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America's Jails: The Dungeons of the New Millenium
Loaded on Oct. 15, 2001
by Sam Rutherford
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2001, page 1
At any given time there are approximately 500,000 people incarcerated in the more than 3,500 city and county jails across the United States. Some of these individuals are confined while awaiting trial, others are serving relatively short sentences for offenses ranging from misdemeanor or minor felony convictions to probation or …
Filed under:
Staff-Prisoner Assault,
Guard Misconduct,
Jail Misconduct,
Gang Policies,
Systemic Medical Neglect,
Respiratory,
Criminal Prosecution,
Prison/Jail Murders,
Conditions of Confinement,
Failure to Protect (General),
Jail Specific,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Witnesses,
Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death),
Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
Locations:
California,
Georgia,
Kentucky,
Missouri,
New Mexico,
Oregon.
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More from this issue:
- America's Jails: The Dungeons of the New Millenium, by Sam Rutherford
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- The Connally Seven - A Texas Prison Escape and its Aftermath, by Roger Hummel
- Not Part of my Sentence: The Rape of Washington Prisoners, by Silja JA Talvi
- The Cost of Running Washington's Rape Camps, by Paul Wright
- Male Prisoner Settles Guard Rape Suit for $6,000
- Qualified Immunity Denied in Washington Rape of Transsexual Prisoner
- Jury Awards $5,000 to Beaten Texas Prisoner
- BOP Lieutenant Pleads Guilty to Brutality Charges, by Robert Durkee
- Malicious Use of Force Violates Eighth Amendment, by John E Dannenberg
- Damages in Denial of Exercise Suit Reversed
- Use of Restraint Chair Not Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Chinese Company Convicted of Using Forced Prison Labor
- The Prison Payoff: The Role of Politics & Private Prisons in the Incarceration Boom
- PLN Wins Nevada Censorship Suit
- California State Prisoner's Handbook, by John E Dannenberg
- Sanction Excessive When It Excludes Medical Expert's Testimony
- Administrative Exhaustion Not Jurisdictional, by John E Dannenberg
- Federal Appellate Rule 4(a)(6) Trumps Civil Rule 60(b)
- Diabetic Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claim to Proceed to Trial
- Denial of Interest Does Not Violate Takings Clause
- Ohio ACLU Challenges Supermax
- The Prison Activist Resource Center: It's About Sharing Resources and Working Collectively, by Marti Hiken
- Sixth Circuit Upholds PLRA Attorneys' Fees Cap
- News in Brief
More from Sam Rutherford:
- Ninth Circuit Affirms $3.84 Million Jury Verdict in Death of San Bernardino Jail Detainee from Acute Alcohol Withdrawal, March 1, 2026
- Shelby County DA Oversees Retesting After Forensic Analyst’s Dismissal for ‘Unethical Conduct’, July 1, 2025
- Self-Harming Wisconsin Prisoner Settles Failure-to-Protect Suit for $7,000, April 1, 2025
- SCOTUS Clarifies It Had Already Been ‘Clearly Established Federal Law’ in 2004 for Purposes of AEDPA That Evidence at Trial Can Be So Prejudicial as to Violate Due Process, March 15, 2025
- Ninth and Tenth Circuits Find Bivens Extension Orders Not Immediately Appealable, March 1, 2025
- New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources, Feb. 15, 2025
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, Feb. 15, 2025
- Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty, Feb. 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Decision on Claim of Retaliation for Exercising First And Sixth Amendment Rights Highlights Police Corruption, Feb. 15, 2025
- Washington DOC Physician Assistant Surrenders Medical License in Wake of Malpractice Allegations, Feb. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Protect (Staff).
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Assaults on Staff, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Death, Compassionate Release.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
- New York Ordered to Pay Prisoner $25,000 for Failing to Protect Him from Attack, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Defenses, Damages - Compensatory, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment, Deliberate Indifference.
- $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas.

