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Jury Awards Beaten Texas Prisoner $250,000
Loaded on Aug. 15, 1999
published in Prison Legal News
August, 1999, page 13
On December 15 1998, a federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, awarded Texas state prisoner Robert Sikes $250,000 in damages for a beating administered by prison guards. In 1995 Sikes was imprisoned in a Karnes county state prison. During a dispute with a female guard over a broken cell light, …
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More from this issue:
- "Victims' Rights" as a Stalkinghorse for State Repression, by Paul Wright
- No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System, by David Cole (Review), by Alex Friedmann
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- PLN Sues Alabama DOC Over Gift Subscription Ban
- Notes from the Unrepenitentiary, by Laura Whitehorn
- Prison-Industrial Complex Conferences Are Spreading the Word, by Hans Sherrer
- Kentucky Jail Settles Strip Search Suit for $11.5 Million
- Washington 35% Law Struck Down by State Court
- Washington Legislature Amends 35% Law, Again, by Paul Wright
- Washington DOC Illegally Penalizes Indigents
- Class Action Suits Challenge Rip-Off Prison and Jail Phone Rates
- FCC Requires Rate Disclosure for Prison Phones
- Kentucky Utilities Commission Reduces Prison and Jail Phone Rates
- Warden Used "Force" in Sexual Assault
- Private Prison Operators Enter Medical Care Market, by Alex Friedmann
- Jury Awards Beaten Texas Prisoner $250,000
- Physical Injury Rule Applied to Pre-PLRA Asbestos Exposure
- CCA Settles Youngstown Suit for $2.48 Million
- Attorney Fees Must Be Expressly Reserved
- PLN Sues Utah Jail over "Bulk Mail" Ban
- First Amendment Guarantees Kosher Meals
- Frivolous Qualified Immunity Appeals Warrant Sanctions
- Individual Capacity Claims Not Applicable to RA and ADA
- Franklin Reversed; DC Prisoners Have No Right to Qualified Interpreters
- No Qualified Immunity for Texas Sheriff and CCRI Guards Who Abused Missouri Prisoners
- No Liberty Interest in Illinois Parole Laws
- BOP Erred in Denying Early Release Eligibility
- Denial of Pain Medication Violates Eighth Amendment
- Motive Question Precludes Summary Judgment in Medical Suit
- Tarrant County Jail's Christian Education Unit May Violate Texas and Federal Establishment Clauses
- Iowa Ban on Tapes with Parental Warning Upheld, by Paul Wright
- AA Probation Requirement Continues to Violate Establishment Clause
- Pro Se IFP Litigant Entitled to Amend Suit in Second Circuit
- California Guard Union Doles Out Millions to Politicians
- PLRA Consent Decree Termination Provision Upheld by 2nd and 3rd Circuits
- Costs Imposed Regardless of Ability to Pay
- PLRA Attorney Fee Cap Applies in $65,000 Beating Case
- Heck Doesn't Apply After Release from Prison
- No Administrative Exhaustion Requirement for Ex-Prisoners
- PLRA Doesn't Require Notice of Claim for Exhaustion
- Contaminated Water Claim Not Barred by PLRA Physical Injury Rule
- BOP Warden Held in Contempt for Failure to Forward PLRA Filing Fee
- Seventh Circuit Clarifies Good Faith Appeal Standard, Again
- News in Brief
- Alabama Jail Injuction Dissolved
More from these topics:
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, May 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Obstruction of Justice, Wrongful Use of Force, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, May 1, 2026. Work Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Train/Supervise, Police--Excessive Force, Deliberate Indifference.
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, March 1, 2026. Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- 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.
- 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.

