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$115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner
by David M. Reutter
After reaching a $115,000 settlement with the Maine Department of Corrections (DOC), a state prisoner dismissed his suit on October 21, 2021, in which he alleged guards at the Maine State Prison (MSP) used excessive force against him when they deployed eight times the …
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More from this issue:
- Cages Without Bars Are Widening the Net: The Explosion of Electronic Monitoring, by James Kilgore, Brian Dolinar
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Amended Consent Decree Entered in 11-Year-Old Class-Action Challenging Prisoner Healthcare in Illinois DOC, by Douglas Ankney
- Hawaii Inmate Deaths Are The Highest In 10 Years. But The State Can’t Say Why Corrections officials still aren’t providing a cause of death for 20 of the 23 prisoners who died in Hawaii prisons and jails last year., by Kevin Dayton
- Minnesota Department of Corrections Searching for Tattooist for New Prison Program, by Jacob Barrett
- Arizona Prisoners Win Preliminary Injunctions Requiring Centurion To Treat Them, by David Reutter
- Florida Arrests Ex-Felons for Voter Fraud, by David Reutter
- Music Stops in Fifth Circuit’s Qualified Immunity ‘Dance,’ Leaving Plaintiffs With Shortened Discovery Period, by Matthew Clarke
- Plastic Surgery Has a Troubled History Inside Prisons. Some Advocates Want It to Make a Comeback. Should cosmetic procedures be part of how society prepares prisoners to reenter it?, by Zara Stone
- Louisville Jail Counts 12 Deaths in Ten Months, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Agrees With Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Access-to-Courts Claim, But Grants Defendants Qualified Immunity, by David Reutter
- Rhode Island Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike, Staff Denies It, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- $3 Million From Forsyth County, No Stay in Civil Case Against Wellpath Nurse Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter of N.C. Jail Detainee, by Eike Blohm, MD
- California City Ends Private Jail Operator’s Contract After Mass Employee Resignations, by Keith Sanders
- Eighth Circuit Revives Missouri Prisoner’s Claim Against Prison Food Manager for Denying Renal Diet, by David Reutter
- Nevada Muslim Prisoner Wins Suit Over Denial of Jumu’ah Prayer, by Harold Hempstead
- Guards Fleeing Texas Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Qualified Immunity Cannot Shield Them’: Fourth Circuit Advances Suit by Virginia Prisoners for Overlong Solitary Confinement, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- California Prison Guards Sentenced for Assaulting Prisoners, by Jacob Barrett
- Eleventh Circuit Says Passover Sign-Up Requirement in Florida Jail Passes Constitutional Muster, by David Reutter
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants Records but No Damages for Prisoner Making Request, by Jacob Barrett
- Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Kill the Right to Abortion Under BOP Policy?, by Dale Chappell
- California Guards Kill Two Prisoners Who Attacked a Third, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Second Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Wardens Accused of Violating Religious Freedom of Muslim Prisoners in Connecticut, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Prisoner Health Update: MRSA Infections, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Idaho Cancels Execution Because It Cannot Obtain Lethal Injection Drugs, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Arizona Jail Racks Up Four Deaths And Two Escapes In Less Than Two Months, by Chuck Sharman
- BOP Settles for $4.18 Million With Six Prisoners Raped by Guard at Now-Shuttered Manhattan Federal Jail, by Casey Bastian
- Fifth Circuit Holds PLRA’s ‘Three-Strikes’ Provision Does Not Apply to Actions Removed From State Court, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Pays $185,000 to State Prisoner Bitten in Genitals by K-9, by Keith Sanders
- Incarceration Exacerbates Obesity in America, by Keith Sanders
- Former Felons Elected to Rhode Island Legislature, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Investor Lawsuit Against GEO Group Trimmed, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge in South Carolina Holds BOP Liable for Delayed Treatment That Left Federal Prisoner Partially Blinded, by Casey Bastian
- $450,000 Settlement to Illinois Prisoner Whose Untreated Boil Left Him Paraplegic, by Harold Hempstead
- California Prison Officials Cleared After Prisoner Murders Two Sex Offenders, by David Reutter
- $3.5 Million Paid To Estate Of Iowa Jail Detainee Who Suffered Seizure And Died When Left Unattended, by Keith Sanders
- New Connecticut Law Restricts Use of Solitary Confinement, by Keith Sanders, David Reutter
- Daughter of Condemned Missouri Prisoner Unsuccessfully Sues to Witness His Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Former South Carolina Sheriff Begins 46-Month Prison Term for Corruption, by Ashleigh Dye
- ‘Tragic and Wholly Unacceptable’ Gang Violence Erupts at Georgia Women’s Prison, by Jenifer Lockwood
- Virginia Swipes Sentence Credits From 560 Prisoners Just About to Get Out, by David Reutter
- Georgia Prisoner Sentenced to Death for Killing Two Guards Dies by Apparent Suicide, by Keith Sanders
- GEO Group Gets Another Extension to Biden’s Deadline for USMS at California Prison, by Jenifer Lockwood
- UCLA Study Finds Over Half of ‘Natural’ Deaths Inside L.A. County Jails Showed Signs of Physical Harm, by Keith Sanders
- Ex-Prisoner Re-Elected to New York State Assembly, by Keith Sanders
- Over $237,000 Awarded in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Suit Accusing Guard of Unwanted Sexual Advances, by Kevin Bliss
- Fifth Circuit: Martinez Report May Not Override Factual Allegations in Prisoner’s Complaint, by Matthew Clarke
- Potentially Fatal Legionella Bacteria Found at Six Illinois Prisons, by Casey Bastian
- OIG Report Defers Claims That ICE Detainees in Georgia Had Forced Hysterectomies, by Ashleigh Dye
- Second Circuit: N.Y. Detainee Didn’t Fail to Exhaust Administrative Remedies When Jail Grievance Procedure Excluded Matter Forming Basis of Claim, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Time for Me to Go’: Troubled Oklahoma Jail Loses Administrator, by Matthew Clarke
- Mississippi Demands $1.9 Million From MTC For Short-Staffing Private State Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- Oklahoma Raises Pay for Execution Doctors From $300 to $15,000 Per Execution, Still Won’t Say Who They Are or What They Do, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Sues Wyoming Jail for Unlawful Censorship, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi Reopens Walnut Grove Prison Just in Time for Prison Population Explosion, by Harold Hempstead
- $115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Florida Supreme Court: Trial Courts Have Authority to Correct Sentencing Errors, But Subject to Time Limits, by David Reutter
- ACLU Accepts $37,500 Settlement Over Redacted Records From New Mexico Prison Healthcare Provider, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Massive Price Tags and Meager Results: The Legacy of Federal Monitors in New York City, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), April 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026
- Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, April 1, 2026
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas.
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Exposure to Heat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Summary Judgment, Employee Litigation, Vagueness/Overbreadth.
- 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.
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Malpractice, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $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.
- 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.

