prison
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10th Circuit distances itself from prior decision making it easier to toss prisoner lawsuits
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The Denver-based federal appeals court distanced itself March 4 from its own recent decision that made it easier for prison officials to end civil lawsuits by transferring incarcerated plaintiffs between facilities. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed that Gov. Jared Polis could be sued over state prison…
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Federal judge says prisoner cannot sue for dog-bite injury
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A federal judge concluded last week that a man cannot sue the government for injuries he sustained when a dog allegedly attacked him while he participated in a prison program. Kenneth M. Chandler, representing himself, was participating in the “FIDOS” program at the federal penitentiary in Littleton in June 2024. While he was training his…
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Federal judge declines to dismiss claims against prison officials for seizure-related death
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A federal judge declined last month to dismiss the claims against numerous prison employees for a man’s in-custody death following several seizures and his repeated ingestion of liquified pain-numbing medication. The mother and minor children of Victor Esquivel sued the state’s corrections director, prison supervisors, corrections officers, medical employees and a medical staffing firm after…
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Federal judge awards $10,000 to Supermax prisoner for guard’s use of force
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A federal judge took the rare step last week of concluding an incarcerated, self-represented plaintiff should be compensated $10,000 by the U.S. government for a prison guard’s unwarranted use of force. After a five-day bench trial in which Khalfan Khamis Mohamed represented himself against the government’s attorneys, U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson…
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A jail death in Denver raises questions about intake policies — and how a man with a violent history kept getting released early
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On June 30, deputies from the Denver Sheriff Department responded to an overnight call for help in the agency’s Downtown Detention Center. They found a man — later identified as 34-year-old Vincent Chacon — unresponsive in his cell, where he was pronounced dead, the police said in a news release. Police investigators later said the…
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Federal judge dismisses challenge to prison policy forbidding assistance with certain legal claims
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A federal judge on Friday dismissed a formerly incarcerated man’s challenge to Colorado’s prison policy that forbids the use of library resources for the pursuit of certain claims generally deemed frivolous. Robert Wayne Robinson sued the law librarian at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. He…
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Federal judge permits excessive force claim to proceed against prison employees
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A federal judge on Wednesday agreed two state prison employees could be sued for allegedly using excessive force against an incarcerated man. Jared Lee Chavez, representing himself, alleged “Sgt. Smith” and “Sgt. Grilli” violently pulled Chavez from his cell at Sterling Correctional Facility in February 2022. Chavez allegedly complied with orders, but the defendants slammed…
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Federal judge dismisses prisoner’s lawsuit alleging doctor stuck needle in unnumbed eyeball
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A federal judge last month dismissed a lawsuit from an incarcerated man who claimed a doctor violated his rights by sticking a needle into his unnumbed eyeball, causing extensive damage. Ronald Lee Smith, who is incarcerated at Buena Vista Correctional Facility, alleged he was taken to Denver Health in July 2021. While there, ophthalmologist Maryam…
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Federal judge dismisses hunger strike-related claims of US embassy bombing defendant
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A federal judge last month dismissed an incarcerated man’s claims against officials in Colorado’s “Supermax” prison alleging they acted with negligence toward the plaintiff’s 20-day hunger strike. Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, who was convicted of the deadly 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Tanzania, was incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary — Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence.…
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Federal judge lets prisoner’s claim proceed over strip search video shared with others
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A federal judge agreed last week that an incarcerated man’s claims could proceed against two state corrections employees, alleging they retaliated against him for complaining about recorded strip searches and also showed the video of one search to inmates and staff. Representing himself, Ryan James Griffin filed suit based on multiple strip searches he underwent…
