×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane?
Loaded on Sept. 15, 2000
by Anne-Marie Cusac
published in Prison Legal News
September, 2000, page 1
Jail and prison employees call it the "strap-o-lounger," the "barcalounger," the "we care chair," and the "be sweet chair." Prisoners and their lawyers have other names for the device: "torture chair," "slave chair," and "devil's chair." They are not referring to the electric chair, but to a restraining device that …
Filed under:
DOC/BOP misconduct,
Jail Misconduct,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Restraints,
Damages,
Settlements,
Mental Health.
Locations:
Arizona,
California,
Connecticut,
Florida,
Georgia,
Missouri,
Oregon,
Texas,
Utah,
Washington,
United States of America.
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:
- The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane?, by Anne-Marie Cusac
- Prison Realty/CCA Bailout Deal Canceled
- Deviant Doctors Dumped on Prisoners
- Former Political Prisoner Settles Suit for $4.5 Million
- Penis Stomping Guard Loses Appeal
- PLN Sues Nevada DOP
- WA and IN Prison Phone Rates Challenged
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics, by John Midgley
- The Ride: Rise of the NLR, by Willie Wisely
- Colorado DOC Attacks Jailhouse Lawyers
- Sex Offender Label May Require Due Process
- Change in Fulton County, GA: Indigent Defense, HIV, and Community Organizing, by Lisa Zahren
- Prison Physician Liable for Refusal of Care, by Ronald Young
- Washington Earned Early Release Credits Create Due Process Liberty Interests, by Mark Cook
- Fines Against WA Civil Commitment Center Stayed, by Dan Pens
- U.S. Parole Commission Retaliation Reversed, by Scott Fleming
- $53,000 Settlement in AL Conditions Suit
- Counsel Awarded High EAJA Fee Despite Contingency Fee in BOP Rape Suit, by Mark Cook
- Bush's Conservative Compassion: Allowing a Life Sentence for Three Bounced Checks
- Censorship challenged in CO DOC
- News in Brief
- No Qualified Immunity from ETS Exposure
- Two Guards Killed During Botched Missouri Jail Escape
- Race-Based Religious Policy Violates Equal Protection Clause
More from Anne-Marie Cusac:
- Former Pennsylvania DOC Director Hired to Run CDCR, April 15, 2013
- Shocked and Stunned: The Growing Use of Tasers, June 15, 2005
- Abu Ghraib, USA, July 15, 2004
- Ill Treatment on Our Shores, Aug. 15, 2002
- You're in the Hole: A Crackdown on Dissident Prisoners, Feb. 15, 2002
- "The Judge Gave Me Ten Years--He Didn't Sentence Me to Death", March 15, 2001
- The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane?, Sept. 15, 2000
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.
- Mental Health Diversion from New York State Jails Varies Widely by County, Sept. 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health, State Legislation.
- 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.
- BOP Deputy Director and Former Prisoner Resigns After Just One Year, Sept. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.