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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:
- 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.
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- $3 Million Paid by San Diego County for Diabetic Detainee’s Jail Death; NaphCare Settles Separately for Undisclosed Amount, Sept. 1, 2026. Naphcare, Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Damages, Settlements.
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Hawai‘i Pays $600,000 for Prisoner’s Withdrawal Death, Sept. 1, 2026. Medication, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Exposure to Heat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.

