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Lawsuit Filed Against Solitary Confinement of 800 “Seriously Mentally Ill” Prisoners in Pennsylvania
On March 11, 2013, the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (DRNP) filed a lawsuit against John E. Wetzel, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, charging that the confinement of prisoners in Restricted Housing Units (RHUs) amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment” of those diagnosed as “seriously mentally ill.” The …
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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
- Lawsuit Filed Against Solitary Confinement of 800 “Seriously Mentally Ill” Prisoners in Pennsylvania, by Sal Rodriquez
- 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
- Time for Sentencing Reform, by George Gascón
- Seventh Circuit: Cost Bond Improper Tool to Address Prisoner’s Frivolous Filings
- More Oregon Prison Employees Accused of Sexual Abuse
- California Prison Industry Authority Loses $24 Million in Last Two Years but Reduces Recidivism
- News in Brief
More from Sal Rodriquez:
More from these topics:
- Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It, Sept. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Staff Training, Deliberate Indifference.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Mental Health Diversion from New York State Jails Varies Widely by County, Sept. 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health, State Legislation.
- Rising Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail Linked to Longer Stays, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Court Shuts Down Arizona Attempt to Fill Medical Staff Vacancies with Under-Qualified Providers, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026. Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency Hearing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $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.
- 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.