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$215,000 Awarded to New Jersey Detainee Assaulted by Jail Guards
by Keith Sanders
On October 22, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey awarded $215,000 in damages to a former pretrial detainee at the Cumberland County Jail (CCJ) for injuries suffered during an assault there by guards and police officers.
Lourenzo Witt, the …
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More from this issue:
- COVID-19 Injunction Lapses in Oregon, Another Fails in Massachusetts, by Mark Wilson
- Unending ‘Crisis’ in San Diego County Jails: Hundreds Dead, Millions in Legal Payouts, by Jo Ellen Nott
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Maine Caps Price of Phone Calls in State Prisons and Jails, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- San Diego County Pays $250,000 After Detainee Suicide in County Jail, by Jayson Hawkins
- New Federal ‘Fresh Start’ Student Loan Policy May Help Prisoners in Default, by Matthew Clarke
- Excessive-Force Claim by Now-Incarcerated Former Maryland Guard Survives, by Harold Hempstead
- South Carolina Judge Halts State Executions by Electrocution and Firing Squad, by David Reutter, Edward Lyon
- Michigan Supreme Court Says Prisoner’s Possession of Cell Phone by Itself Doesn’t Show Threat to Security, by David Reutter
- Ohio County Pays $2.5 Million for Photographing Female Detainees’ Tattooed Private Areas, by Kevin Bliss
- San Diego County Pays $3.488 Million After Jail Detainee Dies in Cell Extraction, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Judge Calls Out BOP’s ‘Plinko’ Tactics, Orders Surgeon Found for Trans Prisoner’s Gender-Confirming Procedure, by Jacob Barrett
- San Diego County Pays $8.1 Million After Jail Guard Fatally Shot Fleeing Detainee in the Back, by Chuck Sharman
- The Catalog of Carceral Surveillance: Tablet Advertising That Can Also Issue Discipline, by Dave Mass
- Rifles, Tasers and Jails: How Cities and States Spent Billions of COVID-19 Relief, by Anastasia Valeeva, Weihua Li, Susie Cagle
- North Dakota Prisoner’s Conviction for Assault on Guard Vacated Due To Erroneous Jury Instruction, by David Reutter
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, by David Reutter
- Washington DOC Fined $84,000 for Health Code Violations Found After TB Outbreak, by Jacob Barrett
- Georgia Jail Settles Suit Filed by Mentally Ill Female Detainees With Policy Changes and $1.2 Million in Attorney Fees and Costs, by Matthew Clarke
- Tenth Circuit Vacates Oklahoma Prisoners’ Witness Tampering Conviction, by David Reutter
- Condemned Alabama Prisoner Now Spared Twice, by Chuck Sharman
- Gang Violence in Texas Federal Prison Results in Two Deaths, Nationwide BOP Lockdown, by Keith Sanders
- $6,000 Sanction for Mississippi Federal Prosecutor Who Lied to Court About COVID-19 Vaccination Status, by David Reutter
- Hawaii Governor Finally Appoints Coordinator for State DOC Oversight Commission, by Douglas Ankney
- Sentencing Reports Show Longer Sentences, Few Compassionate Releases, by Benjamin Tschirhart, Casey Bastian
- Tennessee Governor Suspends Executions, Orders Investigation Into Lethal Injection Process, by Harold Hempstead
- Seventh Circuit: Chicago Police Department’s 30-Day Claim-or-Forfeit Policy for Arrestee Property Is Constitutionally Adequate, by Casey Bastian
- Nebraska Supreme Court Says Revocation of Post-Release Supervision Does Not Bar Prisoner From Earning Good Time Credit, by David Reutter
- Over $386,000 Awarded to Mississippi Prisoner, Plus Hip Surgery He Was Denied, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Rules Federal Prisoner Need Only Know Item Is Prohibited To Support Conviction for Possession of Contraband, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin Pays $8,000 To State Prisoner After Seventh Circuit Revives Retaliation Claim Against Guard Over Destroyed Legal Documents, by David Reutter
- $215,000 Awarded to New Jersey Detainee Assaulted by Jail Guards, by Keith Sanders
- Fifth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Texas Jailers Who Refused Medical Care to Detainee Dying of Drug Overdose, by Matthew Clarke
- Parole Board Members Miss Work, Leaving Nebraska Prisoners Locked Up, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- More Victims Added to Sex Abuse Indictment of Former Federal Prison Warden in California; Former Chaplain Sentenced for Role in ‘Rape Club’, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Georgia Sheriff Agrees To Provide Muslim Prisoners With Halal Meals for Ramadan, by Jacob Barrett
- Wisconsin High Court Admits Into Evidence Secret Tape of Prisoner Made by Fellow Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Mississippi Attempts to Offload Prisoner Healthcare Costs Onto Medicaid, by Anthony Accurso
- $2.1 Million Settlement for Estate of Detainee Who Committed Suicide in Scandal-Plagued Ohio Jail, by David Reutter
- Alabama Prisoner Who Escaped With Jail Guard Lover Charged in Her Death on the Run, by Kevin Bliss
- Experimenting on Prisoners: New California Lawsuits Reveal Old Abuses, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Nearly $13.5 Million Restitution Order Against Federal Prisoner, by Anthony Accurso
- Maine Settles Suit Over COVID-19 Jobless Benefits Seized From Prisoners, by Jayson Hawkins
- News in Brief
More from Keith Sanders:
- No Summary Judgment for Private Transportation Company in Maryland Detainee’s Suit Alleging “Horrific” 2,000-Mile Journey, Sept. 15, 2023
- California College Offers Housing, Services to Formally Incarcerated Students, Aug. 15, 2023
- New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, Aug. 15, 2023
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner Another $1,000 for Denied Records, Aug. 15, 2023
- Prisoner Who Reached $11,400 Retaliation Settlement with South Dakota Jail Tries Again with DOC, July 15, 2023
- More Success for Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs in Prisons and Jails, July 15, 2023
- $15,001 Verdict Against Delaware Guard for Gaping Prisoner’s Butt During Strip Search, July 15, 2023
- Study Shows COVID-19 Drove Prison Death Rates 50% Higher, June 15, 2023
- Wellpath Subsidiary Out of Australian Women’s Prison After Indigenous Prisoner’s Death, June 15, 2023
- Specialized Police Units Hunt People for ICE, June 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.
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, May 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Obstruction of Justice, Wrongful Use of Force, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, May 1, 2026. Work Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Train/Supervise, Police--Excessive Force, Deliberate Indifference.
- 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.
- $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.
- South Dakota Sobriety Program Participants Will No Longer Be Jailed for Non-Payment of Fees, March 1, 2026. Settlements, Class Certification, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention, Ability to Pay.
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, March 1, 2026. Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.

