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Prisoner's Death Throws Utah DOC into Turmoil
Loaded on Aug. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
August, 1997, page 10
On March 19, 1997, Michael Valent--a schizophrenic prisoner housed in the mental health wing of a Utah prison--died while confined in a "restraining chair." Valent was strapped into the device for 16 hours without a break, his arms and legs immobilized. Preliminary findings indicate the 29-year-old prisoner died when blood …
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Medical Misconduct,
Medical,
Blood,
Excessive Force,
Restraints,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
Location:
Utah.
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More from this issue:
- Supreme Court Upholds Kansas Civil Commitment Law, by Dan Pens
- Washington Prison Official Tagged for Fire
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- No P.C. for Informants
- Disputed Facts Require Trial in Beating Case
- Notes from the Unrepenitentiary, by Laura Whitehorn
- Washington Prison Food Factory Cooks Up Controversy
- Publications Reviews, by Paul Wright
- Habeas and 1983 Remedy for Disciplinary Hearings Discussed
- Florida Paradox of Prisons, Politics and Profits
- Washington Prison Legislation
- Prisoner's Death Throws Utah DOC into Turmoil
- Kansas Ad Seg Hearing Required
- AA Probation Requirement Violates Establishment Clause
- DC Circuit Creates New Immunity Rule: Supreme Court Grants Review
- Punitive Segregation May Violate Due Process
- District Courts Responsible for PLRA Appeal Fees
- PLRA Filing Fees Don't Apply to Habeas
- PLRA 'Physical Injury' Requirement Affirmed
- Fourth Circuit Affirms PLRA IFP Provisions in Parole Suit
- Fifth Circuit Applies Three Strikes Provision
- PLRA Physical Injury Requirement Defined
- Con Artist Dupes 'America's Toughest Sheriff'
- Un-Happy Meal Provider Pulls Out of Kansas Prisons
- North Carolina Population Limit Modification Affirmed
- Jail Medical Fees Upheld by Fifth Circuit
- Florida Ban on Prisoner Legal Help Struck Down
- Administrative Exhaustion Required for Disc. Habeas
- Florida Supreme Court Strikes Down Gain Time Loss
- Failure to Treat Broken Hand States Claim
- Michigan DOC Held in Contempt in Court Access Case
- No Immunity for Denial of Exercise
- Utah Supreme Court Vacates Damage Reduction in Prison Suit
- Washington Cost Bill PI Vacated
- News in Brief
- Retaliation Verdict Reversed
- Res Judicata No Bar to Damages in Illegal Sentence
- Medical Malpractice Instruction Warranted in Eighth Amendment Suit
- No Private Cause of Action Under BOP Statute
- California Prison Focus
More from these topics:
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- $700,000 Paid by West Virginia for Jail Death, Claims Against Wexford Health Pending, Oct. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Restraints, Settlements, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Deliberate Indifference.
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026. Staffing, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency.
- Last of Three Oklahoma Jail Death Settlements Totaling $66.5 Million Paid for Fatal Dehydration of “Cookie Queen”, Oct. 1, 2026. Diabetes, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $3.75 Million Paid by Wisconsin After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies of Dehydration, Oct. 1, 2026. Water, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Second Circuit Rules Eighth Amendment Governs Claims of Excessive Force Brought by Parole Violator, Oct. 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Excessive Force, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Eleventh Circuit Affirms Refusal to Expand Bivens to Claim Alleging Federal Prisoner Died from Denial of Treatment for Hepatitis C, Oct. 1, 2026. Medical, Eighth Amendment, Administrative Exhaustion, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Deliberate Indifference.
- Fatal LAPD Arrests Show Systemic Failure in Handling Mental Health Crises, Oct. 1, 2026. Shootings, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Mental Health, Staff Training.
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.

