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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 …
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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:
- Washington Governor Fires Independent Prison Watchdog, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- 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.
- Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, May 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Obstruction of Justice, Wrongful Use of Force, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, May 1, 2026. Work Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Train/Supervise, Police--Excessive Force, Deliberate Indifference.
- $950,000 Settlement Reached for Pennsylvania Jail Detainee Repeatedly Pepper-Sprayed During Mental Health Episodes, April 1, 2026. Clothing, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
- $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, April 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Religious Practices, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, 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.
- $10.3 Million Paid for Teen’s Death at Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility, April 1, 2026. Restraints, Qualified Immunity, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Wrongful Use of Force.

