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Suicides Plague Wisconsin Jails; Attempted Suicide Suit Settles for $13.1 Million
by Matthew T. Clarke
There has been a rash of suicides in Wisconsin jails, including six in 2005 and four in the first half of 2006. One jail, in LaCrosse County, experienced prisoner suicides in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2006. La Crosse County Sheriff Mike Weissenberger blamed the problem on …
There has been a rash of suicides in Wisconsin jails, including six in 2005 and four in the first half of 2006. One jail, in LaCrosse County, experienced prisoner suicides in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2006. La Crosse County Sheriff Mike Weissenberger blamed the problem on …
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More from this issue:
- The Political Economy of Prison and Jail Litigation, by Margo Schlanger
- Florida’s Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Suicides Plague Wisconsin Jails; Attempted Suicide Suit Settles for $13.1 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Dr. Yank: Washington Prison Dentist Nearly Kills Patient
- Landmark Settlement Reduces SHU Time, Increases Treatment Of New York Prisoners With Mental Illness
- Maryland Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Felons
- Missouri Legislature Allows Wrongfully Convicted to Receive Compensation
- Supreme Court: California’s Law Permitting Suspicionless Police Search of Parolees Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment, by Marvin Mentor
- Increasingly Repressive Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Have Doubtful Benefits, by John Dannenberg
- Phoenix, Arizona Sheriff’s Policy Delaying Prisoners’ Elective Abortions Enjoined, by John Dannenberg
- Alaska Jail Settles Alcohol Withdrawal Death Case For $573,000
- Colorado Successfully Pressures FBI To Release DNA Info; Racial Bias Infects DNA Databases, by Gary Hunter
- Guards Convicted of Stealing, Bringing Drugs into Washington State Private Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Disallowing Printed E-Mail Responses To Wisconsin Prisoner’s Web Page Raised Triable Issues of Fact, by John Dannenberg
- BOP Cancels Solicitation of Proposal for Single-Faith Program
- Lifetime Supervision or Lifetime Incarceration for Colorado Sex Offenders?
- Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under “Approved Vendor” Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees
- Study: Supermax Prisons Achieve Control While Inflicting Debilitating Side Effects, But Don’t Reduce Recidivism, by John Dannenberg
- California Sheriff Criticized on Injury Non-Treatment After Use of Force
- South Carolina Prisoner Awarded $4,000 For Fall, Broken Ankle
- Human Rights Watch Urges Access to Condoms in U.S. Prisons and Jails
- Private Prison Companies Bilk Florida Taxpayers Out of Millions, by David Reutter
- $30,000 Award in Hawaii Medical Negligence Suit
- Los Angeles County Jail Visitor’s Injury After Scuffle With Deputies Settles For $150,000
- Florida Court Without Jurisdiction to Impose Confinement Condition Sanctions at Sentencing
- City of Detroit Must Record Suspect Confessions; $4 Million Wrongful Incarceration Award
- Excessive Force And Medical Negligence Death In Youngstown, Ohio Arrest Settles For $350,000 From Police, $100,000 From PHS, by John Dannenberg
- U.S. Supreme Court: State Felon’s Deportation Order Reversed Where Underlying Offense Amounted Only to Federal Misdemeanor
- $248,000 Jury Award for Inhumane D.C. Jail Conditions
- Fifth Circuit Remands Texas Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim, Adopts De Minimis Standard, by Michael Rigby
- Harsh Federal Parole Conditions for Federal Sex Offender Upheld
- California Prison Guards Awarded $440 Million Retroactive Pay Increase
- Second Hawaii Sex Assault Case Settled for $25,000
- $2.5 Million Settlement in Schenectady County Strip Search Suit
- California Governor’s Parole Veto Reversed by Federal Court, by John Dannenberg
- New York Jail’s Juvenile Education Suit Returns to District Court
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner is Protected by Legal Privilege but Not Marriage Privilege When Writing His Lawyer-Wife
- Federal Prisoner’s Criminal Assault Conviction Reversed; Entitled to Raise Self-Defense
- Washington Indigents All Get Experts at Public Expense
- New York Prisoner Beaten By Unofficial Enforcer Awarded $500,000
- News in Brief:
- Alaska DOC Liable for Rape of Federal Prisoner by Prison Doctor
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- 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
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026. DOJ CRIPA Actions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026. Prison Health Services, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Systemic Medical Neglect, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Nearly 50 People Have Died in ICE Custody Since Trump’s Return to White House, May 1, 2026. LaSalle Management Company, Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Suicides, Immigration Detention.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.

