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$14,000 Paid by California to Mentally Ill Prisoner Who Alleged Repeated Maulings by Guards
by Douglas Ankney
How blatant is a violation of rights when a prisoner who is both mentally ill and proceeding pro se wins his case? The answer for California prisoner Benjamin Justin Brownlee arrived in the form of two settlement checks from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), ...
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More from this issue:
- With “Fox in Charge of the Henhouse,” Almost All Misconduct Accusations Against BOP Staff Result in No Discipline, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Tenth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Utah Jailers After Detainee’s Withdrawal Death, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Riot and Escape at Nevada Prison Lead to Charges Against Four Guards, Firings or Resignations of Top Officials, by David Reutter
- In an Ominous Pattern, People Are Dying Once Transferred to Louisiana Prison, by Victoria Law
- Alabama County Ends Controversial Policy Using Women’s Pregnancies to Jail Them, by Ashleigh Dye
- California Governor Vetoes State’s Humane Solitary Confinement Bill, by Kevin Bliss
- Former California Prison Warden and Guard Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Two Dozen Prisoners and Coworkers, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fifth Circuit: Texas Prison Property Rules Withstand Scrutiny Under Religious Free-Exercise Clause, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim He Was Wrongfully Fired From Prison Commissary for Attending Religious Service, by David Reutter
- “Acres of Skin” – Redux, by Gregory J. Dober
- Illinois Supreme Court Orders State DOC to Fund Required Treatment and Housing for Sex Offender’s Conditional Release, by David Reutter
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Over Flesh-Eating Infection, by David Reutter
- SCOTUS Helps Revive Malicious Prosecution Claim Against Chicago Police Officers, by David Reutter, Kevin Bliss
- $1.455 Million Settlement for Discrimination Against Black Minnesota Jail Guards Barred from Watching Floyd Killer, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Conviction and Sentencing of Former Arkansas Sheriff for Assaulting Detainees, by Harold Hempstead
- Pennsylvania County Commissioner Barred from DA’s Email After Own Prison Record Is Purged and Jail Key Copied, by Kevin Bliss
- Pennsylvania Guards and Their Attorneys Spanked for Discovery Abuse in Prisoner’s Excessive-Force Suit, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Held in Local Jails Beyond Release Date, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Require Bail Hearing Within 48 Hours of Arrest, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Fifth Circuit: No Liability for Texas County that Improperly Relied on Polygraph to Imprison Released Sex Offender Additional 13 Years, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- More Drugs Seized by Florida DOC During COVID-19 Lockdowns Than Before, by David Reutter
- Federal Court Holds Illinois DOC in Contempt for Failing to Remediate Substandard Healthcare, by Douglas Ankney
- Second Circuit Reinstates N.Y. Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, Finding Grievance Procedure ‘Unavailable’ in Mental Health Unit, by David Reutter
- $175,000 Paid by California County to Escaped Prisoner Mauled By K-9 During Recapture, by Keith Sanders
- After 13 Jail Deaths in Eight Months of 2022, California Sheriff Finally Reveals How They Happened, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- $87,000 Paid to Virginia Prisoner Kicked in Testicles by Guard, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Tenth Circuit Revives Kansas Prisoner’s Claim That He Was Denied Access to Court, by Anthony Accurso
- Alabama Supreme Court Says Prisoner Who Didn’t Return From Work Release Punishable Under Felony Escape Statute, by David Reutter
- Third Former Guard at Troubled Federal Prison in Brooklyn Sentenced After Retrial and Conviction for Raping Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
- Ex-Felon “Dirtbags” Accused of Ordering Hit on Detainee at Florida Jail, But Questions Linger, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Hospitalized California IST Defendants Entitled to Jail Conduct Credits, by Mark Wilson
- Seventh Circuit Sides With Muslim Prisoner, Bars Strip Search by Transgender Wisconsin Guard, by David Reutter
- Florida DA Reopens Cold Murder Case, Exonerates Wrongly Imprisoned Man, Finds Real Killers – and Gets Axed by Governor, by David Reutter
- Judge Dismisses Suit Filed by California Town to Keep State Prison Open, by Keith Sanders
- 18 Stabbings in Less Than Nine Months at Oklahoma CoreCivic Prison, by Keith Sanders
- $14,000 Paid by California to Mentally Ill Prisoner Who Alleged Repeated Maulings by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
- Hypothermia Kills Prisoner in Cold Pennsylvania Jail Cell, One of 17 Deaths Since 2019, by Jo Ellen Nott
- North Dakota Guard Fired After Suicide of Convicted Quadruple Murderer, by Justin McFatridge
- Smuggling Ring Busted in Georgia Jail, 11 Arrested Including Four Guards and Former Nurse, by Jo Ellen Nott
- After Botched Lethal Injection, Alabama Will Execute Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, by David Reutter
- Massachusetts High Court: Lawmakers Haven’t Stopped Sheriffs From Taking Kickbacks from Jail Phone Calls, and Neither Will We, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Elderly Prisoners Catch a Break on Medicare Part B, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Another Prisoner Dies in Another Fire at Indiana Prison, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Second Hunger Strike Met With Pepper Spray at Washington GEO Group Lockup Where ICE Detainees Allege Widespread Sexual Abuse, by Keith Sanders
- $350,000 Settlement Reached in Florida Prisoner’s Murder, by David Reutter
- Alabama Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Dies for Lack of Proper Affidavits, by David Reutter
- Colorado’s Halfway Houses Returning Half of Residents to Prison, by Keith Sanders
- Transgender Idaho Prisoner Who Won Gender Conforming Surgery Awarded Over $2.6 Million in Legal Fees, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Parents Losing Children Because They Can’t Repay Foster Care Costs Incurred During Incarceration, by Jo Ellen Nott
- CoreCivic Still Accruing Fines for Short-Staffing Florida Jail Where Developmentally Disabled Teen Was Raped, by Ashleigh Dye
- Second Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Connecticut Cops who Sicced K-9 on Suspect in His Holding Cell, by Casey Bastian
- $857,500 Paid by California County for Jail Detainee’s Death, While Cellmate Who Beat Him Is Now in State Prison, by David Reutter
- Over $298,000 Awarded to Alabama Jail Detainee with Heart Disease After Guards, Nurses Ignored Firing Defibrillator, by David Reutter
- Nebraska Assistant Warden Avoids Prosecution for Sexually Abusing Prisoner, Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge and Gets a Year in Jail, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- After Eleventh Circuit Says ICE Detainee Is Not “Prisoner” Subject to PLRA, He Goes Missing from Georgia, by David Reutter
- Former PLN Editor Settles Suit Over Detention in Tennessee ‘Iron Man’ Cell, Gets 40-Year Prison Term for Vandalizing Nashville Jail, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- GTL Ordered to Pay $18.675 Million in Attorney Fees and Costs in Prison Phone Class Action, by Anthony Accurso
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Stretches PLRA to Deny Claim of Colorado Prisoner Shot by Guard While Shackled, April 1, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Excuses Maryland Prisoner From Exhaustion Requirement in PREA Claim, April 1, 2025
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces State Wiretap Statute Requires Suppression of Both Audio and Video Components of Audiovisual Footage of Unlawfully Intercepted Oral Communication Showing Defendant as Party to Communication, March 15, 2025
- California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed, March 15, 2025
- Nevada Supreme Court: Theft Offenses and Possessing or Receiving Stolen Property Offenses Are Mutually Exclusive and Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Conviction for Both Offenses When Based on Same Conduct, March 15, 2025
- Maryland Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Exercise That Discretion Where It Summarily Refused Requested Jury Instruction Because It Was a Non-Pattern Instruction and ‘Some Evidence’ Supported the Instruction, March 15, 2025
- $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, March 1, 2025
- Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
- Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Mental Health.
- Three More Prisoners Die, Three More Staffers Fired at Wisconsin Prison, April 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- Houston Jail Cited for State-Law Violations Twice in a Month, April 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- “Swing or Kick Rocks”: BOP Guard Alleges Conspiracy to Brutalize Prisoners at Kentucky Lockup, April 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Staffing, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Porn Produced by Georgia Prisoners, April 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Prison Gangs, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Internet, Pornography/Pornography Laws, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Criminal Sexual Abuse.
- Three Former Virginia Jailers Charged After Detainee Dies in “WRAP” Restraint, April 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- Former California Guard Convicted On 64 Counts of Sexually Abusing Prisoners, March 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct.
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Denial of Counsel for “Low IQ” North Carolina Prisoner, March 1, 2025. Mental Health, Counsel - Constructive denial of.
- South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Smuggling, Bribery, March 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Federal Funds.
- Sixth West Virginia Jailer Found Guilty After Detainee Death, Estate Dismisses Claims Against PrimeCare Medical Employees, March 1, 2025. Primecare Medical, Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Wrongful Death.