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Ninth Circuit: Kicking Shackled Prisoner In Genitals Is Cruel And Unusual Punishment
Loaded on Aug. 15, 2005
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2005, page 44
When California Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) prisoner Christopher Watts filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against guards J. McKinney and S.J. Steinberg for kicking Watts in the genitals after an unsuccessful interrogation regarding PBSP guards bringing in drugs or knives, the U.S. District Court (N.D. Cal.) ruled that …
Filed under:
Attorneys General,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Pepper Spray/Tear Gas,
Restraints,
Qualified Immunity.
Location:
California.
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More from this issue:
- Prison Health Services: As Health Care in Jails Goes Private, 10 Days Can Be a Death Sentence
- Fatal Justice: The New Maryland, by Michael Rigby
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Arbitrary Draconian Restrictions on Texas Parolees
- Former Connecticut Governor Rowland Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges in Juvenile Prison Kickback Scheme
- Pennsylvania Jail Prisoner Settles Use-Of-Force Suit For $15,000
- $600,000 Settlement In Death Of Unmedicated Wisconsin Prisoner
- Federal Prisoner Wins Right To Marry, Fees Awarded
- $99,981 In Fees Awarded For Successful Massachusetts Court Access Suit, by Michael Rigby
- Prison Health Services: Missed Signals in New York Jails Open Way to Season of Suicides
- Settlements Reached In Alabama Women Prisoners' Class-Action Suit
- CCA Finally Loses Contract at Mismanaged Tulsa Jail
- U.S. Supreme Court: Michigan Appellate Attorneys Have
- New Hampshire Prisoner's Due Process Suit Nets $54,000 in Fees and Damages
- $800,000 Awarded to Wrongly Convicted Tennessee Man
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Confiscation Law Governing Prisoner Art Sales, by Michael Rigby
- National Prison Reform Commission Started, by Margo Schlanger
- Michigan Guard Who Procured Hit On Prisoner Must Pay $200,000 Damages
- Fifth Circuit Upholds $5,000 Excessive Force Verdict Against Wackenhut Guard
- New York Senator Returned To Jail After Illegal Release, by Michael Rigby
- PREA Data Collection Efforts Underway, by Michael Rigby
- Another CCA Prison in Oklahoma, Another Riot
- Army Prison Ban On PLN Containing Postage-Stamp-Exchange Ad Is Enjoined, But Ban On Internet Mail Up
- California Prison Employee Paid $500,000 To Settle Whistleblower Retaliation Suit
- Federal Immigration Detainee Taken Off Life Support Without Family's Consent
- Supreme Court Finds Ohio Supermax Placement Policy Constitutional, by Bob Williams
- Brain Dead California Prisoner Guarded Around The Clock
- California Prison Guard Gets Time For Setting Up Prisoner Beating
- Report: Federal Prison Guards Sexually Abuse Prisoners With Near Impunity, by Michael Rigby
- Washington DOC Settles Contempt Action For $500,000; Money To Fund Patient Advocate, by Michael Rigby
- Los Angeles County Settles Parolee's Overdetention Suit For $80,000
- Alabama Workers' Comp Act No Bar to Psychological Torts
- Wackenhut Settles Suit Over Premature Birth for $98,000
- $15,000 Settlement In Hawaii Voting Rights Suit
- U.S. Supreme Court: State Prisoners May Challenge Unconstitutional Parole Procedures Under § 1983 If Earlier Release Doesn't Necessarily Follow
- 42 Alabama AIDS Prison Deaths In Five Years Spurs Major Medical Suit Settlement, by John Dannenberg
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- Maricopa County, Arizona, Settles Wrongful Imprisonment Suit For $1.4 Million
- RLUIPA Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court
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- Suit Over Rape of Prisoner By TDCJ Employee Settled for $118,318.56 and Beach Property
- Supreme Court Decision Orders Release of 920 Mariel Cubans; ICE: Dumps them In the Streets Without Aid, by Mark Wilson
- Massachusetts Law, Not PLRA, Applies to Attorneys Fee Award in State Court § 1983 Action for Native
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- News in Brief:
- News in Brief
- Ninth Circuit: Kicking Shackled Prisoner In Genitals Is Cruel And Unusual Punishment
More from these topics:
- Federal Conviction, Guilty Pleas for Jail Guards Responsible for Oklahoma Detainee’s Death, July 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Excessive Force, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions.
- Safety of “The Wrap” Restraint Device Questioned Amid Fatalities and Criticism From Medical Experts, July 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Federal Legislation.
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Systemic Medical Neglect, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Public Records Act, False Imprisonment.
- $75,000 for Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Against Jail Guard, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Pepper Spraying Incident Prompts Policy Change at Washington Women’s Prison, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Settlements, Staff Training, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, June 1, 2026. Parole, Overdetention, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.

