confinement conditions in Georgia prisons violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.
The report also said gangs control multiple aspects of day-to-day life in the prisons including access to phones, showers, food and bed assignments. Investigators said they received credible allegations of beatings, coerced sex acts and extortion by gangs.
“Gang members have co-opted certain administrative functions like bed assignments from the Department of Corrections and they have extorted money from the family members of incarcerated people,” Ryan K. Buchanan, the U.S. Attorney Northern District of Georgia, said.
LGBTQ individuals are targeted for violence and the incidents are not properly investigated. There are even reports of torture.
“In America, time in prison should not be a sentence to death, torture or rape,” Assistant Attorney General Clarke said. “We can’t turn a blind eye to the wretched conditions and wanton violence unfolding in these institutions.”
Approximately 50,000 people are incarcerated in Georgia. That is the fourth highest prison population in the country, despite the state being the eighth most populous in the nation. Approximately 59% of the state’s prisoners are Black, compared to 31% of the overall state population.
“The people incarcerated in these jails and prisons are our neighbors, siblings, children, parents, family members and friends,” Clarke said. “The Constitution requires and public safety demands that our prisons provide safe living conditions for the people incarcerated them.”
The Justice Department did not provide an exact timeline for when changes need to be made nor consequences for failures to make improvements. However, officials said the work needs to start immediately.
Steve Bannon begins 4-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress
Steve Bannon remained defiant as he turned himself in to serve four months in a federal prison Monday, July 1. The longtime Trump ally was convicted of contempt for defying a congressional subpoena from the committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.
“I’m proud to go to prison,” Bannon said in a press conference before turning himself over to authorities. “I am proud of going to prison today.”
“If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny, if that’s what it takes to stand up to the [Attorney General Merrick] Garland corrupt criminal DOJ, if this is what it takes to stand up to Nancy Pelosi, if this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden, I’m proud to do it,” Bannon said.
“I was on a destroyer for four years in the Navy,” Bannon continued.” I am prepared for whatever prison has, right? Our prisons are run very well. The Bureau of Prisons does a great job. I’m prepared to do this, whatever task I do, I’m totally prepared mentally, physically, everything, for prison.”
In an interview on Monday, July 1, former President Trump blamed President Biden for what he claims is a “weaponization” of the justice system. Trump said Biden is “going to pay a big price” for it. Trump’s campaign told ABC News that Trump’s statement meant Biden will lose the election come November.
In 2022, Bannon was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress after he refused to cooperate with a House committee investigating the Capitol riot. Bannon, a former chief strategist for Trump and a prominent figure in right-wing media, initially delayed his prison term through an appeal.
However, after the D.C. Circuit Court upheld his conviction, he was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols to begin his four-month sentence.
Biden issues warning after immunity ruling as Trump looks to overturn conviction
Reaction from President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump after the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on presidential immunity. And Hurricane Beryl strengthens to a Category 5 as it approaches Jamaica. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Biden issues warning after SCOTUS ruling as Trump looks to overturn conviction
In a landmark 6-3 vote along ideological lines the Supreme Court justices ruled Monday, July 1, that former President Donald Trump is entitled to immunity for official acts he took while in office. The effects of the court’s decision will be seen in the coming days.
The high court’s ruling gave Trump some immunity from being criminally prosecuted on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, however, it did not totally dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case. The former president is reportedly looking to have his New York trial conviction overturned based on the Supreme Court’s decision.
According to Trump’s legal team, the Manhattan jury’s verdict that found him guilty of falsifying business records should be overturned because the jurors saw evidence during trial that they now consider to be protected. Trump’s lawyers are seeking a delay in Trump’s sentencing so they can have more time to make their case. Trump’s sentencing is currently scheduled for July 11.
In the Supreme Court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “The president is not above the law. But … the president may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers.”
After that decision came down, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social saying, “Big win for our Constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American.”
BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 1, 2024
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden decided the historic ruling warranted a primetime address. In it, he warned of what he called a “dangerous precedent.”
Biden calling the ruling a, “disservice to the people of this nation,” saying the decision means there are “virtually no limits on what a president can do.”
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” the president said. “Each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. [With] today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed for all practical purposes.”
Biden repeated Justice Sonia Sotomayer’s dissent, saying the ruling makes the president “now a king above the law.”
In response, Trump posted that the primetime address was just meant to deflect from Biden’s “horrible campaign performance.”
Steve Bannon begins 4-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress
“I’m proud to go to prison,” he said in a press conference before turning himself over to authorities. “I am proud of going to prison today.”
The longtime Trump ally was convicted of contempt for defying a congressional subpoena from the committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.
“If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny, if that’s what it takes to stand up to the [Attorney General Merrick] Garland corrupt criminal DOJ, if this is what it takes to stand up to Nancy Pelosi, if this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden, I’m proud to do it,” Bannon said. “I was on a destroyer for four years in the Navy. I am prepared for whatever prison has, right? Our prisons are run very well. The Bureau of Prisons does a great job. I’m prepared to do this, whatever task I do, I’m totally prepared mentally, physically, everything, for prison.”
In an interview Monday, former President Trump blamed President Biden for what he claims is a “weaponization” of the justice system, saying Biden is “going to pay a big price” for it. Trump’s campaign told ABC News Trump’s statement meant Biden will lose the election come November.
Iran, Syria, North Korea sued in connection with Oct. 7 Israel attack
More than 100 victims and families of victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel are suing Iran, Syria and North Korea. They said the countries provided the terrorist organization the money, weapons and instruction to carry out the deadly attack.
📢 BREAKING: ADL filed a federal lawsuit today against Iran, Syria and North Korea for providing material support to Hamas to commit atrocities in Israel on Oct 7, 2023. These state sponsors of terror must be held accountable. 🧵https://t.co/hfIcxLKyz5pic.twitter.com/CUdQWDhQJ5
The lawsuit, which was filed in a New York court, seeks at least $4 billion in damages for the attack. The suit was filed by the Anti-Defamation League — a Jewish advocacy organization — and is the largest case against foreign countries in connection with the attack.
This comes as the Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of the southern Gaza city Khan Younis on Monday, July 1, signaling troops are likely to launch a new ground assault into the strip’s second-largest city.
The call to move toward the Al Mawasi Humanitarian Zone does not apply to the patients in the European Hospital or the medical staff working there.
There is no intention to evacuate the European Hospital in the Khan Yunis area. https://t.co/MditW1DJ9g
Hurricane Beryl now a Category 5 storm, heads for Jamaica
Hurricane Beryl is now a Category 5 storm. This is the earliest on record that a hurricane in the Atlantic has reached the highest category there is, with wind speeds above 160 miles per hour.
— NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (@NOAA_HurrHunter) July 1, 2024
It made landfall on the Caribbean’s Windward Islands on Monday as a Category 4 storm. Many are still without power or water and at least one death has been reported.
Beryl is only the second Category 5 Atlantic storm to be recorded in July.
Biden student loan repayment plan allowed to proceed
In a small victory for the Biden administration, a federal appeals court will allow the Department of Education to move forward with lowering millions of student loan borrowers’ monthly payments in July. The move comes as the administration faces two legal battles over the repayment plan known as SAVE, which launched in 2023.
A federal judge in Kansas issued an injunction blocking the plan from taking effect on July 1. The Department of Justice quickly appealed.
New: The 10th Circuit has GRANTED @usedgov's request to stay the Kansas court's decision to block parts of the SAVE plan. Unclear yet what this will look like for borrowers (ED placed 3M of them on forbearance last week in light of the rulings). pic.twitter.com/XO9EsoQgls
Under SAVE, many borrowers will pay only 5% of their discretionary income toward their debt every month, and anyone making $32,800 dollars or less will have no monthly payment.
On the other income-driven repayment plans, borrowers pay at least 10% of their discretionary income.
After twice breaking the U.S. record for under-18 runners at the Olympic trials, it was confirmed Monday, July 1, Wilson will be joining Team USA at the Paris summer games later this month.
Teenaged phenom Quincy Wilson, 16, is headed to Paris as part of the U.S. men's 4×400 Olympic relay squad, his coach confirmed on Monday.
He's the youngest American male track athlete to appear at an Olympics 👏
Wilson will be part of the team that runs the 4x400m relay, making him the youngest American male track athlete to appear at an Olympics. Wilson’s team will formally be announced next week.
Kim Kardashian attends White House meeting on criminal justice reform
Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a roundtable discussion on criminal justice reform at the White House on Thursday, April 25, attended by recently pardoned former inmates and reality TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian. During the meeting, Harris announced the finalization of changes to a Small Business Administration rule, which will remove most restrictions based on a person’s criminal record.
Kardashian — who became an activist for criminal reform during the Trump administration — discussed the impact of these reforms on prison reentry, particularly highlighting the changes related to small business loans for former inmates.
She emphasized the importance of sharing and amplifying the stories of those affected by stringent legal policies to inspire others in similar situations.
New bill could give FCC authority to regulate price of prison calls
The billion dollar prison phone call industry could soon face new regulations. That’s because some, like The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, contend telecommunications companies have long been charging “predatory” fees for phone and video calls from inmates.
For decades, phone providers have offered kickbacks to prisons and local governments using the money they collect from those attempting to get in touch with incarcerated people, according to Prison Phone Justice. In some instances, jails and prisons have been known to choose their providers based on how much revenue they are promised to receive back.
In order to offer these detention facilities greater incentives, phone companies charge more. As a result, individuals from low-income backgrounds get disproportionally impacted by these higher rates, as the Center for Community Change found that 67% of those detained in jails report annual incomes of under $12,000 prior to arrest. Meanwhile, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, the average cost of a 15-minute phone call from jail is around three dollars, with inmates still having to pay additional charges for setting up and funding the prepaid phone accounts required to make their calls.
So a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has drafted the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022. It would grant the Federal Communications Commission the authority to “ensure just and reasonable charges for telephone and advanced communications services in correctional and detention facilities.” The legislation also amends the Communications Act of 1934 to cover both phone and video calls.
Led by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Rob Portman (R-OH), the bill passed through Congress last week and just needs President Joe Biden’s signature to become law. That presidential approval is expected to come, and the FCC has already voiced support for its anticipated new authority in helping “to address this terrible problem.”
“Thanks to the leadership of Senators Duckworth, Portman and their bipartisan coalition, the FCC will be granted the authority to close this glaring, painful, and detrimental loophole in our phones rate rules for incarcerated people,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Too many families of incarcerated people must pay outrageous rates to stay connected with their loved ones.”
This is not the first step taken by the FCC to halt these practices. In 2021 the agency put a cap on prison phone call prices and has supported the efforts of individual states, such as California and Connecticut, in making these calls free to all.
DOJ undercounted 990 deaths in US jails
A 10-month-long bipartisan Senate investigation revealed the Justice Department undercounted the number of people who died in U.S. jails, prisons and detention centers by 990 last year, although senators estimate the number is much higher. The investigation also concluded that the Justice Department is failing to inform congress who is dying, where they are dying and why they are dying – as is required by the Death in Custody Reporting Act.
The Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations called the deaths a “moral disgrace.”
“Americans are needlessly dying, and are being killed, while in the custody of their own government,” Sen. John Ossoff, D-GA, said.
The investigation revealed the Bureau of Prisons was warned for years by its own investigators of corruption, misconduct and a “lack of regard for human life” by BOP personnel. It also showed that federal inmates killed themselves when suicide prevention and wellness checks were not properly implemented.
Chairman Ossoff said those were “abusive and unconstitutional practices by the Federal government that likely led to loss of life in federal facilities.”
The hearing to announce the investigation’s findings included witness testimony from Belinda Maley, whose son died while being held in pre-trial detention before he was ever convicted of a crime.
A recording of the last phone call between Maley and her son was played.
“Okay, listen I found out everything I can. I’m gonna try to get… um, I’m having lawyers and the sheriff and all this other kind of s–t trying to make it so I can come in there and see you. I am trying also to get you out of there and get you..” Maley said to her son.
“I need to go to the hospital,” her son Mathew responded. “I’m gonna die in here.”
The son said he was in pain, that his feet were swollen and that he was coughing up blood.
The phone call concluded with them both crying.
“I know Matthew, I know what is wrong with you. I told you this would happen. I love you, Matthew. They are going to cut us off,” Maley said as the time limit was reached on the phone call.
“I love you too. I’m gonna die in here,” the son said as his last words to his mother.
The Justice Department said changes made to the Death in Custody Reporting Act in 2013 created some of the problems with accurate reporting. That includes changing reporting requirements and transferring some responsibilities from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg suggested some of the following changes:
Allow the Bureau of Justice Statistics to design and implement its own methods for collecting and reporting data.
Eliminate the requirement for centralized state reporting, which would allow the Justice Department to collect information directly from state and local correctional and law enforcement agencies, open sources, and other public sources.
Allow states to report deaths when they have collected all the information about the decedent, rather than requiring a quarterly report.