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Lawsuit Over Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Fatal Asthma Attack Allegedly Triggered by Excessive Use of Pepper Spray
by Matt Clarke
The estate of a Philadelphia man who died of asthma in a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) prison filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the DOC and officials alleging he was denied adequate medical care after excessive amounts of pepper spray were deployed against …
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More from this issue:
- The Punishment Economy: Winners and Losers in the Business of Mass Incarceration, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Use of Solitary Confinement During Pandemic Detrimental To Prisoners and Not Slowing Spread of COVID-19, by Chad Marks
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Why Did a St. Louis Man Die in a Federal Prison Coronavirus Hotspot?, by Mike Fitzgerald
- Texas Prisons Close Amid Pandemic, by Jayson Hawkins
- The Importance of Establishing Veterans Benefits While in Prison, by Art Gage
- ICE Holding Cuban Detainee for 11 Years and Counting Following Florida Prison Release, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Alabama Prisons, Among Deadliest for COVID-19, Not Prepared to Vaccinate Prisoners, by Kevin Bliss
- Amid Widespread Calls for Abolition, Mariame Kaba Sheds Light With Latest Book, by Juliette LaMarr
- Massachusetts Uses Medical Parole to Avoid In-Custody Deaths From COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Second Circuit Reinstates Acquitted New York City Man’s Claims of Police Due Process Violations and Excessive Use of Force by Jailers, by Matthew Clarke
- Music Project Brings Prisoners’ Stories to Life in Song, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Report: Massachusetts Prisons Continue to Fail on Mental Health Care, by Jayson Hawkins
- Federal Court: COVID-19 Vaccine Must be Available to All Oregon Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Idaho Supreme Court Orders Release of Death Penalty Related Documents, by David Reutter
- BOP’s Terminal Island Response Sparked COVID-19 Spread, by Mark Wilson
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Lawsuit Alleging New York Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Qualified Immunity Granted on Claim of Sleep Deprivation From Guard Noise During Suicide-Prevention Checks in California, by David Reutter
- Texas Moves to Deny Housing for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- California State Prisoners Pay Teen’s School Tuition, by Edward Lyon
- Smoking on the Chain Gang, by David Reutter
- Medical Copays for Prisoners Suspended in Several States Due to COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Washington State Governor Signs Bill Banning Private Prisons Statewide, by Juliette LaMarr
- Pandemic Medical Update: Vaccines, Variants and More, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Southern Republican Senators Criticize Third Pandemic Relief Bill for Giving Payments to Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Broad Support for North Carolina Bill to Bar Shackling Pregnant Prisoners, by Daniel Matheson
- Judge Slaps Arizona With $1.1 Million Fine Over Prison Health Care, by David Reutter
- With the majority of corrections officers declining the COVID-19 vaccine, incarcerated people are still at serious risk, by Wanda Bertram, Wendy Sawyer
- HRDC Wins FOIA Lawsuit filed in Washington State for Unredacted ICE Documents, by David Reutter
- Report: Private Company Rubber-Stamps Inspections of Abuse-Ridden ICE Detention Camps, by Kevin Bliss
- Family of San Quentin Prisoner Who Died of COVID-19 Due to “Horribly Botched Transfer” Files Lawsuit, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Calls for the End of Solitary Confinement at Michigan Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Washington Supreme Court Holds Ongoing Contempt Not Required to Impose Sanctions for Violating Injunction Against Releasing Sex Offender Records, by Matthew Clarke
- Repairing Credit After Release from Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- Report: Border Patrol Misappropriated Funds and Failed to Provide Proper Medical Care to Accurately Report Migrant Deaths, by Douglas Ankney
- Biden’s Justice Department Nomination Faces Aggressive Opposition From Senate Republicans, by Juliette LaMarr
- Lawsuit Over Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Fatal Asthma Attack Allegedly Triggered by Excessive Use of Pepper Spray, by Matthew Clarke
- Narrowing the Remedial Gap: Damages for Disability Discrimination in Outsourced Federal Programs, by Margo Schlanger
- COVID-19 Kills Jeffery Epstein’s Former Cellmate, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
- Banksy Artwork Appears on Jail in England, by David Reutter
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
- 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
More from these topics:
- San Diego Guard Who Fatally Shot Fleeing Detainee Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison, July 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Shootings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Police), Wrongful Use of Force.
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Pepper Spraying Incident Prompts Policy Change at Washington Women’s Prison, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Settlements, Staff Training, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Washington Governor Fires Independent Prison Watchdog, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- $950,000 Settlement Reached for Pennsylvania Jail Detainee Repeatedly Pepper-Sprayed During Mental Health Episodes, April 1, 2026. Clothing, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
- $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, April 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Religious Practices, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- $10.3 Million Paid for Teen’s Death at Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility, April 1, 2026. Restraints, Qualified Immunity, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Alabama’s Non-Solution to the Crisis Overtaking Its Prisons, April 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), False Statements, Testimony or Documents, False Statements/Perjury.

