×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
$1.5 Million Awarded for Failure to Protect Rikers Jail Prisoner Who Was Attacked Repeatedly
by Kevin W. Bliss
On June 2, 2021, a federal jury in New York City ruled in favor of a prisoner at the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, deciding the city and the jail’s warden were liable for injuries he suffered there in a 2009 gang attack …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Deaths and Violence Mount at Overcrowded Alabama Prisons While Parole Rate Hits New Low, by Kevin Bliss, Jo Ellen Nott
- Alabama Plan to Relieve Prison Overcrowding: Tap COVID-19 Funds to Build “Mega-Prisons”, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit Refuses to Reinstate Suit by NC Jail Detainee Alleging Denial of Access to Grievance System and Timely Medical Care Prisoner Didn’t Ask the Court to Extend Kingsley Protections, by Keith Sanders
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Death by Incarceration: Study Reveals High Death Rates Inside NY’s State Prisons, by Keith Sanders
- John Boston, The PLRA Handbook: Law and Practice Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, by Michael Mushlin
- Centurion Health Supplants Corizon in Missouri After Court Ruling, by Keith Sanders
- Extreme Sentences for Women in the U.S.: An Overview, by Ashleigh Dye
- Frozen in Place: How Winter Storms Push Texas Jails and Prisons to the Brink, by Tyler Hicks
- Texas Rangers Often Lackadaisical in Prisoner Death Investigations, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, by Derek Gilna
- ICE Settles Florida Detention Facility COVID-19 Class Action, All Detainees Offered Vaccination, by Mark Wilson
- Massachusetts Appellate Court Reinstates Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Food Substitution, by Matthew Clarke
- $14.3 Million in Costs, Attorney Fees and Interest Awarded Against GEO Group in Suits for Not Paying Minimum Wage to Immigrant Detainee Workers in Washington, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Telecom Giant GTL Agrees to $67 Million Settlement in Class-Action Over Inactive Account Seizure Policy, by Anthony Accurso
- After Two Detainee Deaths, CoreCivic Hit With $2,500 Daily Fine for Chronically Short-Staffed Florida Jail
- Eighth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Private Companies Providing Missouri Prisoner’s Health Care, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.65 Million Settlement Reached in Connecticut Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Lupus, by David Reutter
- CFPB Report: ‘Criminal Justice Financial Ecosystem Exploits Families at Every Stage’: Finds ‘Products and Services Rife with Burdensome Fees and Lack of Choice’, by Chuck Sharman
- $325,000 to Detainee Assaulted at East Texas Jail, 90 Days to Former Deputy Who Beat Him While Restrained in Wheelchair, by Jo Ellen Nott
- No Charges So Far Against Former Arizona Corrections Director After Boozy Standoff with Police, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $1.1 Million Colorado Initiative Set to Assist Prisoners With More Employment Opportunities Upon Release, by Keith Sanders
- With $2.95 Million Settlement, San Diego County Jail Racks Up Over $15 Million in Wrongful Death Payments, by Jacob Barrett
- $1.5 Million Awarded for Failure to Protect Rikers Jail Prisoner Who Was Attacked Repeatedly, by Kevin Bliss
- California Supreme Court Reclassifies Clemency Records, No Longer Confidential, by Keith Sanders
- Private Prison Firm Revenues Soar on “Tailwind” of Immigrant Detainees, by Chuck Sharman
- Vermont Hep-C Settlement Agreement Provides Direct-Acting Antivirals to Infected Prisoners, by David Reutter
- $170,000 Damages and Fees As New Jersey Prisons Settle Transgender Lawsuit With New Policy, by Jayson Hawkins
- Ninth Circuit Overturns California Law Banning Private Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Medical Paroles Revoked in California and Massachusetts, by Matthew Clarke
- $170,000 in Attorney’s Fees, Solitary Confinement Reforms Achieved in Settlement of Maine Prisoner’s Lawsuits, by Matthew Clarke
- $325,000 Paid by Colorado County to Jail Detainee Brutalized by Guards Equipped with Controversial Training, by Chuck Sharman
- Third Circuit Says Mixed Dismissal of Civil Rights Action Not a Strike Under PLRA, by David Reutter
- Federal Court Sanctions Wexford for Discovery Abuse in Illinois Prisoner’s Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Tenth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Colorado Prison Officials Who Shut Down Native American Religious Activities, by Jayson Hawkins
- Advocating for Objective Standards in a Post-Kingsley World, by Megha Ram
- $199,000 Awarded to California Detainee Assaulted by Santa Clara County Jail Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- $781 Settlement Paid to Oregon Prisoner Over Censorship of ‘Sexually Explicit’ Text Message
- Ninth Circuit: California Jail Prisoners Have No Constitutional Right Per Se to Outdoor Recreation and Direct Sunlight, by Matthew Clarke
- $100,000 Paid by Pennsylvania DOC to Family of Pro Se Prisoner Litigant Who Committed Suicide, by Kevin Bliss
- Settlement Relieves Death Row Isolation in Louisiana: Four Hours Daily Out of Cell, Five Hours Per Week in New Yard, by Jayson Hawkins
- News In Brief
- $1 Million Settlement in Inadequate Nutrition Class-Action Against New York Jail, by David Reutter
More from Kevin Bliss:
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025
- LGBTQ+ Detainees at Rikers Island Suffer Under Mayor Adams, Sept. 15, 2023
- Government Watchdog Adds BOP to List at “High Risk” of Mismanagement, Sept. 15, 2023
- At Massive and Corrupt Philippine Prison, Contraband Includes Jacuzzis and Horses, Sept. 15, 2023
- Second Circuit Affirms $600,000 Punitive Damage Award to New York Prisoner Brutally Beaten by Guards, Sept. 15, 2023
- Maryland Sheriff Charged with Illegally Procuring Machine Guns from ATF, Sept. 15, 2023
- Voting Rights Restoration for Virginia Ex-Felons Once Again Subject to Governor’s Whim, Sept. 15, 2023
- Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, Aug. 15, 2023
- Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, Aug. 15, 2023
- Idaho Revives Firing Squads, Aug. 15, 2023
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.
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- 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.
- Five Prisoners in Georgia Injured in Fight, Two Months After Three Prisoners Were Killed, April 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- $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.

