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Court Upholds California Prison Guard’s Termination for Telling Prisoner to Hang Herself
Loaded on April 15, 2013
published in Prison Legal News
April, 2013, page 47
In March 2012, the California Court of Appeal, 4th District, affirmed a lower court’s judgment that reinstated the termination of a former state prison guard, Thomas Norton, who had told a mentally ill female prisoner to hang herself and then pressured another guard to keep him from reporting what had …
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Retaliation against Staff,
Guards/Staff,
Employee Litigation.
Location:
California.
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More from this issue:
- U.S. Immigration Policy: Dysfunctional, Profitable and Resistant to Reform, by Derek Gilna
- Anti-Immigrant Arizona Sheriff Outed by His Mexican Ex-Boyfriend
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Report: Total State Prison Costs at Least $5.4 Billion Over Budget Nationwide
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Los Angeles Jail Undersheriff Steps Down
- A ‘Nobody’s’ Legacy: How a Semi-literate Ex-con Changed the Legal System, by M. Alex Johnson
- California: Thousands of Sex Offenders Remove GPS Monitors
- Iowa Pays Almost $500,000 to Fired Parole, Prison Supervisors, by Joe Watson
- Fortresses of Solitude, by James Ridgeway
- New York: Provision Requiring Independent Jail Oversight Board Ignored for 23 Years, by Joe Watson
- CDCR Tried to Conceal Report on Prisoner Suicides
- Calls for Better Pregnancy Care in Georgia Jails after Death of Prisoner’s Baby
- Life on the Inside and Death on the Outside: Complexities in Health Disparities Inside and Outside U.S. Prisons, by Evelyn J. Patterson
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Case Challenging Conditions in Illinois Jail where Mentally Ill Prisoner Died, by David Reutter
- Colorado Pays for Unneeded Private Prison Beds to Subsidize Local Jobs, by John Dannenberg
- Illinois: Scathing Study on Solitary Buried by Politics, by Adam Klasfeld
- Louisiana Public Service Commission Postpones Prison Phone Reforms, by Mel Motel
- No Free Speech Protection for Prisoners Who Copy Excerpts from Books, by Christopher Zoukis
- ADX Prisoner Not Allowed to Communicate with Family Members or Receive Publications under SAMs, by Christopher Zoukis
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- Oregon: Grand Jury Cites Problems at Multnomah County Jails, by Sal Rodriquez
- Former Pennsylvania DOC Director Hired to Run CDCR, by Anne-Marie Cusac
- CA Prison Guards’ Union Loses Appeal, Must Pay $4.96 Million Judgment
- Federal Court Enters Interim Fee Award Against BOP in FOIA Suit
- Second Circuit: Continuing Violations Exhausted with Single Grievance
- Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption, by Shon Hopwood and Dennis Burke (Crown, August 2012). 320 pages, $25.00 hardcover, by Lisa McElroy
- Ninth Circuit Vacates Federal Prison Sentence Imposed by Non-trial Judge
- FBI’s National Crime Data Found to be Flawed, Manipulated
- Colorado Seeks New Use for Empty Prison
- Forcible Cutting of Illinois Prisoner’s Dreadlocks Found Unconstitutional
- Pennsylvania Officials Link Halfway House Payments to Recidivism Rates, by Derek Gilna
- Defendants Must Challenge Joint and Several Liability for Attorney Fees on Initial Appeal or Issue is Waived
- Delaware Court Decides Financial Dispute Involving Prison Healthcare Company, by Derek Gilna
- Court Upholds California Prison Guard’s Termination for Telling Prisoner to Hang Herself
- South Carolina Sheriff Indicted; Fourth Sheriff to Face Criminal Charges in Three Years, by Christopher Zoukis
- Utah: Prisoners’ Education Should be Cheaper, More Efficient, Report Says
- Florida Innocence Commission Makes Recommendations to Prevent Wrongful Convictions
- California: Condition of Parole Restricting Parolee from Residing Near Victim’s Next of Kin Held Invalid
- Native Americans Overrepresented in Prison; Problems with Tribal Police Cited
- Utah Potentially Liable for Juvenile’s Death; Incarceration Exception to State’s Immunity Inapplicable
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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.
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Report Shows Pattern of Sexual Assaults in Santa Clara County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Failure to Protect (General).
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Summary Judgment, Employee Litigation, Vagueness/Overbreadth.
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Malpractice, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Wrongful Use of Force.

