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$100,000 Settlement in Suit Over Hawaii Guard’s Sexual Assault of Prisoner
by Matt Clarke
The State of Hawaii and a former prison guard have each agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a female prisoner who was sexually assaulted.
Stormy Rae Smith was serving a five-year sentence at the Women’s Community Correctional Center in Honolulu …
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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 Matthew Clarke:
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
- D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, Feb. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Adoption of Transferred Intent Self-Defense, Jan. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- New York State Moves to Dismiss Hundreds of Prison Sexual Assault Lawsuits, Feb. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Authority and Jurisdiction, Access To Courts.
- $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.
- Hawaii Prison Warden Reinstated After Being Fired in 2014 for Sexual Harassment, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Supervisor-Staff Harassment, Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Employee Litigation.
- Prisoner Assaulted by BOP Guard and Left With Bleeding Rectum—Then the Cover-Up Began, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliatory Segregation, Malicious Prosecution, Restraints.
- New Jersey Breaks Ground on New $330 Million Women’s Prison After Raid at Old Facility, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- $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.
- $2.4 Million Paid to Indiana Prisoners Sickened With Legionnaire’s Disease by Contaminated Water, Nov. 1, 2025. Contagious Disease -- Misc., Water, Settlements, Municipal Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.

