Simms v. Jamaica
Country: JamaicaYear: 1995
Court: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication No. 541/1993
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial
Simms (S) was awaiting execution following his conviction for murder in 1988 which was based on identification evidence. S complained about weaknesses in the identification evidence, the failure of the judge to direct the jury properly about that evidence, the inadequacy of the representation provided by his legal aid lawyer, the absence of an opportunity …Read more
Kay v. United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 1994
Court: European Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 17821/91
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person
The applicant, a British citizen, claimed violations of sections one and four of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the “Convention”) related to his involuntary recall to medical detention by the Home Secretary. In 1970, the applicant raped and killed his twelve year old neighbor. In January of 1971, the applicant pled …Read more
M.H. v. United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 1994
Court: European Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 22162/93
Health Topics: Prisons, Public safety
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to privacy, Right to property
The applicant was serving a sentence of life imprisonment in HM Prison Stocken. He had been convicted of the murder of an elderly man in 1972 and received a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. The applicant’s sentence was reviewed by the Parole Board in or about 1984. A release date was apparently set and he …Read more
M’Boissona (on behalf of Bozize) v. Central African Republic
Country: Central African RepublicYear: 1994
Court: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication 428/1990, UN Doc. CCPR/C/50/D/428/1990
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Health care and health services, Prisons, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to food, Right to health, Right to liberty and security of person
In a communication submitted to the United Nations Humans Right Committee (“UNHRC”), Yvonne M’Boissona asserted that her brother, François Bozize, led a coup d’état in the Central African Republic in 1982. After fleeing the country, he was arrested in July 1989 in Benin, repatriated to the Central African Republic by force, and imprisoned at a …Read more
Mika Miha v. Equatorial Guinea
Country: Equatorial GuineaYear: 1994
Court: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication No. 414/1990
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial
Mika Miha (M), having twice previously left Equatorial Guinea for asylum abroad, had returned in 1988 to support the activities of an opposition party to which he belonged. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested by members of the security forces. The only explanation given was that his detention had been ordered by the president. For the …Read more
Women Prisoners of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, et al. v. District of Columbia
Country: United StatesYear: 1994
Court: United States District Court, District of Columbia
Citation: 877 F.Supp. 634 (D.D.C. 1994)
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Infectious diseases, Prisons, Sexual and reproductive health, Tobacco, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity
Women inmates in the District of Columbia (D.C.) correctional system alleged that they were being mistreated in a variety of ways, including sexual harassment, failure to provide or inadequate levels of obstetrical and gynecological care, unequal educational and work-related programming as compared to similarly situated male inmates, uneven recreational and religious time, and general inhumane …Read more
Herczegfalvy v. Austria
Country: AustriaYear: 1992
Court: European Commission on Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 10533/83, Eur. Ct. H.R. 58 (1992).
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of expression, Right of access to information, Right to family life, Right to liberty and security of person
Applicant, a Hungarian national, served a prison sentence during which he assaulted prison officers, other detainees and threatened judges. He served a six-month pre-detention period in a facility for mentally ill offenders where he remained until his conditional release. He claims that his rights pursuant to Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights …Read more
Harris v. Thigpen
Country: United StatesYear: 1991
Court: 11th Circuit Court of Appeal
Citation: 941 F.2d 1495 (1991)
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Health information, HIV/AIDS, Infectious diseases, Informed consent, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Right to privacy
The Appellants brought this challenge to the constitutionality of an Alabama statute which authorized the Alabama Department of Correction’s (DOC) policy of mandatory testing of all present and future Alabama state prisoners for HIV antibodies, as well as the forced segregation of HIV-positive inmates. Two classes were involved in the action: the Appellant class, which …Read more
Ford v. Wainwright
Country: United StatesYear: 1986
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 477 U.S. 399 (1986)
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
The Appellant, Ford, was convicted of murder in a Florida state court and sentenced to death in 1974. There was no suggestion that he was incompetent at the time of the offense, at trial, or at sentencing. However in 1982, Ford began to manifest gradual changes in behavior, which, based on a psychiatric examination, indicated …Read more
X v. The United Kingdom
Country: United KingdomYear: 1981
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 7215/75, 4 Eur. H.R. Rep. 188 (1982).
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to health, Right to liberty and security of person
The applicant, a United Kingdom national who had previously been diagnosed with having a paranoid psychosis, claimed that the United Kingdom unlawfully deprived him of his liberty when authorities forcibly recalled him to a hospital for the criminally insane in which he had completed a prior sentence for a violent crime. At the time of …Read more