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U.N. Committee Against Torture: Tasering is a “Form of Torture”
Loaded on Oct. 15, 2008
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2008, page 36
Filed under:
Stun Guns/Tasers,
International,
Prisoners-International.
Location:
United States of America.
by Matt Clarke
On November 23, 2007, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) concluded that using the Taser X-26 electric stun gun is a “form of torture” that “can even provoke death.” CAT is charged with overseeing the application of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, …
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More from this issue:
- Gay and Lesbian Prisoners: Recent Developments and a Call for More Research, by Zachary Wolfe, Esq.
- Washington State Crime Lab Chief Resigns, by Gary Hunter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Over 60% of Oregon Prisoner Suicides Linked to Mental Illness, Isolation, by Mark Wilson
- Trifecta for Michigan DOC: Three Reports Find Deficient Prison Medical Care, by David Reutter
- Fondled Hawaiian Transexual Prisoner Awarded $817,500 in Damages and Attorney Fees, by Matthew Clarke
- Virginia Parole Rate Plummets Despite Thousands of Eligible Parolees, by John Dannenberg
- Houston District Attorney Caught in E-mail Scandal, Resigns, Held in Contempt, by Gary Hunter
- Courts Find Ohio Adam Walsh Act Unconstitutional
- NY DOC’s Former 60% Prisoner Phone Call Kickback Scheme Did Not Violate Prisoners’ Families’ Constitutional Rights
- Prison Legal News Prevails in Tennessee Public Records Suit Against CCA
- TASER International’s Stock Shocked By $6.2 Million Damages Award, by John Dannenberg
- Teeth Extraction Policy for CA Women Prisoners Rescinded, by John Dannenberg
- Michigan Jail Pays $145,000 for Vindictively Exhibiting Naked Detainees in Segregation Cell
- Harris County, Texas Sends 600 Jail Prisoners to Private Pen in Louisiana
- Jail Prisoners Get Rapid HIV Tests
- Federal Prisoner May Not be Held Indefinitely in Punitive Housing Pending Investigation of Infraction
- $204,856 in Attorney’s Fees and Costs Awarded in Nebraska Kosher Diet and Muslim Prayer Case, by Brandon Sample
- Excessive Force Suit Against Illinois Guards Must be Retried, Allowing Evidence of Guards’ Actions
- Bill Introduced to Exempt Wrongfully Convicted from Federal Income Taxes
- States Expand Registration Laws to Include Drug Offenses
- Alabama Jail Guard Fired, Convicted, Held Civilly Liable in Prisoner’s Assault, by David Reutter
- Montana DOC Employees Disciplined for E-mail Abuse
- Segregated Massachusetts Nation of Islam Prisoners Entitled to Halal Menu and Jum’ah Prayers; $237,299.25 in Attorney Fees Awarded
- PHS Wins Quadriplegic Prisoner’s Negligence Suit, Jail Settles for $100,000
- Federal Prisoner in State Jail Custody Illegally Denied State Court Name Change Petition
- 71-Year-Old Veteran Paid $185,000 for Rough California Jail Booking Treatment
- U.N. Committee Against Torture: Tasering is a “Form of Torture”, by Matthew Clarke
- Monetary Sanctions Permitted for Milwaukee Jail’s Violation of Consent Decree, by David Reutter
- Prior Failure to Register as Sex Offender Does Not Violate Adam Walsh Act
- WA Prisoner Properly Denied Access to Savings Account to Hire Lawyer for Parolability Hearing
- Sixth Circuit: $4.5 Million Award Upheld Against Michigan DOC Doctor in Dehydration Death of Mentally Ill Prisoner, by John Dannenberg
- $7,025 Award in Slip and Fall From Ohio Prison Bunk
- Ten Michigan Lawyers Honored For 8-Year Effort To Win $30 Million Damages For 10 Women Prisoners’ Sexual Abuse By Prison Guards, by John Dannenberg
- Georgia Inmate Welfare Fund Consent Decree Terminated Under PLRA
- $45,000 Awarded to Probationer Subject to Overzealous Probation Officer
- Michigan Federal Court Issues Injunctive Relief for Lifer Parole Hearings, by John Dannenberg
- $305,021 Awarded to Missouri Prisoner Struck by Tree; State Legislature Takes Note, by Brandon Sample
- Washington DOC Fires McNeil Island Employee for Prisoner Fund Theft
- Contempt Order Entered Against Virgin Island’s Prison Mental Health Care
- $449,000 Settlement in BIA Prisoner’s Fall from Top Bunk in Detox Cell
- $1.95 Million for 18 Years Wrongful Imprisonment in North Carolina
- Wyoming Prisoner Receives $350,000 in Failure to Protect Case
- Indiana Judge Refuses to Send Juveniles to Unsafe Facility
- New York Mail Rule Disciplinary Conviction Reversed
- Texas Adds Sex Offender Employment and School Information to Registry
- Texas Youth Commission Settles Lawsuit with U.S. Dept. of Justice, by Gary Hunter
- News in Brief:
- Ice Cream Trucks No Treat for Sex Offenders
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- $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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Guards at an Infamous Mississippi Jail Mocked a Disabled Detainee, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Stun Guns/Tasers, Punishment.
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Sexual Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Stun Guns/Tasers.
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025. War on Terror, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Terrorism.
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Assault by Police, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Stun Guns/Tasers, Immigration, False Arrest, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Academic Study of Prison Guards’ Use of Excessive Force Details Sad State of Civil Rights for Abused Prisoners, June 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Dogs, Burning, Electric Fences, Laser Weapons.
- Pittsburgh Lockup Accounts for 43% of Pennsylvania Jail TASER Use, Suit Filed, May 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).

