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Jails in Oregon and Washington State Have High Prisoner Death Rates
Loaded on Sept. 5, 2019
by Matthew Clarke, Mark Wilson
published in Prison Legal News
September, 2019, page 20
by Matt Clarke and Mark Wilson
The Spokane County jail in Washington State recently marked its ninth prisoner death since June 2017. But it was hardly unique. A study released in May 2019 by Columbia Legal Services (CLS), a nonprofit law firm, counted 210 prisoner deaths in local …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- DNA: To Collect or Not to Collect?, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Heat Death Reveals Continuing Danger, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania DOC’s New Mail Policy Robs Prisoners of the Personal Touch; Lawsuits Over Legal Mail Settle, by David M. Reutter
- Right to Speedy Trial Not Triggered by Placement in Administrative Segregation, by David M. Reutter
- Court Grants Compassionate Release After BOP Says Prisoner Wasn’t Dying Fast Enough, by Dale Chappell
- GEO Group Cancels Contract to Run New Mexico Private Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Female Attorneys Denied Access to Clients at Missouri Jail Due to Bras, by Edward Lyon
- Colorado DOC Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Treat Thousands of Prisoners with HCV, by Dale Chappell
- Settlement in Class-Action Suit Over SMU Conditions at Georgia Prison, by David M. Reutter
- First Step Act Update: Over 1,600 Sentences Reduced, 3,000 Prisoners Released, by Dale Chappell, Douglas Ankney
- Sleeping Guard Who Allowed Suicidal Prisoner to Hang Himself Prompts $507,500 Settlement, by Dale Chappell
- Virginia Jail Not Responding to Problems Cited in Department of Justice Report, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi County Pays $27,500 to Settle Lawsuit by Prisoner “Jumped” by Other Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- New York City May Expand Investment Bar to Prison Service Providers, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Missouri Sheriff Gets Prison Time for Illegal Cell Phone Tracking, by David M. Reutter
- Wisconsin Prisoner Sues After Injury; Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal, by Scott Grammer
- Oregon Faces State and Federal Contempt Proceedings Over Delayed Competency Services for Mentally Ill Defendants – Again, by Mark Wilson
- Dr. Arthur Zitrin, Anti-Death Penalty Advocate and Bioethicist, Dies at 101, by Scott Grammer
- Court Certifies Class of Former Washington State Prisoners Challenging Debit Release Cards in HRDC Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Jail Administrator, Guard Receive 55-Hour Sentence for Prisoner’s Death, by Scott Grammer
- Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s ADA Case Includes Over $410,000 in Attorney Fees, Costs, by David M. Reutter
- DOJ Probe Finds Alabama Men’s Prisons Overcrowded, Plagued by Ongoing Violence, by David M. Reutter
- No Error When Judge Ignored Iowa Prisoner’s Request for Substitute Appointed Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida DOC Attorney Resigns After Posting Racially-Charged Comments, by David M. Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana’s Sex Offender Treatment Program Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Rider Programs in Idaho Offer Prisoners a Second Chance, by Jayson Hawkins
- Permanent Injunction for Hepatitis C Treatment Entered for Florida Prisoners, by David M. Reutter
- Audit Determines Georgia’s State Prisons More Cost Effective than Private Prisons, by David M. Reutter
- Jackson, Mississippi Pays $300,000 to Settle Jail Wrongful Death Suit, by Dale Chappell
- Prisoner’s Activism Leads Colorado DOC to Reverse Ban on Greeting Cards, Postcards and Drawings, by Matthew Clarke
- Stormy Daniels’ Former Attorney Accused of Ripping Off Prisoner, Other Clients, by Edward Lyon
- Illinois Jail Guard Secretly Prosecuted for Assaulting Prisoner, by Scott Grammer
- Over $488,000 Awarded to Former Michigan Prison Warden in Retaliation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- Massachusetts Prisoners and Visitors Challenge Restrictive Visitation Rules, by Bill Barton
- Plans for a New Federal Prison on Coal Mine Site in Kentucky Withdrawn, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Pennsylvania Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man in Holding Cell, is “Excused” by DA, by Scott Grammer
- Former Prisoner Named Secretary of Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, by Matthew Clarke
- “Feeling Cute” Social Media Challenge Reveals Brutality of Prison Guards, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Files FOIL Petition Against New York State Attorney General’s Office
- Michigan: $9,750 in Damages and Costs in Prison Ramadan Violation Suit, by David M. Reutter
- GEO Group Under Pressure from Shareholders on Human Rights Policy, by David M. Reutter, Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Prison Scandal: Cell Doors that Don’t Lock, Maintenance Funds Misused, by Matthew Clarke
- Maine: Female Detainee Raped by Jailer Wins Lawsuit, by Edward Lyon
- Texas Passes Laws to Preserve Dignity of Women Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Jails in Oregon and Washington State Have High Prisoner Death Rates, by Matthew Clarke, Mark Wilson
- Book Excerpt: Lessons of “The Birdman”, by Marc Mauer, Ashley Nellis
- Federal Court Dismisses GEO Group’s Defenses in Lawsuit Over Pay for Immigrant Detainees, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- When Going to Jail Means Giving Up the Meds that Saved Your Life, by Beth Schwartzapfel
- Opioid Epidemic Impacts Prisons and Jails, by Steve Horn
More from Matthew Clarke:
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
- Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing, June 1, 2026
- Florida Federal Court Excoriates BOP for Health Care Failures, Grants Prisoner Early Release to Seek Treatment for Possible Breast Cancer, June 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026
- Federal Court Partially Enjoins Enforcement of Georgia’s S.B. 185 Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Health Care in DOC, June 1, 2026
- Federal Jury Awards $2,500 to Male Wisconsin Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Female Guard, June 1, 2026
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
More from Mark Wilson:
- Indiana Prisoner Sues Prison Abolition Group, Wins $1,097 Default Judgment, April 26, 2024
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis, Feb. 1, 2024
- Former Oregon Prison Nurse Gets 30 Years for Raping Prisoners, Dec. 1, 2023
- After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, Oct. 15, 2023
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, Oct. 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, Oct. 15, 2023
- Congress Forces BOP to Upgrade Security Cameras, Sept. 15, 2023
- Oregon Will Hold Release Hearings for 73 Prisoners Sentenced to LWOP as Juveniles, Sept. 15, 2023
- Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees, Sept. 15, 2023
- Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Delayed Transfer of Sex Offenders, Sept. 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Jail Specific, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Arrests of Unhoused People Driving Albuquerque Jail Bookings, May 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Jail Specific, housing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its Mass Incarceration Report, May 1, 2026. Geriatric Classification, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Electronic Monitoring, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- The Recycled Police Officer: Research Reveals High Cost of Ignoring Prior Misconduct, May 1, 2026. Harassment by Police, Police Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Excessive Force (Police), Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, May 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Records, COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Databases.

