×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Seventh Circuit Upholds $56.5 Million Jail Murder Verdict
Loaded on Dec. 15, 2005
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2005, page 40
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $56.5 million jury verdict against former jail guards who murdered a pretrial detainee. This is the largest verdict for abuses against a single victim in an American jail/prison case that we are aware of.
Filed under:
Jail Misconduct,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Pepper Spray/Tear Gas,
Restraints,
Damages,
Municipal Liability.
Location:
Indiana.
On October 25, 1997, Christopher Moreland was arrested …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Privatized Medical Services in Delaware Kill and Maim, by David Reutter
- Washington State Supreme Court Grants PLN Public Disclosure of Washington DOC Medical Malpractice Re
- PLN Sues Bureau of Prisons for Lawsuit Information
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Mexican Prisons in Crisis: Cartels Murder Prisoners and Guards
- Excessive Force Claim Nets $3,200 in Attorney's Fees; $1,000 in Damages
- Guards Flee Texas Prisons After Overtime Eliminated, by Michael Rigby
- Los Angeles County Settles Two Jail Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Suits For $325,000
- Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Accepts
- New York Prisoner Assaulted By Guard Awarded $4,200
- 28 Die in Philippines Jail Uprising
- 28 Die in Philippines Jail Uprising
- Disclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone RatesDisclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone Rates Stymied by the Courts
- Colorado DOC's Medical Oversight Found Remiss, by G.A. Bowers
- $820,000 Damages Upheld Against NY Jailer Who
- Virginia Governor Warner Restores Felons' Voting Rights, Ignites Controversy
- Remedial Plan And $427,158 Attorney Fees In Wyoming Failure to Protect Suit, by John E Dannenberg
- Louisiana's 2002 Exhaustion Requirement (Act 89) Not Retroactive
- $200,000 Failure-To-Medicate Award Granted to California
- PLN Sues The Geo Group for Public Records
- Michigan Jail Settles Unreasonable Use of Force Case for $130,000, by Amanda Hickman
- Ban on Separatist Religious Publication
- California Youth Prison Superintendent
- Florida Awards Contracts Putting Sex Offenders on GPS Supervision; Other States to Follow
- Controversial Ex-Prison Official Lane McCotter Appointed Utah J.P.
- Politics Keeps Arizona Clemency Approvals Rare
- Wrongfully Convicted Kentucky Man Wins $590,000 Judgment Against Defense Attorney
- 85 Year-Old California Prison Doctor Wins $20 Million For Age Discrimination
- Fourth Circuit Holds Claims Value Relevant to Frivolous Determination
- 2006 Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar
- Florida Violates Sex Offenders for Possessing Common Men's Magazines
- Louisiana Prisoners Obscenity Conviction for Masturbation Vacated
- "Actual Innocence" Rule Inapplicable to Breach of Contract by Lawyer
- California Tort Claim Dismissed For Failure to Fully
- Georgia Prison Warden Proper Defendant In § 1983, ADA Suit
- No Qualified Immunity from 57-Day Illegal Confinement
- PLRA Exhaustion Requirement Has
- Court May Infer Deliberate Indifference from Obviousness of Risk
- Washington S.Ct. Upholds Persistent Prison Misbehavior Statute
- Seventh Circuit Upholds $56.5 Million Jail Murder Verdict
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Retaliation Claim
- Dismissal of §1983 Complaint Against Ohio CCA Prison Reversed
- News in Brief
- Former California Warden Allegedly
More from these topics:
- 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.
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026. Transportation, Excessive Force, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Deliberate Indifference.
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- 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.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- $600,000 Awarded So Far in Disgraced Georgia Sheriff’s Trial for Abusing Detainee in Restraint Chair, Jan. 1, 2026. Exposure to Cold, Restraints, Qualified Immunity, Damages - Compensatory, Wrongful Use of Force.
- 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.