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Fifth Circuit Upholds Qualified Immunity for Texas Prison Guard Who Beat Prisoner’s Arm With Baton Until It Broke
by Matt Clarke
On August 31, 2022, the U.S. Court ofAppeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a district court’s grant of qualified immunity (QI) to a Texas prison guard who used his baton to beat and break the arm of a prisoner protruding from the bottom of a …
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More from this issue:
- L.A. County Jails: Leading in All the Wrong Ways, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Predatory Probation Still Alive in Georgia, Other States, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Prisoner Health Update: K2, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Warden Ousted from Troubled Alabama Prison After DUI Arrest, by Edward Lyon
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Texas Detainee’s Asphyxiation by Jail Guards, by Matthew Clarke
- Detainee Allegedly “Eaten Alive” by Vermin in Overcrowded Atlanta Jail, by Jacob Barrett
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Claim That LaSalle Guards Fatally Beat Louisiana Pre-Trial Detainee, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: Grievance Policy May Excuse Oregon Prisoner’s Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by Jacob Barrett
- “Slap On the Wrist” for California Bail Agents Who Hired Bounty Hunter Who Killed Their Client, by Jayson Hawkins
- Dogged by Racist Comments, North Carolina Sheriff Resigns – Again, by Jo Ellen Nott
- MTC Accused of Parole Programming Scam at Texas Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Fourth Circuit Rejects Appeal of $700,000 Award to Maryland Prisoner Assaulted by Guards, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Again Revives Muslim Texas Prisoner’s Suit Over Halal Meals Denied During Hurricane Evacuation, by Matthew Clarke
- Nevada Pays Over $568,000 for Denying Prisoner Cataract Surgery, Ends “One Good Eye” Policy, by Jacob Barrett
- Prisoner’s Experience in Solitary Wins PEN America Writing Award, by Jacob Barrett
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, by Harold Hempstead
- Maine’s Jails and Prisons Record 39 Deaths in 34 Months, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Qualified Immunity for Texas Prison Guard Who Beat Prisoner’s Arm With Baton Until It Broke, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.3 Million Paid to Transgender Woman Held Five Months in Atlanta Jail on Bogus Charges, by Chuck Sharman
- Nebraska Pays $479,000 for Restrictive Housing Prisoner’s Murder While Double-Celled, by Mark Wilson
- Shielded From Public View, Misconduct by Corrections Staff in Illinois Prisons Received Scant Discipline, by Shannon Heffernan
- $20,000 Settlement for Ohio Prisoner’s Slip-and-Fall Injury, by Edward Lyon
- $2.4 Million Judgment Against Michigan Jail Doctor Convicted of Sexually Abusing Three Prisoners, by Mark Wilson
- ACLU Report Details Exploitation of Prisoners for Forced Labor, by Matthew Clarke
- MTV Documentary Shines Light on Art Behind Bars, by Jayson Hawkins
- Fifth Circuit Finds “Opaque” Mississippi Prison Grievance System “Incapable of Use”, by Matthew Clarke
- Overdose Rate in New York Jails and State Prisons Double U.S. Average, by Jacob Barrett
- College Education Disrupted for Washington Prisoners, by Kevin Bliss
- $32,500 Medical Malpractice Award to Ohio Prisoner for Ripped-Out Catheter, by Edward Lyon
- Oklahoma County Pays $1.1 Million After Jail Guards Fatally Beat Detainee, by Jacob Barrett
- Louisiana High Court Abandons Ab Initio Precedent in Favor of “Victim’s Rights”, by David Reutter
- California Appellate Court: State Prisoners Held in Jail and Those Held in Prisons Not Alike for Sentence Credits, by Jacob Barrett
- Telecoms Exploiting Legal Loopholes to Price Gouge Prisoners and Their Families, by Jacob Barrett
- Fifth Circuit Revives Suit by Nation of Gods and Earth Prisoner Demanding Religious Recognition by Texas Prison Officials, by Matthew Clarke
- Iowa Teen Who Killed Her Alleged Rapist Recaptured After Halfway House Escape, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Missouri Prisoners Awarded $20 Million for Sexual Abuse by “Resident Pervert” Guard, by Ashleigh Dye
- $4.25 Million Paid by King County for Two Jail Beatings By Improperly Housed Mentally Ill Detainees, by Mark Wilson
- Arizona Prisoner Condemned Again for Cellmate’s Murder, by Jayson Hawkins
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Order Vacating Conviction in Oregon Prison Director’s 1989 Murder; SCOTUS Declines Review, by Mark Wilson
- Fourth Circuit: No Civil Commitment at Release for Federal Prisoner in North Carolina Without Considering Conditions, by Casey Bastian
- Montana Becomes 13th State to End Prison Gerrymandering, by Chuck Sharman
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Over $278,000 Awarded to Minnesota Jail Detainee Held on Bad ICE Referral Policy, by David Reutter
- Montana Pays $2,500 to Settle Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim, by Mark Wilson
- News in Brief
- Alaska Supreme Court Says Parole Challenge Must Be Sought via Post-Conviction Relief, Not Lawsuit, by Mark Wilson
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Assaults on Staff, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, Aug. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Overdetention, Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- 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.
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- $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.
- San Diego Guard Sentenced for Shoving a Shackled Detainee, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, False Statements/Perjury, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Systemic Medical Neglect, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- 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.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $10 Million Wrongful Conviction Verdict for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Failure to Disclose.

