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$5.5 Million Settlement to California Prisoner Left Incapacitated After Suicide Attempt at Santa Cruz County Jail
by Ed Lyon
On December 16, 2021, a federal court in California approved a $5.5 million settlement between Santa Cruz County and the estate of a former prisoner at the county jail whose attempt on his own life there left him an invalid.
Sometime after 11 a.m. …
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More from this issue:
- PrimeCare: Less Medical Care for Prisoners, Higher Expenses for Taxpayers, More Profits for Corporate Owner, by Matthew Clarke
- Vermont Supreme Court: Removing Prisoner From Programming Is Reviewable When Catalyst Was Punitive
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $11 Million Settlement Reached in Tennessee Suit Alleging False Arrest and False Imprisonment of Minors, by Edward Lyon
- Nine Deaths in Three Years at CoreCivic Jail in Florida, None From COVID-19
- $5.5 Million Settlement to California Prisoner Left Incapacitated After Suicide Attempt at Santa Cruz County Jail, by Edward Lyon
- Pittsburgh Jail Records 13 Deaths in Two Years, Only One From COVID-19, by Jo Ellen Nott
- California Federal Court Approves Consent Decree Upgrading Mental Health Care at Alameda County Jail, by David Reutter
- Trapped in The Floods: With Floodwaters Rising, Prisoners Wait for Help in Floating Feces, by Alleen Brown
- Fifth BOP Staffer Arrested in “Rape Club” at California Federal Prison, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Eighth Circuit Rules Pretrial Detainees and Prisoners Have Right to Visit Family Members
- Tenth Circuit Says Parolee May Not be Forced to Participate in Religious Program Under Threat of Jail, by David Reutter
- $8.5 Million Paid by Pennsylvania DOC for Death of Asthmatic Prisoner Improperly Pepper-Sprayed, by Matthew Clarke
- Investigation Finds Hundreds of Unreported Deaths in Tennessee Prisons and Jails, by Harold Hempstead
- $260,000 in Attorney Fees Awarded by California Federal Court after Finding Governing State Law Not Impacted by PLRA, by David Reutter
- Multiple Florida DOC Guards Convicted of Assault, Smuggling and Child Sex Abuse, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Hawaii Supreme Court Orders New Parole Hearing for Prisoner Held Since 1979, by Douglas Ankney
- $2.2 Million Settlement Over Transgender Georgia Prisoner’s Suicide Is Largest in State DOC History, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit Says Georgia Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Remedies by Filing Late Grievance to Ask for Investigation that Was Already Underway, by David Reutter
- Nevada Federal Court Denies Motion to Compel Arbitration by Rapid Financial Solutions in Debit Card Suit, by David Reutter
- $6,500 Paid by Nevada DOC After Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Withholding Evidence From Prisoner Accused of Smuggling Meth in Mail, by David Reutter
- Ecuador’s Prison System in Catastrophic Crisis, by Edward Lyon
- What to Know about Using Pell Grants to Take College Classes in Prison, by Richard Hahn
- $725,000 Settlement Reached in North Carolina Prisoner’s Suicide at Troubled Jail, by Keith Sanders
- $316,673 Settlement in New Mexico Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Stabbing at GEO-Operated Private Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Guard Arrested for Running “Fight Club” in New Jersey Prison Kitchen, by Ashleigh Dye, Jayson Hawkins
- Tenth Circuit Says Disabled Colorado Prisoner Offered Diapers Rather Than Bathroom Pass May Deserve Damages Under ADA, by David Reutter
- Sweetheart Deal Nets GEO Group $15 Million Payout from ICE for Haitian Deportation Flights, by Ashleigh Dye
- Ninth Circuit Says Nevada DOC Not Micromanaged by Requirement to Treat Prisoner’s Severe Mental Illness; Upholds Preliminary Injunction, by Matthew Clarke
- Con Who Conned Cons is Sentenced to Federal Prison
- Absenteeism Skyrockets for New York City Jail Guards, Up 215% Over the Last Two Years, by Jo Ellen Nott
- DOJ Reaches Settlement Over Disability Access With Vermont Prison System, by Jacob Barrett
- Ninth Circuit: Error to Instruct Jury to Defer to Medical Staff’s Asserted Security Justification for Terminating California Prisoner’s Morphine Prescription Without Tapering, by Matthew Clarke
- Preliminary Injunction Granted to Illinois Prisoner to Receive Non-Allergenic Kosher Meals, by David Reutter
- Connecticut Supreme Court Rules That Prisoner Was Denied Due Process with Sex Offender Classification, by Harold Hempstead
- Lifting Six-Year Moratorium, Oklahoma Treats Witnesses to Convulsing and Vomiting Prisoner During Execution, by Keith Sanders
- Washington State Supreme Court Holds that Denying Wheelchair-Bound Prisoner Access to Water and Toilet Facilities Violates State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
- HRDC Sues New Hampshire Jail over Publications Banned under No-Hard-Copy Mail Policy, by Sam Rutherford
- HRDC Sues Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for Banning its Books, by Sam Rutherford
More from Edward Lyon:
- “There you go, Agent Orange!” Former South Carolina Sheriff Federally Indicted for Assaulting Jail Detainee, May 1, 2024
- Texas Prisons are Fire Traps, July 15, 2023
- The World’s Biggest Prison, July 15, 2023
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, June 15, 2023
- Civilian Police With Military Equipment, June 15, 2023
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, June 1, 2023
- Warden Ousted from Troubled Alabama Prison After DUI Arrest, May 1, 2023
- $20,000 Settlement for Ohio Prisoner’s Slip-and-Fall Injury, May 1, 2023
- $32,500 Medical Malpractice Award to Ohio Prisoner for Ripped-Out Catheter, May 1, 2023
- New York State’s Veterans Treatment Courts, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Discovery, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Deliberate Indifference.
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Public Records Act, False Imprisonment.
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, June 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- 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.
- Arkansas Supreme Court Bows to Governor’s Board of Correction Takeover, June 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Settlements, State Legislation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- California Pays $15,000 to State Prisoner Who Claimed He Was Targeted by Guards, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Summary Judgment, Settlements.
- 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.

