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San Diego County Jail Accused of Letting Mentally Ill Detainee Starve to Death
by Matt Clarke
On July 26, 2023, two sons filed suit for the estate of their schizophrenic dad, accusing officials at San Diego County’s Central Jail where he was incarcerated of letting him die from dehydration, starvation and pneumonia. The lawsuit raises the question: How should jail officials …
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More from this issue:
- Commissary and Food Service Privatization Strands Florida Prisoners in ‘Food Desert’, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Virginia Settles Suit Over Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Hepatitis C for $700,000, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Refuses to Reimpose Death Sentence for Intellectually Disabled Alabama Prisoner
- Deaths and Lawsuits Mount at “Disgusting” Atlanta Jail
- Three L.A. Jail Gang Leaders Murdered
- Nine Guilty So Far in Sprawling California Aryan Brotherhood Case
- $3 Million Settlement for Illinois Pretrial Detainee’s Opioid Withdrawal Death, by David Reutter
- First Circuit Lets BOP Take Prisoner’s Entire $10,956.36 Trust Account Balance for Restitution, by Douglas Ankney
- $2.9 Million Paid by Maryland to Exonerated Former Prisoner
- BOP Evacuates Federal Prison in Florida After Possible Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Censoring Women’s Health, by Kwaneta Harris
- Second Circuit Says New York Prisons Must Answer for Denying Court-Ordered Rehab, by David Reutter
- In Suit Over Connecticut Prisoner’s Death, Attorney General Will No Longer Represent Guard Convicted of Assault
- South Carolina Pays $200,000 to Jail Detainees Exposed to Toxic Fumes, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Revives Challenge by Federal Prisoner in Arizona to BOP’s 300-Minute Monthly Phone Cap, by David Reutter
- No Data to Prove Whether $600-Million California Parole Effort Worked
- Inmate Records Released from Closed Washington Psychiatric Lockup
- Maine Prison Official Charged with Theft and Bribery in Decade-Long Kickback Scheme
- First Prisoners Released Two Years After Illinois Passed Law to Revisit Excessive Sentences
- Ohio Prisoner Wins $2,000 Settlement for Guard Abuse Claims, Loses Appeal to Uncover Identity of Prison Officials Who Negotiated It, by Matthew Clarke
- Writing on the Prison Wall: How Prisons Suppress Prison Journalism
- Resistance to Bail Reform Powered By Untruthful Scaremongering, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Louisiana Prison Chief for Prolonging Prisoner’s Detention with Sex Offender Misclassification, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit Revives Suit by Pregnant Mentally Ill Michigan Detainee Allegedly Kicked in Her Womb by Jail Guard, Losing Baby
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis, by Mark Wilson
- Rikers Island Guard Accidentally Records Himself Planting Shiv in Prisoner’s Cell
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Disciplinary Sanction Revoking Over 15 Years of Indiana Prisoner’s Good Time, by Douglas Ankney
- Record Temperatures in Southern Prisons Called Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Fifth Circuit Says Both Texas Prisoner’s Dismissed Suit and His Lost Appeal Count as “Strikes”, by Douglas Ankney
- Restorative Justice Program Boosts South Carolina Prison and Public Safety, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit: Texas Jail Guard’s Use of Taser on Compliant Detainee Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Lawsuit Claims Kentucky Prison Officials Ignored Chaplain’s Sexual Abuse
- Tenth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Oklahoma Jail Guard Who Kneed Handcuffed Prisoner’s Face, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Slammed for Prisoner Abuse in Now-Shuttered Segregation Unit at USP-Thomson in Illinois, by Douglas Ankney
- DOJ Concludes BOP Pretrial Detainees Need Improvements in Access to Attorneys, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Prisoner Has Now Collected $5,700 for Denied Public Records Requests
- Virginia Sheriff Indicted for Selling Auxiliary Deputy Sheriff Credentials, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Claim of Illinois Prisoner Held 18 Months After Release for Refusing to Sign Incomplete Form, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Prisoner’s Conviction Tossed After Judge’s Affair With Prosecutor Uncovered, by Douglas Ankney
- San Diego County Jail Accused of Letting Mentally Ill Detainee Starve to Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington Fined Over $100 Million for Delays in Competency Evaluations and Restoration, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Finds Jail Guard May Be Liable for Delayed Response to Illinois Detainee’s Fatal Heart Attack, by Douglas Ankney
- Misconduct Shades Sexual Assault Suit As Hawaii Settles With Prisoners for $2 Million, by Douglas Ankney
- Subclass Certified and Settlement Proposed to Address ADA Violations at Long-Plagued San Diego County Jails, by Douglas Ankney
- Former Oklahoma Undersheriff Gets 22 Months In Prison for Beating Handcuffed Jail Detainee, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Revives Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Delayed Cancer Treatment Cost Him a Testicle, by David Reutter
- Texas Looks to Find Prison Guards in High Schools
- Almost $950,000 Paid by Inmate Services Corp. for Hellish Prisoner Transports, by David Reutter
- Champion of Death Row Prisoners Accused of Spoiling Oklahoman’s Clemency
- Michigan Supreme Court: DOC Owes Attorney Fees in Public Records Case Even if Plaintiff Is Represented Pro Bono, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Cash Bail Eliminated in Illinois, Reduced in Los Angeles County
- How “Big Capital” Learned to Love Mass Incarceration
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026. DOJ CRIPA Actions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026. Prison Health Services, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Systemic Medical Neglect, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Jail Specific, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.

