Eighth Amendment - The Indiana Lawyer

Executioners sanitized accounts of deaths in federal cases

February 18, 2021 | Associated Press

Executioners who put 13 inmates to death in the last months of the Trump administration likened the process of dying by lethal injection to falling asleep and called gurneys “beds” and final breaths “snores.” The sworn accounts by executioners, which government filings cited as evidence the lethal injections were going smoothly, raise questions about whether officials misled courts to ensure the executions scheduled from July to mid-January were done before death penalty opponent Joe Biden became president.

Forfeiture case that went to SCOTUS before Indiana high court for third time

February 5, 2021 | Olivia Covington

For the third time, the case regarding the forfeiture of a Marion man’s Land Rover went back before the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday. Justices were asked once again to allow the state to forfeit the vehicle that Tyson Timbs was driving in 2013 when he was arrested for drug dealing.

The next step: Civil forfeiture reform efforts continue in Indiana

February 3, 2021 | Olivia Covington

Civil forfeiture is back before the judicial and the legislative branches of Indiana government. A Senate bill would implement forfeiture reforms that practitioners say have long been necessary, while a case scheduled to go before the Indiana Supreme Court this month for the third time could further refine how trial courts consider whether a forfeiture is lawful.

US inmate scheduled to be executed tests positive for virus

December 18, 2020 | IL Staff and Associated Press

A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office has tested positive for coronavirus, his lawyer said Thursday.

Lawyers: Purkey autopsy suggests he suffered during execution

August 24, 2020 | Associated Press

An inmate suffered “extreme pain” as he received a dose of pentobarbital during just the second federal execution following a 17-year lag, according to court filings by lawyers representing one of the inmates scheduled to be executed next.

Court strikes Indiana ‘abortion complications’ reporting law

July 9, 2020 | Olivia Covington

A federal judge has struck down another Indiana abortion law as unconstitutional, continuing a years-long streak of court action against Hoosier abortion legislation. However, the state also secured a victory when the same judge upheld a requirement that abortion clinics be inspected annually.

Seized vehicle that sparked SCOTUS civil forfeiture ruling returned to owner

May 27, 2020 | Olivia Covington

The Marion man at the center of an Indiana civil forfeiture case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court reached a milestone in his case this week when his vehicle was returned to him. However, the court battle is not over.

Timbs civil forfeiture suit starts same as 7 years ago

May 13, 2020 | Olivia Covington

It’s been seven years since Marion man Tyson Timbs lost his Land Rover to a law enforcement seizure, but the ensuing forfeiture litigation that has already made its way to the nation’s highest court is now heading into its second round of appeals.

Judge orders return of seized Land Rover that led to SCOTUS civil forfeiture case

April 28, 2020 | Olivia Covington

After seven years, two appearances before the Indiana Supreme Court and a trip to the United States Supreme Court, a Marion man fighting for the return of his seized vehicle has won his battle, with a trial court judge ordering the “immediate” return of his SUV. But a pending appeal means the case is not over yet.

Federal judge throws out jury verdict against Marion County deputy

April 6, 2020 | Olivia Covington

A jury verdict against a Marion County sheriff’s deputy in a jail inmate’s excessive force case has been vacated after a federal magistrate judge found insufficient evidence to support an excessive-force conviction.

DTCI: Civil Forfeiture and the Eighth Amendment, Part Two

April 1, 2020 | From DTCI

Attorneys representing governmental entities will serve their clients well to read the Indiana Supreme Court’s opinion from Timbs, which will provide insights into certain issues the court considers important in evaluating claims that a specific forfeiture violated the respondent’s rights under the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment.

COA affirms charges brought under new cause number

March 12, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a man’s motion to dismiss charges brought against him in a new cause after the state sought to refile the case to tidy up the record, finding no abuse of discretion in the decision.

ACLU files Wabash County Jail overcrowding suit

February 21, 2020 | Olivia Covington

Raising allegations of unconstitutional conditions, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against Wabash County for “chronic” jail overcrowding.

Timbs forfeiture case back in trial court for excessiveness ruling

February 20, 2020 | Olivia Covington

Little more than a year after the United States Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision incorporating to the states the Eight Amendment protection against excessive fines, the Grant County man who bears the name of the case is headed back to trial.

Judge orders sanctions against state attorney, DOC

January 22, 2020 | Olivia Covington

Monetary sanctions potentially exceeding $100,000 and default judgment have been entered against state defendants and their attorney in a prisoner case that the presiding federal judge said “shattered” her trust in the defendants’ litigation practices.

Reversal: Indianapolis police immune in teen’s death linked to handcuffing

January 13, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Despite multiple 7^th Circuit decisions finding police at fault for injuring individuals by excessive handcuffing, a panel from the Chicago court has granted qualified immunity to two Indianapolis police officers in the death of a teenager because none of the previous cases specifically give arrestees the right to not be handcuffed after complaining about difficulty breathing.

Judge orders sanctions against state attorney, DOC in prisoner litigation

January 9, 2020 | Olivia Covington

Monetary sanctions and default judgment have been entered against state defendants and their attorney in a prisoner case that the presiding federal judge said “shattered” her trust in the defendants’ litigation practices. The judge also imposed new requirements on lawyers in the Indiana Attorney General’s office who defend the Department of Correction in prisoner civil-rights cases.

Federal death row inmate denied stay of execution

November 20, 2019 | Dave Stafford

A man sentenced to die by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute was denied a stay of execution in federal court Wednesday, narrowing his remaining appeals and potentially setting the stage for his execution scheduled next month to proceed.

Stafford: Justices can’t kick Indiana’s civil forfeiture addiction

November 13, 2019 | Dave Stafford

The term “excessive fine” is understandable. Unless you are a member of the Indiana Supreme Court. Then, in the context of civil asset forfeiture, the term becomes an enigma to be parsed in three dozen pages of ridiculous legal logic that even one of the five justices confessed he could not comprehend.

Convicted killer’s suit alleging attack by guard proceeds

November 7, 2019 | Dave Stafford

An Indiana prison inmate’s lawsuit alleging corrections officers attacked him and then marched him naked down the range at Indiana State Prison to humiliate him may proceed in large part, a federal judge has ruled.

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