This is a federal criminal case in which the defendant, Franz Copeland Sutton, took the unusual position that he was entitled to a lesser sentence because he was subjected to unlawful conditions of confinement while housed in the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey. Sutton argued that the Jail, ...
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This is a federal criminal case in which the defendant, Franz Copeland Sutton, took the unusual position that he was entitled to a lesser sentence because he was subjected to unlawful conditions of confinement while housed in the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey. Sutton argued that the Jail, which contracted with the federal government to house federal prisoners, was severely overcrowded during his seven months of confinement. He presented evidence that the Jail was 50 years old and housed more than twice the number of inmates it was designed to hold. He claimed that, because of the overcrowding and poor physical condition of the facility, inmates were subjected to poor hygiene and sanitation, triple bunking, and exposure to fire hazards. He also alleged that the Jail had been in violation of the municipal fire code for years.
The suit was ultimately resolved on October 25, 2007 when the District Court (Judge Katharine S. Hayden) found the Jail conditions to be so appalling that they warranted a reduction in Sutton's criminal sentence. U.S. v. Sutton, 2007 WL 3170128 (D.N.J. Oct. 25, 2007). This case was closed in 2007.
Dan Dalton - 02/21/2008
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