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North Carolina Jail Fire Kills Eight Prisoners
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2003
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2003, page 11
A fire in the Mitchell county jail at Bakersville, North Carolina killed eight prisoners on May 3rd. Joey Grindstaff, 23; Mark Thomas, 20; Edmond Banks, 46; Danny Johnson, 42; Jesse Davis, 27; Jeremiah Presnell, 20; Jason Boston, 27; and Tywain Neal, 28 died in the blaze. Two other prisoners were …
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More from this issue:
- Washington Prison Health Care Substandard, by Angela Galloway
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Habeas Hints: Procedural Update, by Kent Russell
- The Long Silence: Federal Prisoners' Fight to Get the Word Out Reaches Unprintable Extremes, by Alan Prendergast
- Book Review: From Prison to Home, by Roger Hummel
- North Carolina Jail Fire Kills Eight Prisoners
- Alabama DOC Quickly Settles Prison Working Conditions Suit, by John E Dannenberg
- Hustler Magazine Survives Arizona Prison Obscenity Test
- Los Angeles County Settles Overdetention Suits for $27 Million, by John E Dannenberg
- Sexual Assault Violates Eighth Amendment
- Wackenhut Warden and Six Guards Convicted In New Mexico Prisoner Beatings
- California's Parole Revocation System Violates Due Process, by John E Dannenberg
- Virginia Guards Acquitted of Assaulting Prisoner, by Michael Rigby
- Sentence Commuted for Sexually Assaulted New Mexico Prisoner
- Ninth Circuit Upholds BOP's Prorated Good Time Formula
- Inartful Pro Se Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Survives Motion to Dismiss
- Deaf Michigan Prisoner's ADA/RA Suit Survives Dismissal Challenge
- USPC Parole Revocation Policies Violate Due Process, by David Reutter
- Trial in Prison Violates Oregon's "Public Trial" Guarantee
- Amendment of Complaint to Identify Unknown Defendant Denied
- Denial of Wheelchair Claims Survive Summary Judgment
- PLRA Does Not Apply to Juvenile Facilities; $379,000 Attorney Fees and Costs Awarded, by David Reutter
- Excessive Force and Delaying Medical Treatment Defeats Dismissal
- Diabetic's Amputation Suit Set for Trial
- No Immunity for Failing to Protect Murdered Informant; Correctional Industries Employees Are State Actors
- Colorado Ad-Seg Decisions Subject to Judicial Review
- 7th Circuit: PLRA Exhaustion Requirements Retroactive; BOP Has Late Grievance Hardship Exception
- $27,848.30 Award in Texas Jail Slip and Fall Upheld
- A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual, Fifth Ed. and 2002 Supplement, by Paul Wright
- Less Restrictive Alternatives Must Be Considered in Washington Sex Predator Commitments
- Brutal Jail Conditions Warrant Reduced Federal Prison Sentence
- News in Brief
- FLSA Inapplicable to Oklahoma Prisoners in Private Prisons
- 7th Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity on ETS Claim
- All Aspects of Inadequate Medical Need Not Be Exhausted
More from these topics:
- Hospital Keeps Sending Detainees Back Without Care to County Jail in Colorado, May 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Access to Media, Public Records Act.
- Cuyahoga County Receives Over $846,000 Refund from Securus Technologies, Feb. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Securus.
- County Jail in Oklahoma Accused of Coercing Detainees to Convert to Christianity, Feb. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Religious Practices, First Amendment, rights, Religious Freedom/Worship.
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Summary Judgment, Limitations, Municipal Liability, Criminal Sexual Abuse.
- Ohio Sheriff Agrees to Outside Probe in Investigation of Jailed Double Amputee’s Death, Dec. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Guards at an Infamous Mississippi Jail Mocked a Disabled Detainee, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Stun Guns/Tasers, Punishment.
- Arrests by Trump-Backed Task Force Make Tennessee Jail Conditions Worse, Dec. 1, 2025. Transfers, Jail Misconduct, Overcrowding, Bedding, Jail Specific.
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025. Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).

