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Seventh Circuit Grudgingly Affirms Summary Judgment in Illinois’ Prisoner’s Suicide Lawsuit
But Highlights Negligence of DOC and Wexford Health Staff
by Dale Chappell
Hinting that “another area of law” may provide relief, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on August 9, 2021, affirmed summary judgment of a lawsuit filed against the Illinois Department of Corrections …
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More from this issue:
- Living and Dying on Rikers Island: The Latest Installment, by Kevin Bliss
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Omicron Has Arrived. Many Prisons and Jails Are Not Ready., by Beth Schwartzapfel, Keri Blakinger
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Omicron Winter, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Suit by HRDC Alleging GTL and Securus Violated Sherman Anti-Trust Act Survives Motion to Dismiss, by Douglas Ankney
- Long-Time PLN Contributor Released from Solitary Stint in Oregon for ‘Contraband’ Toy Phone, by Jacob Barrett
- $90,000 Paid by Illinois County to Prisoner Tasered by Two Guards He Wasn’t Resisting, by David Reutter
- Inmate Magazine Service Settlement Prohibits Further Sale of Magazine Subscriptions, Orders Payment of $2.2 Million for ‘Consumer Redress’
- Sixth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity for Failure to Protect Michigan Prisoner from Unsafe Working Conditions, by David Reutter
- HRDC Appeals Denial of Public Records Request for Documentation of Secret Settlement in Maine Jail Prisoner’s Excessive Force Lawsuit, by Matthew Clarke
- $10,000 Awarded by Nevada Federal Court to Prisoner Assaulted by Former State Prison Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Employee Union Fighting to Stop Closure of San Diego Federal Detention Center, by Keith Sanders
- Lawsuit Over Winter Power Outage at Brooklyn’s Troubled Federal Detention Center Granted Class Certification, by Kevin Bliss
- Another Death by Taser in Sangamon County, Illinois Jail, by Jayson Hawkins
- Activists Play Whack-a-Mole Closing ICE Detention Centers, by David Reutter
- North Carolina Renames Prisons Whose Names Honored Enslavers, by Matthew Clarke
- Investigations Into the Deaths of Several Prisoners and Two Guards Reveal Rampant Corruption, Cover-ups in California Prison, by Keith Sanders
- $900,000 Settlement in Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Securus Recorded California Prisoner-Attorney Calls, by David Reutter
- Settlement for New Jersey Special Needs Prisoner Students Includes Damages, Fees and Education, by Edward Lyon
- $7,500 Settlement for Pennsylvania Prisoner Assaulted by Guards And Denied Medical Care
- White Supremacist Groups Continue to Infest Florida DOC
- $1 Million Default Judgement for Michigan Jail Prisoner Against Health Care Provider in Sexual Assault, by Mark Wilson
- Transgender Women in Illinois DOC Secure Injunction with Special Monitor, by Casey Bastian
- Seven Prisoners Died in 2021, One by Homicide, at Virginia’s Only Private Prison
- ‘They Know No Bounds’: Suffolk County New York Prosecutors Sent to Prison, by Edward Lyon
- Tennessee CoreCivic Prison Guard Indicted for Beating Unresisting Prisoner, Attempting Cover-up, by Harold Hempstead
- Eighth Circuit Rules Guard’s History of Excessive Force too Prejudicial or a Jury to Hear in Prisoner’s Excessive-Force Case, by Jacob Barrett, Matthew Clarke
- New York Jail Required to Provide Methadone to Detainee for Addiction Treatment
- Fifth Circuit Holds Private Immigration Detention Facilities Are Subject to Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s Prohibition Against Coerced Labor, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit: No Case for Loss of Eye from Medical Neglect Because of Lack of Expert Testimony, by Jacob Barrett
- Fifth Circuit Says Federal Habeas Action May Not Be Used to Challenge Conditions of Confinement Related to COVID-19, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit Continues Trend of Reversing Injunctive Relief Protecting Prisoners From COVID-19, by Douglas Ankney
- Judge Sentences Boss of ‘Horrific’ Cuyahoga Ohio Jail to Prison, by Edward Lyon
- After Second Circuit Rules in His Favor, Connecticut Prisoner Required to Exercise in Full Restraints for Six Months Takes $100,000 Settlement, by Matthew Clarke
- Qualified Immunity Granted in Suit Challenging Policy of “Checking-In” on Nevada Prisoner’s Legal Calls, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Grudgingly Affirms Summary Judgment in Illinois’ Prisoner’s Suicide Lawsuit, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Prison Official Who Gave Prisoner No Notice Before Hearing That Resulted in Transfer to Security Detention, by David Reutter
- California Appeals Court Reverses Dismissal of Charges Against Prisoners Charged in Pelican Bay Riot, by David Reutter
- ‘Disconnect’ Between Illinois Prisoner’s Grievance and Complaint Results In Failure to Exhaust, by Jacob Barrett
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Federal Prisoner’s Tort Claim Against BOP Officials, by Keith Sanders
- $4,000 Federal Bench Verdict to Kentucky Prisoner Assaulted by Guard While Restrained
- News in Brief
More from Dale Chappell:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
- How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Hygiene Supplies, Suicides.
- HRDC’s Washington Jail Debit-Release Card Suit Survives Summary Judgment, Nov. 1, 2025. Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Official Report, HRDC Litigation.
- Washington Prisoners Gain Access to Crisis Hotline, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference, Compassionate Release.
- Dying Mississippi Prisoner Wins Preservation Testimony in Suit Blaming Terminal Cancer on Exposure to Janitorial Chemicals, Nov. 1, 2025. Wexford Health Services, Work Conditions/Safety, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Depositions, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Seventh Circuit Rules Against Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Over Wexford Health’s Poor Psychiatric Care, Nov. 1, 2025. Wexford Health Services, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- $150,000 Paid by Jacksonville for Mother of Five’s Jail Suicide, Nov. 1, 2025. Armor Correctional Health Services, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, Nov. 1, 2025. Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Plumbing, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Summary Judgment, Injunctions, Class Certification, Immigration Detention.
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- Fifth Circuit Remands Louisiana Detainee’s Medical Grievance Case, Nov. 1, 2025. Systemic Medical Neglect, Summary Judgment, Discovery, Pro Se Issues, Grounds for Relief, Deliberate Indifference.
- Preliminary Injunction Halts Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill Prisoners at New York Lockup Where Wildcat Guard Strike Began, Nov. 1, 2025. Work Strikes, Staffing, Exercise, Sanitation, Injunctions (PLRA), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.

