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Bar Complaint Revives 10-Year-Old Question: Why No Charges Filed Against Florida Guards Who Killed Prisoner?
by David M. Reutter
A dustup between Republican politicians landed in Florida’s Charlotte County Circuit Court on February 15, 2024, when presiding Judge Lisa Porter reserved ruling on disclosure of grand jury proceedings that resulted in no indictments against state prison guards in the 2014 beating death of …
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More from this issue:
- After Spike in Jail Deaths, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation, by Matthew Clarke
- California Prisoner’s Generosity for Gaza Rewarded With Over $100,000
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $7.5 Million Settlement in Suit Over California Jail Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Arizona DOC Agrees to Pay $2,650,000 in Legal Fees and Costs in Long-Running PLN Censorship Suit
- Unintended Consequence of Texas Prisoner Tablets: Retaliation from Fellow Prisoners
- Pilot Jail Diversion Program Opens for Mentally Ill Arrestees in Austin
- Virginia Takes Back One Prison from GEO Group, Closes Four More
- Oregon Transgender Prisoner Claims Abusive Violation of Injunction, but Court Declines Sanctions, by Matthew Clarke
- “Too brutal, too disgusting”: Prison Guards Flee as Working Conditions Worsen
- Contractor Fined $300,000 for Illegal Asbestos Dumping at Wisconsin Federal Prison
- Kentucky Parole Officer Gets Three Years for Sexually Assaulting Probationers, by Matthew Clarke
- 46 New York Prisoners Accuse Guards of Beatings—Even Waterboarding, by Douglas Ankney
- Tennessee DOC Rewards CoreCivic with Pay Increase Despite Critical Watchdog Audit
- Dead Rikers Island Detainees Had Missed Dozens of Mental Health Appointments
- New York Revises 2,772 Prisoner Disciplinary Records After Inspector General Finds Defects in Another Contraband Drug Test, by Douglas Ankney
- Illinois Parole Board Member Resigns After Violator Turns Deadly
- Inspectors Catch L.A. Jailers Watching Porn
- Eighth Circuit: Perfect Adherence to Burdened Beliefs Not Required to Demonstrate Sincerity under RLUIPA, by Douglas Ankney
- Warden and Deputy Out at Kentucky Prison As DOC Investigates Guard Misconduct
- Florida Jail Chief’s Firing Upheld, Retaliation Lawsuit Headed to Trial
- Eleventh Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Georgia Jailers Who Housed White Detainee With Black Cellmate Held for Racially Motivated Attack
- Riot at California GEO Group Lockup Sends Message to U.S. Marshals
- Cheap Food Enriching Profiteers, Making Prisoners Sick
- Prisoner Admissions Soar at Massachusetts Psychiatric Lockup Plagued by Overcrowding and Violence
- Federal Judge Calls BOP Brooklyn Lockup Too Deplorable to House Defendant
- $275,000 Settlement for Wisconsin Jail Detainee’s Death from Untreated Heart Infection
- BOP is Holding 12,000 Prisoners in Solitary Confinement, by David Reutter
- 1,200 Washington Prisoners Lose Laptops After One Shows Up on eBay
- Fifth Savannah Jail Employee Arrested for Smuggling in Just Over a Year
- Massachusetts Prison Closure Reflects Success of Criminal Justice Reforms
- Report Finds Exploitative Disciplinary Fines in One-Third of U.S. Prison Systems
- Tennessee Sheriff Indicted for Massive Prisoner Work-Release Fraud
- Fourth Circuit Revives Claim Over North Carolina Jail Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
- Arrested for Stealing Snacks, Baltimore Diabetic Dies in Jail
- Georgia Guard Fired, Charged With Setting Up Assault that Left Prisoner Dead
- Arizona Agrees to $40,000 Settlement in Suit Over Mentally Ill Prisoner’s Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
- Illinois Prisoner Succumbs to Heat Wave
- Fourth Circuit Chides Virginia Magistrate for Assuming Prisoners Proceed IFP, by Douglas Ankney
- New Mexico Jail Sued Again After Paying $787,500 In-Custody Death Settlement
- First Circuit Tolls Claim for Maine Jail Death from Date of Detainee’s Injury, Rather Than When He Died, by Douglas Ankney
- Psychiatrist Settles Virginia Jail Suicide Suit for $1.75 Million
- Florida Court Strikes $10 Million of $16 Million Judgment Against Armor Correctional Health in Jail Death, by David Reutter
- Criminalizing Poverty Drives Mass Incarceration in Kentucky, Washington, by Douglas Ankney
- Settlements Total $3.85 Million for Nevada Prisoners Hit with Birdshot, by David Reutter
- Indiana Supreme Court Says “Summary Judgment Is Not Summary Trial,” Remanding State Prisoner’s Malpractice Claim to a Jury
- Texas Prosecutor Gets Fine, Probated Bar Suspension After Jailing Woman for Abortion
- Missouri Warden, Four Guards Out After Prisoner’s Fatal Beating
- Fourth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Guards Who Left North Carolina Prisoner to Eat with Feces-Soiled Hands
- Alaska Supreme Court Revives Prisoner’s Claim for 11-Month Solitary Confinement That DOC Admitted Was Improper, by Douglas Ankney
- Washington Prisoner’s Sentence Vacated After Attorney Calls and Visits Were Recorded, by Douglas Ankney
- 3,500 Body-Worn Cameras Recalled from Rikers Island Guards After One Catches Fire
- $11 Million Settlement for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, by David Reutter
- No Dismissal for San Diego Jail Medical Contractor from Suit Filed Over Detainee’s Withdrawal Death
- Nevada DOC Under Fire for Hiring Unlicensed Medical Director
- Ending Prison Slavery on the Ballot in California, Nevada
- Addicted to Punishment: Jails and Prisons Punish Drug Use Far More Than They Treat It, by Emily Widra
- Mississippi Prison Warden Suspended After Security Chief Caught Smuggling
- Intellectually Disabled Georgia Prisoner Executed After SCOTUS Denies Appeal
- Maryland Pardons 175,000 Marijuana Misdemeanor Convictions
- Alabama Denies Parole to Dead Prisoner
- Condemned Alabama Prisoner Challenges Execution by Nitrogen Hypoxia, by David Reutter
- South Carolina Supreme Court Grants Prisoner Credit for Time Served Awaiting Revocation of Supervised Release
- Colorado Lawmakers Take a Pass on Cash Assistance for Released Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Bar Complaint Revives 10-Year-Old Question: Why No Charges Filed Against Florida Guards Who Killed Prisoner?, by David Reutter
- Pro-Navalny Hackers Breach Russian Prison Computers, Lower Commissary Prices
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025
- Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay for Non-Medical Reasons, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, Aug. 1, 2025
- First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court, Aug. 1, 2025
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- 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.
- $8.5 Million for Family of Murdered Elderly Californian Detained for Cold Case Killings Based on “Genetic Genealogy”, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, DNA Evidence.
- Louisiana Prisoner’s Mother Sues Warden Following Son’s Death, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Protective Custody, Deliberate Indifference.
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025. Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- San Diego County Files Unusual Suit Against NaphCare Over Jail Detainee’s Murder, Nov. 1, 2025. Naphcare, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Wrongful Use of Force.
- $150,000 Paid by Jacksonville for Mother of Five’s Jail Suicide, Nov. 1, 2025. Armor Correctional Health Services, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- $2.6 Million Paid for Detoxing Washington Jail Detainee Allowed to Leap to His Death, Additional NaphCare Payout Undisclosed, Aug. 1, 2025. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- Lawsuits Filed After Fatal Assault on Elderly Prisoner at Kentucky Jail, July 15, 2025. Classification, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice.

