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Maine Settles Suit Over COVID-19 Jobless Benefits Seized From Prisoners
by Jayson Hawkins
Like many prison systems across America, Maine’s Department of Corrections (DOC) has a work-release program that allows prisoners to hold jobs in local communities while serving their sentence. But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, the programs were suspended as part of 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 Jayson Hawkins:
- Bad Lawyering, Bankruptcy Torpedo Suit Over Delaware Prisoner’s Death, July 15, 2023
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, June 15, 2023
- Financial Pressure Finally Brings Police Reform, June 15, 2023
- “Slap On the Wrist” for California Bail Agents Who Hired Bounty Hunter Who Killed Their Client, May 1, 2023
- MTV Documentary Shines Light on Art Behind Bars, May 1, 2023
- Arizona Prisoner Condemned Again for Cellmate’s Murder, May 1, 2023
- U.S. Response to Haitian Crisis: Fund More Prisons, April 1, 2023
- Former State Prison Guards in Georgia Sentenced for Prisoner Assaults and Cover-Up, April 1, 2023
- After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity, March 15, 2023
- Time to Find the Key, March 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.
- Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, May 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Records, COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Databases.
- $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, Feb. 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, Jan. 1, 2026. Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- 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.
- CoreCivic Pays $82,500 for First COVID-19 Death at San Diego ICE Lockup, Nov. 1, 2025. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, COVID-19, Federal Tort Claims Act, Failure to Train/Supervise, Detention - Generally.
- Review: “Reforming the Shadow Carceral State”, Aug. 1, 2025. Reviews, Criminal justice system reform, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Fines.
- $815,000 Settlement in Nevada Class-Action Suit Over Debit Release Cards, Aug. 1, 2025. Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts.
- $2.8 Million Settlement in National NUMI Debit Release Card Class Action, June 1, 2025. Release and Reentry, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Prisoner Property, Trust Accounts.
- Wellpath Prepares Plan to Exit Bankruptcy, May 1, 2025. Private Contractors, Seizure of Prisoner Funds.

