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A Death in Custody: Massachusetts DOC Wracked by Scandal
On August 23, 2003, the 26 men in Unit J-1 at SBCC, a "supermax" prison in Shirley, Massachusetts, were finishing lunch. It was just before noon. There was one guard in the unit, a prison guard named David Lonergan. Two guards were assigned to J-1 on that shift, but the …
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More from this issue:
- A Death in Custody: Massachusetts DOC Wracked by Scandal, by Peter Costanza
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $15 Million Class Settlement In Sacramento Jail Strip-Search Suits
- Habeas Hints, by Kent Russell
- Study Shows Boot Camps Are a Failure
- Wrongfully Convicted Pennsylvania Prisoner Settles for $2.3 Million; Forensics Expert Fired
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Law Crediting "Street Time"
- Connecticut Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit for $2.9 Million, by Michael Rigby
- Ohio Prisoners Not Entitled to Memory Typewriters
- New York Prisoners Win Injury Awards, Lack of Expert Testimony Detrimental, by Michael Rigby
- Prison Town Legislators Represent Prisoners' Interests? Not Quite, by Peter Wagner
- Texas Prisoner's Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment
- $600,000 Settlement in California Prisoner Shooting Death, by Marvin Mentor
- Nevada Trust Account Interest, Less Accounting Costs, Belongs To Prisoners
- Prisons, Profits and Prophets, by Bill Berkowitz
- Michigan Prison Art Project, by Buzz Alexander
- California Prisoner Trust Account Interest Recoverable Only Upon Proof Of Individual Loss
- Indiana Jail Held in Contempt, Sanctions Imposed
- Last Chance For Washington Prisoners To Request Postconviction DNA Testing is December 31, 2004
- Washington Police Kill Unarmed Escapee in Botched Raid; Prisoner Also Killed, by Michael Rigby
- Cowboy Justice: BOP Guards Convicted, by Alan Pendergast
- PLRA Fee Cap Upheld, Applied to Parole Case; Allows Fees-on-Fee Award, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Affirms Termination of Guajardo (Texas Prison Mail) Suit
- Challenge To Washington Felon Disenfranchisement Scheme Remanded For Racial Bias Test, by John E Dannenberg
- Class Action Challenges Treatment of Florida's "Sexual Predator" Civil Detainees, by David Reutter
- No Restraint, No Consequences: Privatizing Overseas Intelligence Extraction
- Gates of Injustice - The Crisis in America's Prisons, by Tom Murlowski
- Wisconsin PLRA Fee-Limit Does Not Violate Equal Protection
- Ohio County Juvenile Facility Not Immune from Suit in Rape Claim
- Alaska Prisoners Cannot Challenge Conditions of Confinement Under State Post-Conviction Relief Statute, by Roger Smith
- News in Brief
- Texas Prison Guard's Sentence for Rape Reinstated
More from Peter Costanza:
- A Death in Custody: Massachusetts DOC Wracked by Scandal, Nov. 15, 2004
More from these topics:
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Injunctions (PLRA), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- South Carolina Supreme Court Reverses Class Action Status in Prisoners’ Sexual Assault Lawsuit, Oct. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Class Certification, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Appealable Issues/Orders.
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026. Staffing, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency.
- Maryland Pays $314,000 for Stonewalling Public Records Requests in Prisoner’s Dehydration Death, Oct. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Water, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Public Records Act.
- San Francisco Jail Survey Exposes Abuse, Malnutrition and Constitutional Violations, Oct. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Food, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Attorney Visits, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Sovereign Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- Report Finds State Prison Systems Fail to Provide Adequate Assistance to Obtain Release Documentation, Oct. 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Release and Reentry, jobs.
- Nevada Reentry Nonprofit CEO Arrested for Sexual Assault, Oct. 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, DOC/BOP misconduct, Criminal Sexual Abuse.
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise, Monell Liability.
- Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Security Systems, Summary Judgment, Deliberate Indifference.

