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Kentucky Jail Under Investigation After Prisoner Dies; Sexual Abuse, Financial Mismanagement Also Alleged
The Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, a jail in Paintsville, Kentucky, became the focus of a Kentucky State Police investigation after the death of a prisoner in March 2009. Additionally, a jail guard was accused of sexual harassment and later indicted. Those incidents followed allegations of financial mismanagement related to …
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More from this issue:
- Medical Examiners Lack Qualifications, Competence, Oversight, by Matthew Clarke
- Kentucky Jail Under Investigation After Prisoner Dies; Sexual Abuse, Financial Mismanagement Also Alleged, by Derek Gilna
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- St. Louis Lockups Violate Constitutional Rights, ACLU Asserts, by Mark Wilson
- Mentally Ill Prisoner Terrorized, Forced to Wear Pink Underwear by Arizona Jailers
- California Prison Settles Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit for $15,000
- Texas Capital Defendants with Hired Attorneys Rarely Receive Death Sentences, by Matthew Clarke
- $16 Million Award Upheld in Wrongful Conviction Resulting from Undisclosed Evidence and Relationship
- UNICOR-Made Military Helmets Recalled, Production Suspended, by Derek Gilna
- $300,000 Settlement for New York Guard’s Fondling of Prisoner
- Kansas No Longer a Leader in Post-Release Prisoner Programs, by Derek Gilna
- North Carolina Prison Censorship Class Action Suit Settled
- Federal Rapid REPAT Program Not Working in Rhode Island, by Derek Gilna
- Georgia Prisoners Strike for Wages, Better Medical Care and Food
- Oregon Prisoner Holds Counselor Hostage, Gets New 68-Month Sentence
- California: Confiscation of Prisoner’s Mail May Violate First Amendment
- California: Harsh Sentencing Laws and Health Care Costs Strain Corrections Budget
- Released Prisoners Need Not Exhaust Grievance Remedies Before Filing Suit
- Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds, by Mark Wilson
- California: Validity of Parole Board’s Psych Evaluation Procedures for Lifers Questioned, by Michael Brodheim
- Fourth Circuit Vacates Pornography Restriction on Federal Defendant
- Connecticut Restricts Prisoners’ FOIA Requests, by David Reutter
- U.S. Department of Justice Releases Report on Deaths in Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Ohio Prison Guard Dies Shackled to Hospital Bed, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment for Guard in Illinois Jail Taser Case
- Oregon Jail Guard Latest to be Indicted for Sexual Misconduct, by Mark Wilson
- Civilly Committing Sex Offenders Strains Some States’ Budgets, by Matthew Clarke
- California: Parole Agents Saw and Spoke to Kidnap Victim, Yet Failed to Identify or Rescue Her
- Political Patronage Scandal Rocks Massachusetts Probation Department, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Restitution Law Failing Crime Victims, by Michael Rigby
- Massachusetts: Court Lifts Stay of Discovery in Challenge to Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Substance, Not Label, of Prisoner Petitions Governs
- Audit Report Finds Georgia Sex Offender Registry Needs Complete Overhaul, by David Reutter
- Probation Officers Working in Los Angeles Juvenile Facilities Engage in Misconduct, Avoid Disciplinary Action, by Michael Brodheim
- Capital Appeals Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Theft, by David Reutter
- California Governor Orders Corrections Officials to Retain Parole Files Indefinitely
- Delaware’s Parole Board Suffers from Infighting, by David Reutter
- Oregon Federal Halfway House Director Removed Due to Embezzlement, by Mark Wilson
- $389,548.55 Total Award in Texas Jail Strip Search Suit
- Washington Supreme Court Holds No Liberty Interest in Sex Offender Release to Community Custody
- Indiana DOC Hires Convicted Former Legislator for Re-Entry Job
- Former Texas Youth Commission Official Gets Ten Years in Prison
- North Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Felon’s Right to Possess Firearm
- Seventh Circuit Holds No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner’s First Amendment Retaliation Suit for Providing Affidavit to Help Dead Prisoner’s Family
- California Supreme Court Clarifies Application of Presentence Good-Conduct Credit Statute
- Speedy Sentencing Procedure Applies to Probation Revocations, California Supreme Court Holds
- Massachusetts DOC Injunction Requiring Broadcast of Jum’ah Services via Closed-Circuit Television Upheld
- Federal Prisoners Making Solar Cells
- Cavity Searches of Civil Commitment Patients for Cellphone Upheld by Eighth Circuit
- News in Brief:
More from Derek Gilna:
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, April 1, 2022
- Human Rights Defense Center Prevails in Censorship Lawsuit Against Napa County Jail, California, Sept. 1, 2021
- California State Auditor’s Report Faults Counties for Waste and Poor Oversight of State Funds Used in “Public Safety Realignment”, Sept. 1, 2021
- The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On, Sept. 1, 2021
- District Court Extends Armstrong Order to Five Additional California Prisons, Sept. 1, 2021
- HRDC Settles Censorship Lawsuit with Johnson County, Kansas Jail for $50,000 and Policy Changes, Aug. 1, 2021
- Virginia Prosecutors to Dismiss 400 Drug Convictions Tied to Disgraced Cop, July 15, 2021
- Discredited New York Police Detective’s False Testimony Causes the Dismissal of Close to 100 Drug Convictions, June 15, 2021
- D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences Firearms Examination Unit Under Fire, April 15, 2021
- Mississippi Joins Illinois and Few Other States Prioritizing Vaccination of State Prisoners to Slow Spread of COVID-19, April 1, 2021
More from these topics:
- Last of Three Oklahoma Jail Death Settlements Totaling $66.5 Million Paid for Fatal Dehydration of “Cookie Queen”, Oct. 1, 2026. Diabetes, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise, Monell Liability.
- $3.75 Million Paid by Wisconsin After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies of Dehydration, Oct. 1, 2026. Water, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Contractor Liability, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- $280,000 Paid for South Carolina Detainee’s Death in Charleston Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Contractor Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Monell Liability.
- Report Highlights Repeated Overdoses at Florida County Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Drug Overdose.
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons.

