Jail

Former Clark County Jail inmate O’Neal Payne filed a lawsuit last week against the Southwest Washington county over allegations of excessive force, negligence and a failure to train employees.

In a wide-ranging interview, Multnomah County's new District Attorney Nathan Vasquez laid out his plans for the office, everything from tackling gun violence and homicides, to law enforcement’s role in combating drug addiction, and how he wants voters to hold him accountable.

Citing concerns about legal risks, Pacific County officials on Thursday began the process of creating a new jail department.

Commissioners in Pacific County will vote Dec. 26 on whether to change oversight of the county’s jail. If approved, it would be managed by a local corrections department going forward.

Settlement also includes policy reforms and demands an independent audit in the near future.

For years, Wellpath has been embroiled in a series of wrongful death lawsuits over allegations it delivered low-quality medical care. The company said the restructuring would allow it to operate while reducing $550 million in debt

New details from Skye Baskin's autopsy and interviews indicate that his medical emergency had started long before he arrived at the Oregon State Hospital.

A federal judge ruled this week against the correctional healthcare giant Wellpath after company leaders “intentionally destroyed email evidence in order to prevent its use at trial.” It’s the third time a federal judge has found Wellpath – one of the nation’s largest for-profit providers of medical and mental health care to people in prisons and jails – destroyed evidence relevant to wrongful death cases where the company was being sued.

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court called Oregon’s public defense system a “Sixth Amendment nightmare,” referencing the part of the U.S. Constitution that requires the state to provide defense attorneys to those it charges with crimes if they cannot afford a lawyer.

The nurses accused their supervisors of absenteeism and negligence in a letter to Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell and the county board of commissioners.