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Wrongful Death Suit Against Tennessee Town Settles for $6,000
by Monte McCoin
A $1 million lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who died at the city jail in Kingsport, Tennessee following a 2015 DUI arrest settled on February 28, 2017 for just $6,000.
Judy Honaker alleged that the City of Kingsport and two jailers, …
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More from this issue:
- Wisconsin Settles State Prisoner’s Lawsuits for $13,000
- Hawaii Prison System Failing to Uphold Agreement on Mental Health Care
- Settlement in Lawsuit Over Missouri Jail Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Settlement after Connecticut Police Chief’s Son Assaults Handcuffed Prisoner, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Prisoners Receive Inadequate Legal Representation from State Agency, by Edward Lyon
- Ohio Death Row Prisoner Avoids Execution then Dies in Prison, by Derek Gilna
- Kansas Jail Prisoners Win Lawsuit Over Postcard-only Policy, by Edward Lyon
- Prisons Don’t Damage Only Prisoners; Guards at Risk of PTSD and Suicide, Too, by Christopher Zoukis
- Texas Prisoner in Administrative Segregation Transition Program Murders Cellmate
- Transgender Prisoner Issues Result in Litigation, Policy Changes
- Mentally Ill Colorado Prisoner Who Gouged Out His Eyes Sues Sheriff, by Edward Lyon
- Trinity Services Group Faces Complaints Due to Inadequate Prison and Jail Food, by Edward Lyon
- Guantanamo Bay Prison to Remain Open, Trump Announces, by Derek Gilna
- Idaho DOC and Corizon Held in Contempt in Long-standing Lawsuit, by Derek Gilna
- New California Parole Board Guidelines, Reforms Face Opposition, by Edward Lyon
- Ohio: Federal Lawsuit Over Jail Beating Settles for $70,000, by Christopher Zoukis
- Mississippi DOC Announces Phone Rate Cuts, by Monte McCoin
- Ninth Circuit Orders Sealing of Court Documents that Reveal Informant, by Matthew Clarke
- Kansas Prisoner Who Warned “Something is Eating my Brain” Dies of Untreated Brain Infection, by Derek Gilna
- Indiana County Pays $28,000 to Settle Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit, by Dale Chappell
- Percentage of Americans with Felony Convictions Increases, Especially for Blacks, by Christopher Zoukis
- Federal Civil Rights Suit for California Jail Beating Settles for $100,000, by Derek Gilna
- Ohio: $275,000 Settlement in Jail Detainee’s Suicide
- Ex-cons Turn Prison Workouts into Real Jobs, Transform Lives, by Dale Chappell
- California: A Prison by any Other Name is Still a Prison, by Edward Lyon
- $100,000 Settlement in Suit Over Hawaii Guard’s Sexual Assault of Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Cause of Action for Shaming Sex Therapy May Not Accrue Until after Release from Prison
- Who is in Private Prisons? New Study Provides Surprising Answers, by Christopher Zoukis
- Settlement in Federal Suit Over Treatment of Disabled Detainees in Northern California Jail, by Christopher Zoukis
- Protest Results in Three Arrests at CoreCivic’s Annual Shareholders Meeting
- Lawsuits Filed Against GEO Group for Wage Violations at Detention Facilities, by Christopher Zoukis, Matthew Clarke
- Tennessee: Jail Guard Charged with Taser Assault
- Incorrect Cause of Tennessee Prisoner’s Death Reported by CoreCivic Employees
- Mentally Incompetent Detainees Stuck in California Jails Spark Class-action Lawsuit, Fines, by Christopher Zoukis
- Lawsuit Over Rikers Island Suicide Settles for $380,000, by Christopher Zoukis
- Influenza Season Hits Nation’s Prisons and Jails, by Greg Dober
- Solitary: The Inside Story of Supermax Isolation and How We Can Abolish It, by Dr. Terry Allen Kupers (University of California Press, September 2017). 304 pages, $29.95 hardcover, by Christopher Zoukis
- Abuses at Orange County and San Bernardino Jails Cost Taxpayers Millions, by Dale Chappell
- MacAuthur Justice Center Files Lawsuit Over Missouri Parole Revocations, by Matthew Clarke
- Numerous Deaths, Sealed Settlements in North Carolina Jails, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania DOC Bans Timberland Boots; Prisoner Files Suit Seeking Injunction, by Monte McCoin
- PLN Postcard-only Suit Against Knox County, Tennessee Settles for $87,000, by Steve Horn
- HRDC Files Censorship Suit Against Sheriff in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
- When Prisons and Jails Switch to Video Calling, by Derek Gilna
- Prison Labor: Positive Programming or Modern-day Slavery?, by Christopher Zoukis
- Guards Sentenced for Beating Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, by David Reutter
- Water at Massachusetts Prison Under Scrutiny from Prisoners, Advocates, Public Agencies, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Wrongful Death Suit Against Tennessee Town Settles for $6,000, by Monte McCoin
- As More Prisons Shutter, Governments Wonder What to Do With Them, by Daniel C. Vock
- The Results are in: Prison Legal News Reader Survey!, by Steve Horn
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Crisis in Maryland as Mentally Incompetent Defendants Languish in County Jails, by Christopher Zoukis
- News in Brief
- While in Custody: The Fight to Stop Jail Deaths in Washington State, by Ciara O’Rourke
More from Monte McCoin:
- North Carolina Prison Guard Sues Over Religious Discrimination, March 5, 2019
- Israeli Supreme Court Orders Increased Personal Space for Prisoners, March 5, 2019
- Metropolitan Detention Center Guards Convicted in Sex Abuse Scandal, Jan. 8, 2019
- Harvard Student Group Advocates for Prison Education, Reform, Jan. 8, 2019
- Trump Establishes Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry, Jan. 8, 2019
- Florida: Suit Continues Against CoreCivic for Rape of Developmentally Disabled Child, Dec. 7, 2018
- Military-Style Attack on Brazilian Prison Kills 20 Prisoners, One Guard, Dec. 5, 2018
- Former Jailhouse Lawyer Bobby Battle Dies at Age 80, Dec. 5, 2018
- States Implementing New Technology to Fight Contraband Smuggling Via Drone, Nov. 6, 2018
- Florida: Federal Prison Guard Sentenced for Accepting Bribe, Oct. 12, 2018
More from these topics:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Bedding, Settlements.
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, April 1, 2026. Voting, Advocacy, Settlements, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Virginia Jail Suicide Results in $950,000 Settlement, Claims Against Wellpath still Pending, April 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Settlements, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides.
- $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.
- South Dakota Sobriety Program Participants Will No Longer Be Jailed for Non-Payment of Fees, March 1, 2026. Settlements, Class Certification, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention, Ability to Pay.
- $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, Jan. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Food, Settlements, First Amendment, rights, Dismissal.
- HRDC Sues New Mexico County for Violating 10-Year-Old Settlement of Censorship Suit, Jan. 1, 2026. Settlements, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment.
- $4 Million Settlement Reached in Class Action Challenge to Conditions at Shuttered St. Louis “Workhouse” Jail, Dec. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Settlements, Class Certification.
- $6.49 Million Settlement for 600,000 Prisoners in Massive CorrectCare Data Breach Class Action, Dec. 1, 2025. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Damages, Settlements, Privacy Act/Rights.
- Arkansas Prison Reaches ADA Settlement, Dec. 1, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Systemic Medical Neglect, Water, Settlements, Americans with Disabilities Act.

