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Wreaking Medical Mayhem in Washington Prisons
In 1993, prisoner Gertrude Barrow crawled to the clinic at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Her peptic ulcer ruptured, Barrow's requests for treatment had been dismissed by health care staff who diagnosed her ulcer as a bad case of gas. When Barrow vomited on the clinic floor, a nurse …
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More from this issue:
- Wreaking Medical Mayhem in Washington Prisons, by Tara Herivel
- A Foul Trend Emerges, by Tara Herivel
- Is Health Care Too Much to Ask For?, by Silja JA Talvi
- Ex-Prisoner Gets $850,000 for Broken Neck
- Arkansas Department of Corruption Revealed
- County Jail Political Shenanigans, Corruption Revealed
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Crime and Punishment in America, by Elliot Currie (Review), by H Bruce Franklin
- The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground, by Ron Jacobs (Review), by Paul Wright
- Texas Prison Warehouses (Letter), by DG "Tex" Hoffman
- Beaten Connecticut Jail Detainee Awarded $2.07 Million
- Missouri Proposes $2.2 Million Settlement
- New Mexico Riot Rooted in Religious Rights
- Rikers Island Detainee Shot
- Tennessee Supreme Court Upholds Private Prison Disciplinary Procedures
- Prison Realty Board Member Settles Ethics Complaints
- West Virginia DOC Commissioner Resigns After Beating Wife
- Pro Se Pennsylvania Prisoner Awarded $100,000 in Guard Attack
- Texas Jail Whistleblower Awarded $3.3 Million
- Washington 35% Spousal Suit Update
- Arizona DOC Settles Kosher Diet Suit
- US Supreme Court Holds Media Ride-Alongs Unconstitutional
- Transsexual Awarded $755,000 in Jail Strip Search
- PLRA Physical Injury Requirement Constitutional, by James Quigley
- Tobacco Smoke Exposure Requires Trial
- DC Circuit Lifts Injunction on BOP Porn Ban
- De Novo Review for § 1915A Dismissals
- Third Circuit Holds 28 USC § 1915(g) Does Not Apply Retroactively
- Three Strikes Upheld by Ninth Circuit
- Administrative Exhaustion Required in all Cases
- State Court Dismissals Don't Count as Strikes
- Automatic Stay Provision Unconstitutional
- Total Administrative Exhaustion Not Required
- No Exhaustion Required in Wisconsin When Only Money Damages Are Sought
- No Written Screening or Administrative Exhaustion Required
- Physical Injury Requirement Doesn't Apply to Court Access Claims
- Fact Issue of Physical Injury Precludes Summary Judgment, by Ronald Young
- Wright Dismissed on Remand
- Private Prison Denied Wiretap Exception
- No Court Access Right to Litigate Civil Forfeiture
- Prisoners Have First Amendment Right to Private Conversations with Their Attorneys
- Liberty Interest in Erroneous Parole Release, by Ronald Young
- Prisoner Suing Prison Physician for Deliberate Indifference
- Prisoner Can Attend His Civil Trial at Government Expense
- Stun Belts in Court Unconstitutional
- Federal Parolee Has Right to Hearing Under 18 USC § 4211(a)(2)
- Lack of Standing Eviscerates Court Access Class Action
- News in Brief
- PLRA Dismissals for Failure to Plead Physical Injury Reviewed De Novo
- Denial of Exercise Is "Atypical and Significant"
More from Tara Herivel:
- Ill-Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness, Sept. 15, 2004
- Wreaking Medical Mayhem in Washington Prisons, Sept. 15, 1999
- A Foul Trend Emerges, Sept. 15, 1999
More from these topics:
- He Died in a Florida Jail. The Company in Charge Should Have Sent Him to the Hospital, Experts Say., July 1, 2026. Armor Correctional Health Services, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Systemic Medical Neglect, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Deliberate Indifference.
- $5 Million Paid by Colorado County for Jail Detainee’s “Gruesome” Death from Untreated Ulcer; Claims Proceeding Against Southern Health Partners, June 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026. Dental Care, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Deliberate Indifference.
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, June 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- North Carolina Prison Closing Due to Short Staffing, June 1, 2026. Transfers, Staffing, Guards/Staff.
- Florida Federal Court Excoriates BOP for Health Care Failures, Grants Prisoner Early Release to Seek Treatment for Possible Breast Cancer, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer, Failure to Treat, Compassionate Release.
- New York City Reaches Settlements Totaling Nearly $5.2 Million with Estates of Two Fatal Methadone Overdose Victims Detained on Rikers Island, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.

