×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Detainee Beaten to Death at Nassau County Jail
Loaded on July 15, 1999
by Alex Friedmann
published in Prison Legal News
July, 1999, page 9
When Thomas Pizzuto entered the Nassau Co. jail in East Meadow, New York to serve 90 days for traffic violations, he didn't know the jail term would become a death sentence.
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Medical,
Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal,
Criminal Prosecution,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Guard Unions.
Location:
New York.
Pizzuto, 38, a recovering heroin user who was in daily methadone treatment repeatedly asked for his medication and argued …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Strip Mining Human Rights in Virginia's Supermax Dungeons, by Dan Pens
- Florida Guards Acquitted in Brutality Case, by Alex Friedmann
- The Mentally Disordered Inmate and the Law, by Fred Cohen (Book Review), by Paul Wright
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Behind Bars in Brazil (Review of Human Rights Watch Report), by Julia Lutsky
- Human Feces in California Prison's Water, by Willie Wisely
- Iowa to Close Prison Law Libraries
- South Korea Frees Political Prisoner after 41 Years
- Ohio Prisons Cited by EPA, by Dan Cahill
- Missouri Ends Ad Seg Ban on Publications
- Detainee Beaten to Death at Nassau County Jail, by Alex Friedmann
- Wisconsin Prisoners Stage Food Protest
- Exhaustion Required
- PLRA Physical Injury and Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Not Retroactive
- Illinois Exhaustion Described
- Federal Habeas Not Subject to PLRA
- PLRA Doesn't Affect Court Contempt Powers
- PLRA Physical Injury Requirement Not Retroactive
- Guard Guilty of Penis Stomping
- Florida Prison Erupts
- Washington Gift Subscription Ban Injunction Affirmed
- $660,000 Awarded in Post-Sandin Segregation Suit
- Private Prison Guard Is State Actor for § 1983 Purposes
- VitaPro President Arrested
- Liberty Interest in Parole-Required Custody Classification
- Withholding Dental Care Violates Eighth Amendment, by Ronald Young
- No Interlocutory Appeal on Supervisory Liability When Guard Stabs Prisoner
- Denial of HIV Medication Subjects Medical Contractor to Liability
- Kansas Good Time Forfeiture Violates Ex Post Facto
- Arizona Prisoners Can Pay Filing Fee in Installments
- Infraction Inadmissable at Criminal Trial
- BOP Erred in Running State Sentence Consecutive to Federal Sentence
- Washington Restitution Order Expired Ten Years After Release
- Adequate Opportunity for Discovery Required
- Texas Courts Must Hold Hearing Before Dismissing Suit for Having No Arguable Basis in Fact
- No Suspicion Required for California Parolee Searches
- IDEA Confers Right to Education Even in SHU
- $130,000 in Damages and Fees Awarded in New York Retaliation Suit
- Qualified Immunity in Transsexual Treatment Case
- New York Work Release Suit Dismissed
- Edwards No Bar to Seg Suit
- Washington EFV Cut-Off Date Questioned
- News in Brief
- Retaliation Suit States Claim
- FRAP 24 Good Faith Standard Not High
- 376 Days in New York Seg "Atypical and Significant" Hardship
More from Alex Friedmann:
- A Primer on Prisoners’ Constitutional Rights, Nov. 14, 2016
- Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons, Oct. 3, 2016
- Securus Faces Lawsuit Over Recorded Attorney Calls, Aug. 2, 2016
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Jail in Knoxville, TN, Oct. 26, 2015
- Who Owns Private Prison Stock?, July 31, 2015
- 32 Deaths at CCA-operated Immigration Detention Facilities Include at Least 7 Suicides, July 7, 2015
- How the Courts View ACA Accreditation, Oct. 10, 2014
- Recidivism Performance Measures for Private Halfway Houses in Pennsylvania, Sept. 19, 2014
- Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication, April 15, 2014
- Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever!, Nov. 15, 2013
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.
- Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliatory Segregation, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- “Like the Walking Dead”: Smuggled Drugs Fuel Chaos Inside Ohio Prisons, May 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Drug Overdose, Security Systems, Drugs - Determination of.
- Watchdog Finds Barely 1 in 10 Complaints Against California Prison Staff Handled Adequately, May 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Evidence, Staff Training, Statutes of Limitation and Laches.
- 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.
- Records Show Culture of Impunity Among Kentucky Prison Guards, May 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Whistleblowing, Evidence - Admissibility.
- 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.
- Class Certification Granted to Suit Challenging Suspension of HALT Act in New York Prisons, April 1, 2026. Injunctions, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guard Unions, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Idaho Struggles to Respond to Devasting Report of Widespread Prisoner Sex Abuse, April 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation, Public Records Act.
- Prisoners in Oklahoma Can Now Buy Vapes, Pouches from Commissary, April 1, 2026. Medical, Statistics/Trends, Commissary, Prison Regulations.

