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Prisoner Awarded $30,001 in Beating Suit
Loaded on Dec. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1997, page 27
A federal jury in Bangor, Maine, awarded damages to 25-year-old Billy Williams for being beaten by two guards while imprisoned in Maine's Supermax prison in 1994. A seven-member jury deliberated for two and a half hours before deciding to award $30,000 in punitive damages. They also awarded $1 in compensatory …
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More from this issue:
- Massachusetts Prisoner PAC Assailed by Governor, DOC, by Dan Pens
- Prisoner PAC Announces Formation
- Trial Required in Retaliation Claim
- Arizona Holiday Package Decree Modified
- Supreme Court Rulings Trickle Down: Washington Civil Commitment
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Supreme Court Rulings Trickle Down: WA Good Time
- Arizona Death Row Chain Gang Killing
- Supreme Court Rulings Trickle Down: RFRA
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics (Summary Judgments), by John Midgley
- Ohio Overtime Gravy
- Leon County Employees Replaced by Slaves
- Private Prisons Cheaper?
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- AEDPA Applies to Prison Disciplinary Hearings
- The Poor Get Poorer - The Rich Get Prisons
- Uprisings in New York State Prisons, by Julia Lutsky
- A Matter of Fact
- NJ Guards Threaten Walkout Over Vests
- Second Circuit Approves Disciplinary Hearing Surcharge
- Utah Prisoners May Build Own Cages
- AA Still Violates the Establishment Clause
- U.S. and Russia Reaching Record Levels of Incarceration
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- More Ohio Jail Construction Corruption
- Frivolous State Litigation, by Paul Wright
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- The Abuse of U.S. Women Prisoners, by Julia Lutsky
- Qualified Immunity in Failure to Protect Claim, by James Quigley
- Montana Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Classification Hearings, by Danny Arledge
- WA Officials Liable for Seizing Court Tape
- VI Decree Modification Denied Under PLRA, DOC Held in Contempt
- CCA Unveils Aggressive New Marketing Ploy
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More from these topics:
- Punished for Bleeding: How Periods in Prison Become a Trap, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Strip Searches, Hygiene Supplies, Discrimination (Transgender).
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026. Transportation, Excessive Force, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Deliberate Indifference.
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Amnesty International Report Claims Torture and Enforced Disappearances at “Alligator Alcatraz”, Jan. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Totality of Conditions, Detention - Generally, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Michigan Warden Whose Guards Gave Prisoner Plastic Bag Used in Suicide, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise, Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- Hawaii Prison Warden Reinstated After Being Fired in 2014 for Sexual Harassment, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Supervisor-Staff Harassment, Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Employee Litigation.
- One Guard Pleads Guilty, Another Receives Light Sentence in New York Prisoner’s Killing, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Obstruction of Justice, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.

