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$3 Million Award Not Excessive in Prisoner Beating Death
Loaded on June 15, 2001
published in Prison Legal News
June, 2001, page 28
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a $778,000 verdict and $2.2 million punitive damage award against Shelby County, Tenn. deputy sheriff Rhett Shearin and life prisoner Jerry Ellis in a county jail beating death where Shearin simultaneously opened Ellis' cell door and adjacent prisoner Gerald Gregory's …
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More from this issue:
- Women Behind Bars, by Silja JA Talvi
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Strikes Sweep Bolivian Prisons as Promise of Freedom Fades, by Julia Lutsky
- Custodial Rape of Female Prisoners Widespread in U.S., by Roger Smith
- Wrongfully Convicted Ohio Man Receives $250,000 Award
- Federal Court Partially Terminates New York Jail Consent Decree Relief
- Texas Prisoners Have Thirty Days to Sue Following Resolution of Grievance
- ADA Settlement at Washington Special Commitment Center, by Hank Balson
- Prisoners of the Census, by Tracy Huling
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics, by John Midgley
- Leave to Amend Complaint Wrongly Denied
- Failure to Notify Prisoner of Hearing Violates Procedural Rights
- Bid to Regain Family Visits Fails in California, by Willie Wisely
- Supreme Court Restricts ADA, by Roger Smith
- Louisiana Prison Activist Freed
- Arbitrary Denial of Michigan Appeal Bond Enjoined
- Costs Allowed Only by Court Order
- Second Circuit Holds Staged Perp Walks Unconstitutional, Grants Qualified Immunity
- $9.6 Million Awarded for Child Death in Illinois Jail
- No Forfeiture Notice Violates Due Process
- Montana Court Awards PLRA-Capped Attorney Fees Under Catalyst Theory
- Prisoner Defendants Entitled to Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements
- Texas Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Mandatory Supervision
- Guards Use Shotguns to Control Riot
- Unlawful Imprisonment Nets Ohio Man $25,000
- Texas Prisoners Have Right to Appear at Civil Court Hearings
- Washington Media Royalties Sentencing Condition Reversed
- Prison Doctor Wins $654,471 in Retaliation Suit, by John E Dannenberg
- Minnesota Prison Cited For Asbestos Infractions
- Texas Prisoners May Challenge Discretionary Mandatory Release Procedures
- $3 Million Award Not Excessive in Prisoner Beating Death
- Suspicionless Maine Jail Strip Searches Set for Trial; Settles for $455,000
- PLRA-Based Garnishment Used to Collect Court Costs for Defendant
- Indiana Jail Settles Strip Search Case for $300,000
- News in Brief
- Harsh Hitching Post Treatment States Claim
- Ten Percent Prison Commissary Surcharge in New Jersey Upheld
- Statutory Authority Not Required to Levy Housing Costs
- Continuing California's Prison Interview Ban, by Willie Wisely
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.
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Contractor Liability, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- $280,000 Paid for South Carolina Detainee’s Death in Charleston Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Contractor Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Monell Liability.
- $5.4 Million Jury Verdict Against Riverside County in Suit Over Jail Fentanyl Death, Sept. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons.
- New Connecticut Law Changes PREA Standards, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- $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.

