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South African Prison Evacuated Due to Squalor; Two Prisoners Die from Rat-Borne Disease
Loaded on Dec. 8, 2016
by Christopher Zoukis
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2016, page 60
Filed under:
Conditions of Confinement,
Totality of Conditions,
Failure to Protect (General),
Food,
Overcrowding,
Eighth Amendment,
Staffing,
Sewage,
Water,
Sanitation,
Bedding,
Hygiene Supplies,
Vermin,
Rural Prisons.
Location:
South Africa.
As bad as it gets in some U.S. prisons, conditions at the notorious Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, South Africa are so abysmal that the government was forced to temporarily close the facility and evacuate prisoners after two contracted a fatal rat-borne disease.
In 2015, around 4,000 prisoners …
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More from this issue:
- “This Man Will Almost Certainly Die”
- Missouri County Settles Suit Over Jail Prisoner’s Suicide for $260,000
- Heck Satisfied if Ruling Fails to Address Issues but Reverses Conviction
- Reforms at New Orleans Jail Slow to Materialize; Death Reporting Problematic, by David Reutter
- Michigan Prison Guards Fired Following Suicide Bet
- Pennsylvania: DA Apologizes for Undisclosed Gifts
- Private Jail Contractor’s Insurance Excludes Coverage of Detainee’s Death
- South African Prison Evacuated Due to Squalor; Two Prisoners Die from Rat-Borne Disease, by Christopher Zoukis
- Photo of Prisoner Beaten by Georgia Gang Members Posted Online
- Tennessee Sheriff’s Willful Denial of Public Records Merits PLN Attorney Fee Award
- Wardens “Retire” from Two California Women’s Prisons
- Ferguson, Missouri Under Fire for Revenue-based Criminal Justice System, by Christopher Zoukis
- Tennessee District Attorney Ends Sterilization in Plea Bargains; Prosecutor Fired, by David Reutter
- Another Appeal in New York Post-Release Supervision Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Warden, Sheriff, Justice of the Peace Charged in Texas Corruption Scandal, by Matthew Clarke
- Corrections Officials Stealing Prisoners’ Identities a Growing Problem, by Christopher Zoukis
- Corizon Faces Suit for Failing to Administer Tube Feedings to Pennsylvania Prisoner
- Tenth Circuit Rules on $3.38 Million Verdict in CCA Prison Sexual Abuse Case, by Derek Gilna
- Corizon, CCA Settle Lawsuit Over Solitary Confinement of Elderly Woman, by Matthew Clarke
- New Study Documents Lower Pre-arrest Incomes for Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Are French Prisons Radicalizing Muslim Prisoners?, by Joe Watson
- Prison Survival Guides Find Audience Beyond Soon-to-be Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Merits Ruling on Procedurally Flawed Grievance Satisfies PLRA
- Father of Four Dies in Privately-operated Texas Jail; Civil Suit Expected
- Phoenix Fire Investigators and Insurance Company Implicated in Wrongful Prosecutions, by Joe Watson
- Missouri: Habeas Corpus Granted to Prisoner Denied Jail Credit
- If the Risk is Low, Let Them Go
- California Prison Employees Reap Staggering Overtime Payments, by Christopher Zoukis
- Attica Prison Guards Who Viciously Beat Prisoner Avoid Jail Time but Lose Jobs
- Fifth Circuit Holds Louisiana Prisoner May Sue Over Failure to Credit Good Time , by Matthew Clarke
- $500,000 in Settlements after Utah Prisoner Dies when Medical Technician Doesn’t Show up for Work, by Christopher Zoukis
- Missouri Governor Doesn’t Have to Serve as Public Defender
- More Suicides, Overdoses and Murders in California Prisons, According to Death Review Report, by Joe Watson
- Ninth Circuit Declines to Enforce Procedural Bar When Prison Officials Waive Rule
- Prison Rodeos: A Bunch of Bull?, by David Reutter
- New Mexico County Officials Settle Jail Prisoner’s Suit for $750,000
- Ninth Circuit Adopts Test to Excuse Exhaustion of Administration Remedies for Retaliatory Threats
- Connecticut Prisoners File Suit Over Exposure to Radon Gas, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Prominent Texas Capital Defense Attorney Suspended for a Year
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- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Christopher Zoukis:
- The Contraband Wars Prison authorities target books and mail, miss the goods coming through the staff door, July 1, 2021
- Trump v. Biden on Criminal Justice, Oct. 1, 2020
- Coronavirus in Prison: The Cruel Reality, Aug. 1, 2020
- With Lives of Immigrant Detainees at Risk to COVID-19, Federal Judge Forces ICE’s Hand, July 1, 2020
- A Nation on the Brink, June 15, 2020
- Federal Court Slams Michigan Jail for Bungling COVID-19 Pandemic, Demands Names of Vulnerable Prisoners for Release, June 1, 2020
- Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, June 1, 2020
- New York Judge Orders Release of 18 Rikers Island Detainees Due to COVID-19 Risk, June 1, 2020
- Coronavirus: A Nationwide Survey of the Push for Early Release as Pandemic Fears Grow, May 1, 2020
- California Three-Judge Court Denies Emergency Motion to Reduce Prison Population During Pandemic, May 1, 2020
More from these topics:
- New York City Mayor Appoints Ex-Rikers Prisoner as Corrections Commissioner, March 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Staffing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guard Unions, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Colorado Law Intended to Reduce Prison Population Hasn’t Improved Conditions, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Parole, halfway houses, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Report Finds Persistent Overcrowding Drives Cascade of Problems at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Bail/Pretrial Release, Indictment/Information.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- $300,000 Class-Action Settlement at California Jail Includes Policy Changes; Agreements with Aramark and Wellpath Reached Confidentially, March 1, 2026. Food, Sanitation, Settlements, Class Certification, Monell Liability.
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment in Illinois Prisoner’s Segregation Lawsuit, March 1, 2026. Liberty Interests, Evidence, Totality of Conditions, Ad-Seg Hearings, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Staffing, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Good Time, Drug Treatment/Rehab.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Deliberate Indifference Claim for Baltimore Detainee Served Rotten Food, March 1, 2026. Food, Denial of Religious Services, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Deliberate Indifference.
- Georgia Grand Jury Scolds Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, March 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, March 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, Prison Labor, Hygiene Supplies, Mail, TV/Movies.

