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Mass Torture in America: Notes from the Supermax Prisons
“Exterminate all the brutes!”
– Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
“They beat the shit out of you,” said Mike James, hunched near the smeared plexiglass separating us. He was talking about the cell “extractions” he’d endured at the hands of the supermax-unit guards at the Maine State Prison.
“They push …
– Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
“They beat the shit out of you,” said Mike James, hunched near the smeared plexiglass separating us. He was talking about the cell “extractions” he’d endured at the hands of the supermax-unit guards at the Maine State Prison.
“They push …
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More from this issue:
- Mass Torture in America: Notes from the Supermax Prisons, by Lance Tapley
- From the Editor
- Study: CIA Doctors ‘Gave Green Light to Torture’, by Muriel Kane
- Florida Woman Settles Lawsuit Against Sheriff’s Officers for $67,500 After Arrest While in Premature Labor
- Illinois Supermax Placement Procedures Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Is Operation Streamline a Billion Dollar Give-away to the Private Prison Industry?, by Bob Libal
- Habeas Hints: The Year in Review, by Kent A. Russell
- California: State May Be Liable for Delaying Medical Care to Prisoner’s Infant Child
- Blind Texas Prisoner Dies after Confrontation with Guards
- New U.S. Marshals Director Confirmed Despite Conflict of Interest with Private Prison Companies
- 1,295 Prisoners Scam Government for $9.1 Million
- Fifth Circuit Holds Texas Parole Revocation Witness Denial Violated Due Process
- Physicians for Human Rights: CIA Performed Illegal Medical Experiments While Torturing Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Holds That A Prisoner’s Verbal Complaints About Racist Guards May Be Protected Speech
- Mississippi DOC Closes Unit 32
- The Habeas Citebook: lneffective Assistance of Counsel, by Brandon Sample, Prison Legal News Publishing, 2010, pp.212 $49.95, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Florida Guard’s Conviction for Falsifying Use-of-Force Report Affirmed, by David Reutter
- Denial of Qualified Immunity Reversed in Michigan Prison Wage Suit
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Arizona Teenage Detainee Suicide Claim Dismissal
- $450,000 Award in New York Prisoner’s Negligence Claim
- Washington State Sheriff’s Classification of Sex Offender Violates Separation of Powers
- Kenyan Prisoners Allowed to Vote in Constitutional Referendum
- Eleventh Circuit Affirms Injunction in Florida DOC Mental Health Conditions Pepper Spray Case, by David Reutter
- 9th Circuit: Prisoner Need Not Succumb to Threats in Order to Prevail on First Amendment Retaliation Claim, by Michael Brodheim
- Georgia: Flurry of Judicial Resignations Highlights Secrecy Behind Investigations, by David Reutter
- Homeland Security Inspector General’s Report Finds Additional Controls Needed to Ensure Prisoners’ Access to Phones at ICE Facilities
- Report: New Jersey DOC Should Upgrade Prisoner Reentry Programs, by Derek Gilna
- Texas Pays for Geriatric Prisoners, Rarely Grants Medical Parole, by Matthew Clarke
- $42,000 Verdict in Iowa Jail Excessive Force Case
- Federal Prisoner’s Death at FCI Pekin Triggers FBI Investigation, by Derek Gilna
- Disability Rights Vermont Report Faults Staff for Disabled Prisoner’s Death
- Onerous Ohio Sex Offender Restrictions Drive Some Underground, by Matthew Clarke
- California Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Settled for $7.95 Million
- New Epidemic: Contraband Cell Phones in Prison Cells, by Mark Wilson
- Abuse and Assaults Continue at Pennsylvania Jail, by David Reutter
- Feds Indict Two in Florida Prison Canteen Kickback Scheme
- Fourth Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment on RLUIPA Haircut Claim, but Case Dismissed on Remand
- Head of Ohio Juvenile Facility Fired Following Complaints of Sexual Harassment
- Virginia Prisoner Kills Cellmate, Requests Death Sentence, by Mark Wilson
- Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, by Jordan Flaherty, Haymarket Books, 2010; $16.00, 292 pages, by Lewis Wallace
- $240,001 Verdict in Boston Jail Beating Suit, by Brandon Sample
- New York City Pays $9.9 Million to Settle Wrongful Conviction Suit
- Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States, by Derek Gilna
- $33 Million Settlement in New York City Jails Strip Search Class-Action, by Matthew Clarke
- Michigan Prison Doctor Liable for Late Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
- Texas Supreme Court Rules Typed Copy of Grievance Decision Satisfies Chapter 14
- News In Brief:
More from Lance Tapley:
- “Natural Causes Killed Victor: A Death in Solitary,” a folk opera by George Swanson (DVD, 55 minutes), Jan. 10, 2017
- Bonnie Kerness: Pioneer in the Struggle Against Solitary Confinement, July 9, 2014
- No Death Penalty for Maine Prisoner, April 15, 2014
- A Rare Look Inside the Maine State Prison's "Supermax", March 15, 2014
- Prison Reforms Under Maine’s New DOC Commissioner, March 15, 2013
- Solitary Confinement: Bad for Chimps, Okay for Humans?, Oct. 15, 2012
- Reform Comes to Maine Supermax: New commissioner cuts population by more than half; prisoner rights advocates help in the reform, Sept. 15, 2011
- Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, by Robert Perkinson, Metropolitan Books/Holt, 484 pp (October 2010), $20.00 paperback, May 15, 2011
- Maine Governor Rakes in Private Prison Money, Shows Appreciation, April 15, 2011
- Mass Torture in America: Notes from the Supermax Prisons, Feb. 15, 2011
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Overtime Cuts Lead to Reduced Programming in California Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Exercise, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity.
- Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing, Aug. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.