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Prison Guards Can Be Liable for Prisoner Suicide
Loaded on Nov. 15, 2002
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2002, page 26
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded the dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. §1983 suit against Wisconsin prison officials. In so ruling, the court held that prison guards can be held liable under Eighth Amendment "deliberate indifference" claims for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the …
Filed under:
Medical,
Appendicitis,
Food,
Qualified Immunity,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness),
Suicides.
Location:
Wisconsin.
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More from this issue:
- Prisoners, Politics, Money and the Census, by Gary Hunter
- Supreme Court Holds No Immunity for Alabama Hitching Post, by David Reutter
- Attorney Ghost Writing Must Be Disclosed
- The Parents' Project Advocacy for Incarcerated Fathers: What's Missing?, by Denise Johnston
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Michigan Visiting Ruling Upheld
- A Sentence of Their Own, by Hans Sherrer
- New York's Revised "Son of Sam" Law Leads to $100 Million Verdict Against Cop Killer, by Lonnie Burton
- Illinois Jail Guards Acquitted in Killings; California Jail Guard Acquitted in Beating
- $275,000 Awarded in Stun Belt Settlement
- No Fundamental Right to Fee Waiver for Civil Rights Action
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Analyzes Parole Trends
- Virginia Sheriff Investigated for Misuse of Prisoner Funds, by Lonnie Burton
- Pennsylvania Jail Settles Retaliation Suit for $10,000
- Escapes Plague Texas Jails, by Gary Hunter
- PLRA Attorney Fee Cap and Local Cost Recovery Rules Upheld in New York Hepatitis C Case, by John E Dannenberg
- Texas Extends 6th Amendment Right to Prisoners: Confidential Attorney Calls Allowed
- Ingram v. Scott Reversed: TDCJ-ID in Compliance with Section 501.008
- Settlement Agreement Reached in Wisconsin Supermax Suit, by John E Dannenberg
- $32,500 Florida Jail Accident Settlement
- PLRA Attorney Fee Cap Applies to Fees on Fees, by John E Dannenberg
- $1 Damages and $1.50 Attorney Fees in Guard Brutality Suit, by John E Dannenberg
- New York Prisoner's Denial of Exercise Claim Set for Trial
- Washington Pretrial Detainees Have Right to Access Courts
- District Court Sets Prisoner's "Deliberate Indifference" Hepatitis C Claims for Trial
- Prison Disciplinary Boards Not "Courts" for Habeas Corpus Purposes
- Prison Guards Can Be Liable for Prisoner Suicide
- Administrative Exhaustion Required But Unprejudiced; Dismissal and Equitable Tolling, by Gary Hunter
- Defendants' Convenience Justifies Transfer of Venue
- Plaintiff's Disability Impacts Venue
- Advocacy Groups Challenge Arizona Internet Communications Ban
- Judge Approves $9.6 Million Settlement in DC Jail Employees' Sexual Harassment Suit, by Lonnie Burton
- News in Brief
- Mexico Bars Extradition of Criminals Facing Life Sentences
More from these topics:
- New Report on Privatized Prison Food Shines a Light on Aramark’s Harmful Practices, Aug. 1, 2026. Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Aramark, Food.
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- $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.
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- 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.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Airconditioning Failure at Troubled ICE Detention Center in New Jersey, Aug. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Food, Water, Sanitation, Exposure to Heat.
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Physical Injury Rule, Qualified Immunity, Informants (Failure to Protect), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026. Corizon, Systemic Medical Neglect, Contagious Disease -- Misc., Qualified Immunity, Deliberate Indifference.

