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Death Sentence: The Feds Throw the Book at King County'sJail as Prisoner Fatalities Skyrocket
Death Sentence: The Feds Throw the Book at King County's Jail as Prisoner Fatalities Skyrocket
by Rick Anderson
A few months after two prisoners in the downtown King County Jail in Seattle, Washington committed suicide in 2005--one by overdosing on hoarded jail medications, the other by hanging himself with a …
by Rick Anderson
A few months after two prisoners in the downtown King County Jail in Seattle, Washington committed suicide in 2005--one by overdosing on hoarded jail medications, the other by hanging himself with a …
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More from this issue:
- Scandal Rocks Texas Youth Commission; Youths Molested by School Supervisors, by Gary Hunter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Oregon Parole Officer’s Molestation Victim’s Suicide Claims Settled for $210,000
- Overdetention: When Completing a Prison Sentence Just Isn’t Enough, by David Reutter
- Arizona Prison Guard Awarded $750,000 for False Sexual Misconduct Allegations
- Colorado Farms Out Prisoners to Replace Immigrant Farm Workers
- Death Sentence: The Feds Throw the Book at King County'sJail as Prisoner Fatalities Skyrocket, by Rick Anderson
- Washington State: No Restoration of Felon Voting Rights Until Fines and Restitution are Paid
- Los Angeles Settles County Jail Murder Suit For $1 Million, by John Dannenberg
- Louisiana Work-Release Prisoners Used by Sheriff in Chop Shop, by Gary Hunter
- Non-Convicted Michigan Sex Offenders Required to Register
- Independent Monitor Issues First Report on Delaware Health Care
- "Let Freedom Ring" -- Cellphones Abound In California Prisons
- Privately Run Seal Beach, California Jail Closed Following Checkered Past, by John Dannenberg
- New York Prisoner Awarded $4,250 for Knee Injury While Shackled
- $90,000 Awarded to New York Prisoner for Delay of Surgery
- Nevada Jail Strip Searches Before Release on Own Recognizance Unconstitutional
- Alabama Judge Resigns Amid Prisoner Spanking Allegations and Judicial Improprieties
- Lawsuit Exposes Jail Limbo for Mentally Incompetent Defendants in Texas, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Removes Religious Books; Capitulates After Public Outrage, Lawsuit
- BOP Must Provide Prisoner's FOIA Request in Electronic Format
- Missouri Ordered to Pay Prisoner's $250,000 Judgment Plus Fees and Costs for Sexual Assaults by Work Supervisor, by John Dannenberg
- Second Circuit Rejects New York’s Interlocutory Appeal of Prisoner's $7.65 Million Failure-to-Protect Jury Verdict, by John Dannenberg
- Transsexuals Treated Poorly in New York Prisons, by David Reutter
- WA Prisoners Entitled to Minimal Due Process Before Risk Level Demotion
- Broward County, FL Sheriff Resigns, Pleads Guilty to Federal Corruption Charges, by David Reutter
- Study Finds Federal Defenders Outperform CJA Attorneys
- New York Pays State Prisoner $1,100 for Disregarding Work Restrictions
- Ninth Circuit Holds Washington DOC Immune From Suit for Denial of Community Custody Early Release, by John Dannenberg
- Spectrum Health Systems Pays Massachusetts $7.5 Million for Fraud in Concert with Civigenics
- Florida's Parole Commission Slows Restoration of Felons' Civil Rights, by David Reutter
- Alabama Prisons Sell Land to Finance Prison Building, Repair
- Federal Suit Over Wisconsin Suicide Attempt Settles for Millions, by Michael Rigby
- $100,000 Settlement in Missouri Jail Prisoner’s Methamphetamine Overdose Death
- PLN Sues CDCR Over Failure to Produce Public Records
- News in Brief:
- New Jersey "Anthrax" Legal Mail Policy Unconstitutional; Count Condemns Opening Outside Prisoner's Presence
More from Rick Anderson:
- Long-Term Illinois Prisoners Rarely Released by State Parole Board, March 5, 2019
- Female Prisoner Wore Wire to Take Down Rikers Island Guards, Wins $425,000 Settlement, March 5, 2019
- One in 55 Adults on Probation or Parole, Study Finds, Feb. 5, 2019
- Appeals court rules in favor of Latino denied guard job in California prison, Dec. 14, 2018
- Head of Nashville’s Correct Care Solutions arrested for DUI, Dec. 14, 2018
- The Fallibility of Forensic Science: Crime-Solving Tool Can Lead to Wrongful Convictions—and Belated Exonerations, Dec. 14, 2018
- California Prisons Struggle with Environmental Threats from Sewage Spills, Contaminated Water, Airborne Disease, Dec. 5, 2017
- Registration, Tracking of Sex Offenders Drives Mass Incarceration Numbers and Costs, May 5, 2017
- Greenwashing Washington State’s Prison System in a River of Sewage, July 31, 2015
- In Washington State Prisons, Negligent Health Care Turns Illness into a Death Sentence, Oct. 10, 2014
More from these topics:
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Assaults on Staff, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Death, Compassionate Release.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Damages Class Certification in Opioid Treatment Denial, Aug. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Class Certification, Deliberate Indifference.
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas.