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No Death Penalty for Maine Prisoner
In 2008, within a supposedly high-security prison in the giant federal correctional complex in Florence, Colorado, Gary Watland, a “boarder” from Maine, murdered another prisoner, white supremacist Mark Baker.
After five and a half years – and after, probably, millions in taxpayer-paid legal costs, including for his defense team …
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More from this issue:
- An Interview with Noam Chomsky on Criminal Justice and Human Rights
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $2.25 Million Jury Verdict against LCS in Texas Prisoner Death Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio: Attorney General May Not Increase Sex Offender’s Registration Requirements
- The Inadequacy of Prison Food Allergy Policies, by Jamie Longazel
- Kitchen Supervisor Gets Prison Time for Sexually Abusing Two Prisoners
- U.S. Supreme Court: District Courts Can Make Federal Sentences Consecutive or Concurrent to Future State Sentences
- $15.5 Million Settlement for Mentally Ill Jail Detainee Held in Solitary Confinement
- Colorado Prisoner who Murdered Guard Gets Life Without Parole
- Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication, by Alex Friedmann
- Iowa: Parole Agreement Does Not Constitute Voluntary Consent that Justifies Warrantless Search
- Update on Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act Case
- No Discipline for Oregon Prosecutor and Defense Counsel for Illegal Confinement of Mentally Ill Defendant
- Arkansas Suing Prisoners for Incarceration Costs
- Montana: Hospitalized Prisoner Entitled to Continuance in Divorce Case
- Texas: False Arrest and Malicious Prosecution Result in $411,865.18 Recovery
- California Supreme Court: Challenge to Booking Fee Order Forfeited Due to Failure to Object in Trial Court
- Study: TASER Shocks May Cause Fatal Heart Attacks, by Matthew Clarke
- Texas Court Holds CCA is a Governmental Body for Purposes of Public Records Law
- Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, by Peter Wagner
- New York Prisoner Secures Court Order for Visitation with Child
- GPS Monitoring System in Los Angeles Plagued by False Alerts, Ignored Alarms, by Christopher Zoukis
- Placing Rival Gang Members in Same Cell Not Per Se Unconstitutional
- No Death Penalty for Maine Prisoner, by Lance Tapley
- Qualified Immunity Denied to Michigan Guard for Improper Strip Search of Amputee Prisoner
- The Redbook – A Manual on Legal Style, by John Dannenberg
- Oregon Appellate Court Declines to Correct Unpreserved Sentencing Error Related to Restitution, by Mark Wilson
- Court Awards $802,176 in Fees, Costs in PLN Censorship Suit Against Oregon County
- New York Prison Officials Can Force-Feed Hunger Striking Prisoner
- Ninth Circuit: Delay in Providing Dental Care May Constitute Deliberate Indifference
- Burden-Shifting Jury Instruction Requires New Trial in Prisoner's Lawsuit
- Eighth Circuit: Federal Sentence Consecutive to Later-Imposed State Sentence, by Mark Wilson
- Sexual Abuse by Oregon Jail Guard Nets Probation; Defense Attorney Blames Victim
- Federal Court Must Give Reasons for Special Conditions of Supervised Release, by David Reutter
- Idaho Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Section 1983 Claims in Jail Suicide Case, by Mark Wilson
- Washington PRA Violations Result in Costs and Penalties, by Mark Wilson
- Prisoner Organ Transplants, Donations Create Controversy
- Oklahoma Jailers Not Immune from Excessive Force Claims
- 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:
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.
- Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisors from Prison Pastor’s Execution, Nov. 1, 2025. Pardons/Clemency, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution, Religious Freedom/Worship, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Eleventh Circuit Overturns 1990 Alabama Death Sentence Over Racially Biased Jury Selection; ACLU Report Shows It Is Still Happening, Nov. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty, Batson Claims, Racial Bias Exception.
- In the Killing Chamber, Oct. 1, 2025. Death Penalty, Death Row.

