×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Former Texas Prisoner Wins 12-Year Fight for Justice
by Kevin W. Bliss
In May 2006, Daryl Davis was serving a 37-year sentence for beating his girlfriend with a beer bottle, when he was assaulted — twice — at Texas’ Polunsky Unit by members of a Black prison gang, the Mandingo Warriors. They viciously beat Davis, once …
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:
- Convictions at Any Cost: DOJ Report Slams Three Decades of Snitches and Due Process Violations in California’s Orange County, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- New BOP Director Clears Up First Step Act Implementation, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Incarcerated People Have Few Ways to Fight Back Against Censorship in Prisons, by Tamar Sarai
- Burning Tires Left Louisiana Prisoners With Migraines, Breathing Problems, and Minimal Medical Care As black smoke poured out of a burning tire dump in Louisiana, people inside the prison next door struggled to keep the fumes out., by Alleen Brown
- Ninth Circuit Says Statements Relayed at Criminal Trial By Nurse and Doctor Are Admissible, Not Hearsay, by David Reutter
- $959,000 Paid by Pennsylvania County in Deaths of Two Detainees, Plus at Least $750,000 from PrimeCare, by Ashleigh Dye
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Virginia Prisoner’s Spoliation Motion for Lost Video of His Alleged Assault by Guards, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge in Pennsylvania Rules BOP Must Honor Transgender Prisoner’s Legal Name Change, by Casey Bastian
- Tenth Circuit Says Prison Work Assignment Covered Under ADA Protections, by Kevin Bliss
- Seventh Circuit: Indiana Prisoner Who Failed to Formalize Grievance Also Failed to Exhaust Remedies, by David Reutter
- Investigation Reveals “Black Market in Broad Daylight” for Prison Food, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Record Deaths at Rikers Island Blamed on Guards’ Absenteeism, Abuse and Corruption, by Anthony Accurso, David Reutter
- $20,000 Paid by Centurion and MHM Health Professionals to Arizona Prisoner for Alleged Deliberate Indifference and Medical Negligence, by Jacob Barrett
- Third Circuit Strips Qualified Immunity From Delaware Guards Who Held Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary for Seven Months, by David Reutter
- Too Many Alabama Prisoners Still Dying with Too-Few Guards, Many Corrupt, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Former Tennessee Police Chief Sentenced to Six Years for Abusing Arrestees, by Kevin Bliss
- Florida Jailers Leave Detainees Out of Evacuation Plans During Hurricane, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Revives Failure-to-Protect Claim of Arizona Prisoner Beaten by Gang, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Says California Felons Can Fight Fires While Imprisoned, But Not After, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Arizona DOC Accused of Cheating Both Guards and Prisoners Out of Hourly Wages, by Keith Sanders
- Fourth Circuit Says Prisoners with Gender Dysphoria not Excluded from ADA Protection, by Harold Hempstead
- Former Texas Prisoner Wins 12-Year Fight for Justice, by Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Resumes Executions, by Eike Blohm, MD, Chuck Sharman
- Student Loan Debt and Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- After Federal Judge Censors Lawyer’s Tweets About CoreCivic, Company Settles Suit Over Tennessee Prisoner’s Murder by Cellmate, by Harold Hempstead
- New Report Estimates U.S. Prisons Hold Nearly 50,000 People in Solitary Confinement, by Jennifer Taylor
- Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Derivative Sovereign Immunity for Jail Physician, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Says Three-Strikes Federal Prisoner’s Imminent Danger Claim Must Be Evaluated on ‘Totality of Circumstances’, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Nevada Federal Court Says Prisoner’s § 1983 Suit Should’ve Been a Habeas Petition, But Returns Filing Fee, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Mississippi Sheriffs in Suit Over Mentally Ill Man’s Years-long Unlawful Detention, by Matthew Clarke
- Georgia Jails Faulted in Struggle With High COVID-19 Infection Rates, by Kevin Bliss
- PLN Contributor’s Retaliation Suit Against Oregon Prison Officials Survives, by Jacob Barrett
- Seventh Circuit Trims What Indiana Prisoner Owes Jail Doctor in Lost Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Prisoner Health Update: Hepatitis C, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Under New Mississippi Law, State Chooses Execution Method, by David Reutter
- Florida Makes Parolees Criminally Liable for Accidental Voter Registration Fraud, by David Reutter
- Award Slashed for Delaware Prisoner Sexually Groped by Guard, by Kevin Bliss
- Oklahoma Jail Guard Gets 46 Months for Setting Up White Supremacist Attack on Black Detainees, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge Refuses to Shorten Corruption Sentence for Former Head of New York City Jail Guards’ Union, by Matthew Clarke
- DOJ Releases Special Report on U.S. Prison COVID-19 Response, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Former Judges in Pennsylvania ‘Kids for Cash’ Scandal Must Pay $206 Million in Damages, by Ashleigh Dye
- $60,000 Paid by Pennsylvania County to Jail Detainee Savagely Beaten by Cellmate While Guards Allegedly Ignored Cries for Help, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- $300,000 Paid by Colorado to Prisoner Sexually Harassed by Guard with Foot Fetish, by Harold Hempstead
- $98,000 Paid by BOP to Immigrant Detainees Racially Profiled as Terrorists in New York City Lockup, by Kevin Bliss
- $480,000 Paid by California County to Detainee Whose Newborn Died After Guards Stopped at Starbucks en Route to Hospital, by Ashleigh Dye
- Former BOP Warden Convicted of Sexually Abusing Prisoners in California ‘Rape Club’ Scandal, by Kevin Bliss
- Fifth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Mississippi Cops Who Let Injured Hemophiliac Bleed Out in Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
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.
- 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.

