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Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group
Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group
by Matt Clarke
On April 2, 2009, a Texas Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of $22,000,000 in actual damages and $20,500,000 in punitive damages against Wackenhut Corrections (now known as GEO Group) in a …
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More from this issue:
- Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in Connection with Private Prison in Texas, by Matthew Clarke
- Michigan Sex Offender Freezes to Death on Street As Housing Crisis Continues, by Jimmy Franks
- Massachusetts DOC Settles PLN Censorship Suit
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials, by David Reutter
- Washington DOC Pays Pro Se Prisoner $110,043 For Illegally Withholding Records
- Lawsuits Challenge Prohibition on Prisoner Pen-Pal Services in Indiana, Florida, by David Reutter
- Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group, by Matthew Clarke
- OIG Audit Finds Major Deficiencies with BOP Health Care, by Brandon Sample
- McNeil Island Prison Fined $28,400 for Improper Asbestos Removal
- Jury Nullification: Power To The People, by Paul Butler
- Cost of Defending Federal Death Penalty Cases on the Rise, by Brandon Sample
- As Economy Falters, Rehabilitative and Substance Abuse Programs Get the Axe
- $1.4 Million Settlement in Three-Day Long Sexual Assaults of Alaska Prisoners, by David Reutter
- First Circuit Awards Defendant Costs Under FRCP 68; Plaintiff Rejected $10,000 Offer, Was Awarded $5,500, by Mark Wilson
- Michigan Jail Officials Lied and Hid Documents in Lawsuit Over Prisoner’s Death, by David Reutter
- Racial Impact Statements: An Effort to Eliminate Legal Racism, by Gary Hunter
- BOP Settles Suit Over Telephone Access, Electronic FOIA Claims
- Florida Judge Publicly Reprimanded for Trying to Ease Jail Overcrowding
- $875,001 Verdict in Beating of Massachusetts Prisoner, by David Reutter
- New Trial and JNOV Denial Upheld in $15,545,000 Michigan Prisoner Sexual Harassment Case, by Matthew Clarke
- $155,000 Settlement in Sexual Assault of Washington Jail Prisoner
- Florida U.S. District Court Rescinds Policy Restricting Access to Plea Agreements, by David Reutter
- Alameda County, CA Settles Juvenile Detainee Strip Search Suit for $4.3 Million, by John Dannenberg
- Protecting Your Health & Safety, by Brandon Sample
- PLN Awarded Summary Judgment In FOIA Case Again, by Brandon Sample
- California Prison’s Drinking Water Cited for Excessive Arsenic Levels, by John Dannenberg
- Nevada Ramps Up Prisoner Deportations – Even Those Ineligible for Early Release, by Matthew Clarke
- Indiana Court Denies Challenge to Monopolistic Prison Phone Contracts, by John Dannenberg
- Oregon Detainee Paid $30,000 for 90 Days Illegal Jail Confinement
- Oregon Prison Romance Nets Probation/Community Service
- Ohio Supreme Court Restricts Public Access to Court Records, by David Reutter
- Oregon Slow to Address Problems at Contract Juvenile Facilities
- Empty Oregon Jail Has Cost $1.25 Million; Grand Jury Demands Humility and Creative Solutions, by Mark Wilson
- Texas Lawmakers “Surprised” Over Hiring of Non-Citizen Prison Guards on Work Visas, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida Judge Criticizes State’s Efforts to Seize Prisoner’s Federal Civil Rights Judgment, by David Reutter
- California DOC Closes Prisoner Work/Restitution Center
- Madoff Fraud Bankrupts JEHT Foundation, Hurts Criminal Justice Reform Efforts, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Says New Mexico Prison Phone Companies Still Gouging Families, by Dave Maass
- Michigan DOC Rehabilitation Programs Emphasize Education, Reentry Support, by Matthew Clarke
- California DA Says Incarceration Rate a Measure of His Success – Despite Wrongful Convictions, Prosecutorial Misconduct, by Gary Hunter
- Sheriff “Hollywood Hewett” Sentenced to 16 Months, by Mark Wilson
- New York Jury Awards $1,400,006 to Former Prisoner for Beating by Guards; Punitive Damages Later Reduced, by David Reutter
- Missouri Court Reverses $244,636 Incarceration Cost Award Against Prisoner, by Mark Wilson
- $4.75 Million Settlement in Virginia Jail Construction Accident Case
- Federal Prisoner Dies During Illicit Tryst With His Wife
- Systemic Constitutional Violations at Ohio Juvenile Facilities Leads to Settlement in Class Action; Guards Attempt to Block Relief, by Brandon Sample
- Supreme Court Holds Failure to Report to Prison Not a Violent Felony Under ACCA
- New Texas Prison Hospital Approved
- California Lifers Housed Out-Of-State in Federal Witness Protection Program Entitled to Appear in Person at Parole Hearings, by John Dannenberg
- Colorado DOC Settles Suit Over Provision of Education Programs to Learning Disabled Prisoner
- Florida Jail Supervisor Disciplined for Using Prisoner Labor for Brother’s Political Campaign
- Oregon Prison Manager Indicted for Misusing Prison Credit Cards
- Ninth Circuit: County Contractor that Counsels Bad-Check Writers Not Entitled to State Sovereign Immunity from Suit, by John Dannenberg
- Ninth Circuit Strikes Down BOP Regulation Precluding Early Release for Prisoners Who Complete Drug Treatment, by Brandon Sample
- South Carolina Prison Official Remained on the Job a Year After Indictment
- Ninth Circuit: California Federal Habeas Petitioner Sufficiently Exhausts State Court Remedies When He Presents Facts Necessary to Support Constitutional Claim, by John Dannenberg
- Prisoner’s Free Speech Rights Violated by Legal Mail Opened Outside His Presence; Qualified Immunity Denied, by David Reutter
- $25,000 Settlement in Washington Detainee Contracting for TB in Seattle Jail
- D.C. Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Deliberate Indifference Gallstone Claim
- Sixth Circuit Upholds Conviction and Sentences for Jail Guards Accused of Abusing, Killing Prisoners, by Brandon Sample
- News in Brief:
- Washington: Violation of Community Custody Conditions May Be Enforced While Offender Is Reincarcerated
- Amnesty International Sources Given Journalistic Protection
More from Matthew Clarke:
- 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
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Labor, Sovereign Immunity, Interlocutory Appeals, Immigration Detention.
- Multiple Detainees Escape from Dilapidated North Carolina Jail, July 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Jail Specific, Security Systems, Criminal Justice, Prison Conditions.
- Video Shows Guards Watched as Oklahoma Detainee Died in Cell, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- Tainted Chicken Leads to Widespread Salmonella Outbreak at New York Jail, July 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Infections, Food, Sanitation, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
- Ohio Jail Leaders Knew Cameras Were Broken for Four Years Before Fixing Them, July 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Security Systems, Disclosure of Records, Wrongful Death, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- FTC Substantiates Allegations Against ViaPath Related to Data Breach and Orders Remedial Action, June 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Trust Accounts, Telephone Monitoring, Deliberate Indifference, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules that Sheriff Did Not Violate Open Records Act and Declines to Award Damages to Prisoner, June 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Public Records Act.
- Former Georgia Prison Warden Indicted for Role in Smuggling Scheme, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, RICO, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Prison Profiteer The GEO Group Accused of Refusing Health Inspections at Detention Facility Despite Court Ruling, June 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Food, Water, Injunctions, Immigration Detention.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.

