|
|
| Court approves isolation for inmate |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/13/2004 |
|
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a prison inmate who has been in solitary confinement since 1973, when he murdered an officer, can remain there indefinitely as long as officials periodically review his status. State officials say that Daniel Delker, a white supremacist who helped two other inmates torture and kill a corrections captain at the state prison in Pittsburgh, Pa. is too volatile to be released back into the general population at the prison where he is now being held in Clearfield County. The Institutional Law Project, a prisoners' rights group, sued on Delker's behalf nearly two years ago, saying the inmate's seemingly permanent stay in isolation violates his constitutional rights. In the suit, Delker acknowledged that prison officials periodically reauthorized his stay in isolation, but argued that the reviews were "no more than rote exercises," rather than real assessments of whether he was still dangerous. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the prison's actions were constitutional and the reviews appeared to be "meaningful." The court suggested, however, that it would be "helpful for judicial review" if the prison provided a brief written rationalization each time it decided to keep Delker isolation. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think