×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Pennsylvania Jail Major Pleads Guilty to Beating Prisoner After Escape Attempt
Loaded on Nov. 15, 2012
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2012, page 40
On October 29, 2011, James M. Donis, 50, who had been major of the guards and the fourth-highest-ranking official at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was fired from his $68,631-a-year position. He had worked at the jail since 1989.
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Crime/Demographics,
Criminal Prosecution,
Escapes,
Guard Brutality/Beatings.
Location:
Pennsylvania.
A federal lawsuit filed on October 7, 2011 accused …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Bailing on Justice: The Dysfunctional System of Using Money to Buy Pretrial Freedom, by Tracy Velázquez
- Guantanamo Detainees Cost $800,000 Annually
- $15,700 Plus Boombox to Settle California Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Liberty for Sale: Should Ohio Prisoners be Commodities in a For-Profit Venture?, by German Lopez
- PLN Readers Flood the FCC with Letters; Campaign Fights for Prison Phone Justice, by Mel Motel
- The Other Death Sentence: More than 100,000 Americans are destined to spend their final years in prison. Can we afford it?, by James Ridgeway
- Private Prison Companies Use Political Influence to Increase Incarceration, by Matthew Clarke
- California Prison Psychologist Faked Her Own Rape
- $60,411 Attorney Fee Award in Maryland Prisoner’s Public Information Act Suit
- Hawaii AG Study Confirms Ineffectiveness of Mainland Private Prisons, by Joe Watson
- Florida Jail Abandons Postcard-Only Mail Policy, Pays Prisoners’ Attorney Fees
- Prisoner’s Coma-Inducing Latex Allergy Triggers Lawsuit, Burning Questions, by Alan Prendergast
- State Auditor Finds Flaws in Texas Criminal Justice Information System, by Matthew Clarke
- California Settles Suit with Prison Guards’ Union for $3.5 Million, Interest-Free
- $20,000 Settlement in Arkansas Jail Prisoner’s Failure to Protect Suit
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Wisconsin Transgender Prisoner Treatment Ban
- New York City Pays $2 Million to Settle Suit Over Death of Juvenile Killed by Other Prisoners Acting as Guards’ Enforcers
- $2,500 Settlement in Illinois Prisoner’s Telephone Disconnect Suit – After Nine Years
- Pennsylvania Guards Charged with Physical, Sexual Abuse of Prisoners
- Pennsylvania Jail Major Pleads Guilty to Beating Prisoner After Escape Attempt
- BOP Supermax Lawsuit Claims Horrific Abuse of Mentally Ill at ADX, by Alan Prendergast
- Vietnam Pardons 10,244 Prisoners but Few Dissidents, by Derek Gilna
- Nebraska Refuses to Return Execution Drug to Swiss Company
- Iowa Reconsidering Costs, Benefits of Sex Offender Supervision Law, by Joe Watson
- Los Angeles Jail Pays $161,000 Settlement for Juvenile Injured Due to Negligent Supervision
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- 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.
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Atlanta Jail Begins Turning Away Misdemeanor Arrestees, Sept. 1, 2026. Escapes, Staffing, Security Systems, Consent Decrees.
- Last of 11 Guards Sentenced in Death of New York Prisoner, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), False Statements/Perjury, Obstruction of Justice.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- Troubled Illinois Lockup Sees Guard Abuses, Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Sept. 1, 2026. Hunger Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Protect (Staff).
- 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.