Prison

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is defending granting clemency to dozens of people, including for a man convicted of murdering a teenager and whose release from prison is coming under fire from prosecutors and sheriffs.

In what some advocates say is a groundbreaking ruling, a federal judge has certified a class-action lawsuit in Oregon over state leaders’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic inside its prisons.

A federal judge is warning prison staff at Oregon’s Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla to not retaliate against an adult in their custody who sued corrections officials because they wouldn’t follow masking rules.

Gov. Kate Brown has commuted the sentences of 963 who were serving sentences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A preliminary report by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission that looked at the first 266 people released early found they were not more likely to reoffend.

Tony Daniel Klein, 37, faces federal charges for allegations that took place in 2016 and 2017 while he worked as a nurse for the Oregon Department of Corrections. In 2018, Legacy Health hired Klein. At the time, Oregon State Police were working on an open investigation into Klein regarding allegations of sexual assault.

In Oregon’s men’s prisons there are a few educational opportunities available. But for those incarcerated at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, there were no college classes offered until 2019. That’s when Portland State University associate professor Deb Arthur worked with the Department of Corrections to bring classes to the state’s only women’s prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a 25-count indictment on Monday, charging a former nurse at Oregon’s only women’s prison with sexually assaulting a dozen women while they were incarcerated.

At least 27 women have accused nurse Tony Klein of inappropriate actions and sexual assault while he worked at the Coffee Creek prison in Oregon. To date, he has never been charged with a crime. But that may change soon, as OPB has learned a federal investigation remains underway.

Cases in a COVID-19 outbreak at a minimum security prison in southwest Washington have been climbing.

National data has shown it’s common for women in prison to land there after being sexually or physically abused. Many women are also the primary caregivers before entering prison and once again when they are released. A bill working its way through the Oregon Legislature, acknowledges that women often face unique challenges while serving time — challenges that researchers haven’t fully explored.