Brutality and Torture

No charges were filed in the death of David Schmidt who died on December 3 after a struggle with guards at Oregon State Penitentiary.

An End to Silence is a website of resources about stopping and surviving rape and sexual assault in prisons.

The Washington State Department of Health suspended the license of Joel O. Diven, a dentist at McNeil Island Correctional Facility. This action was in response to Mr. Diven’s potentially life-threatening treatment of a patient who was a prisoner.

Human Rights Watch released a report in October revealing that five state prison systems (Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, South Dakota and Utah) use attack dogs to force prisoners out of cells. The guards allow the dogs to bite, and if prisoners try to protect themselves, they are placed in restraints and removed from the cells.

Former Powell County deputy Michael Brown, who is also running for sheriff, is facing felony charges for allegedly using a Taser on a person in the county jail who was lying on a bed, handcuffed, in a locked cell. Brown was fired in March when the charges were filed and is scheduled to appear in court in late May.