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America's Toughest Sheriff Settles for $8.25 Million in Wrongful Death Suit
Loaded on Feb. 15, 2000
published in Prison Legal News
February, 2000, page 20
In 1996 Scott Norberg was arrested for assaulting a Mesa, Arizona police officer and booked into the Maricopa County Jail, which is run by "America's Toughest Sheriff" Joe Arpaio. The next day Norberg, 35, was choked to death by deputies while strapped in a metal restraint chair. The county medical …
Filed under:
Misconduct/Corruption,
Jail Misconduct,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Stun Guns/Tasers,
Restraints,
Settlements.
Location:
Arizona.
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More from this issue:
- California Guards Abuse Young Prisoners, by Willie Wisely
- Georgia Prisoner Wins $60,000 Retaliation Verdict
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Reviews: Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, 7th ed., by Allan Parmelee
- Reviews: Finding the Right Lawyer, by Allan Parmelee
- Prisoners' Guerrilla Handbook to Correspondence Programs in the U.S. and Canada: High School, Vocational, Paralegal and College Courses, by Paul Wright
- Reviews: Voices From Within the Prison Walls, by Rick Card
- Federal Criminal Defendant's Handbook: Negotiating the Long, Lonely Road from Arrest, to Prison, to Freedom, by Paul Wright
- Enemies of the State: A Frank Discussion of Past Political Movements, Victories and Errors and the Current Political Climate for Revolutionary Struggle Within the USA, by Paul Wright
- A Matter of Law, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Amended Arizona Statute of Limitations Not Retroactive
- Habeas Challenging Transfer to Private Prison Dismissed
- Abuse of Force at Virginia's Supermax, by Dan Pens
- Tenth Circuit Clarifies Three Strikes
- Wisconsin Release Account Used to Pay Filing Fees
- Warden Purged of Contempt
- Litigation Costs Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy
- PLRA Doesn't Apply to Civil Commitments
- 28 U.S.C. § 1915A Applies to All Prisoner Suits
- Filing Fee Refunded in Habeas Case
- No Filing Fee Required if IFP Denied in DC Circuit
- Prison Guard Golf Tourney Tees off Town
- Washington Prison Slavery Runs Competitors Out of Business, by Paul Wright
- Water Jet Companies Challenge Washington Slave Labor Laws
- Sylvia Baraldini Goes Home After Sixteen Years, by Julia Lutsky
- Torture "Aberrational" in U.S.
- Israeli Supreme Court Limits Torture
- Michigan DOC Settles DOJ Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, by Maia Justine Storm
- Prison Health Services Refuses to Pay
- Judicial Screening Applies Only to IFP Suits
- Lack of Evidence Bars Disciplinary Finding of Guilt
- Delay in Treating Injured Shoulder States Claim
- America's Toughest Sheriff Settles for $8.25 Million in Wrongful Death Suit
- Prison Realty Hires PR Firm
- "Three Strikes" Provision of PLRA Unconstitutional
- Florida State Prison Halloween Melee
- Constitutionality of ADA Upheld by Fourth Circuit
- Cell Feed Status May Give Jailer Actual Notice of Need to Protect Prisoner
- New Jersey Sex Offender Porn Ban Upheld
- PLRA Administrative Remedy Exhaustion Requirement Not Retroactive
- New York Parole Board Commissioner Convicted, by Julia Lutsky
- Nine Florida Guards Injured in Scuffle
- Whitestone Foundation
- Oregon DOC Liable for Attacks by Parolees
- Miscarriage is Serious Medical Condition
- Indigence is Cause to Retax Costs
- Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements Mandatory
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- 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.
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Report Highlights Repeated Overdoses at Florida County Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Drug Overdose.
- Last of 11 Guards Sentenced in Death of New York Prisoner, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), False Statements/Perjury, Obstruction of Justice.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- $3 Million Paid by San Diego County for Diabetic Detainee’s Jail Death; NaphCare Settles Separately for Undisclosed Amount, Sept. 1, 2026. Naphcare, Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- California Grand Jury Report on Deaths at Riverside County Jails, Sept. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Public Records.

