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Was There a Plot to Discredit Former Missouri Sheriff Investigating Corruption?
by Douglas Ankney
Jeff Burkett resigned as Sheriff of Missouri’s Iron County on January 31, 2024, saying if he stayed to defend a civil suit filed to remove him from office, his testimony might undermine his defense to pending criminal charges.
As PLN reported, the now-former Sheriff …
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More from this issue:
- Aramark: Prison Food for Thought
- Southern California Jail Guard Arrested With 104 Pounds of Fentanyl
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $500,000 Settlement for Colorado Prisoner Forced to Defecate in Bucket for 12 Days, by David Reutter
- Families of New Jersey Jail Suicide Victims Still Waiting for Settlement Payouts
- These Men Fought White Supremacists and Got Sentenced to Over 200 Years, by Victoria Law
- Six Deaths in Just Over Six Months at Alabama Jail
- Federal Watchdog Slams BOP for Lapses in Epstein Death, Pushes Back Against Rumors It Wasn’t Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
- Alabama Woman Jailed for “Fetal Endangerment” Sues After She Was Forced to Give Birth Alone in Jail Shower
- Over 5,000 Prisoners Federally Sentenced Every Month, by Douglas Ankney
- $32,000 Settlement for Failure to Provide Insulin to Diabetic Wisconsin Prisoner
- Former Illinois Prisoner Pursuing PhD After 27 Years of Incarceration
- $7,500 Settlement Reached After Georgia Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment
- Autistic Detainee’s Death in Pittsburgh Jail Blamed on “Culture” That Left Him “Punished Instead of Treated”
- HIV and Incarcerated People: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, by Douglas Ankney
- $6,500 Paid to Illinois Prisoner After Denied Records Request
- Two West Virginia Jail Guards Plead Guilty in Detainee Death, Six More Charged
- $125,000 Settlement for Wisconsin Prisoner’s Claim That Guards Set Him Up For Stabbing, by David Reutter
- Escaped Idaho Prisoner Recaptured, Three Accomplices Charged
- Class-Action Challenge to Medical Care at Tennessee Jail Results in $3.8 Million Settlement
- Prisoner-on-Prisoner Violence at California Prison Leaves One Dead, Another Stabbed
- Eighth Circuit Says Lower Court “Tilted the Scales Too Far” for Jailers in Missouri Detainee’s Fatal Overdose, by David Reutter
- Three Texas Prison Guards Among 13 Charged in Sprawling Smuggling Scheme
- Arizona Sheriff Accused of Misusing Detainee Funds to Buy Guns, Ammo
- Fourth Circuit Moves North Carolina Prisons Closer to Recognizing Nation of Gods and Earths, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington Superior Court Says Jail Cannot Bill Poor Detainees for Medical Care
- Alabama Denied Summary Judgment in Prisoner’s Suit Over Knifepoint Rape, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates HRDC’s RICO Claim Against Securus and ViaPath
- Ninth Circuit Refunds Filing Fee to “Struck-Out” California Prisoner Denied Indigent Status Under PLRA, by Matthew Clarke
- Was There a Plot to Discredit Former Missouri Sheriff Investigating Corruption?, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Jail Warden Fired, Deputy Warden Resigns After Guard Assaults Detainee
- The Graying of American Prisons
- Regarding Death Penalty, Biden’s Actions Don’t Align with His Mouth, by Douglas Ankney
- $10 Million Reimbursed for Vacated Washington Drug Possession Convictions, by David Reutter
- “Third Time Is Not the Charm” For Texas Jailers Barred by PLRA from Enforcing Prior Settlement Agreement Against Prisoner in New Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Migrants at New Mexico CoreCivic ICE Detention Center Forced to Clean Up Sewage with Bare Hands, by Douglas Ankney
- Wyoming Supreme Court Grants Immunity to DOC in Prison COVID-19 Vaccine Mix-Up, by David Reutter
- Three-Year Sentence for One of Four BOP Employees Charged With Ignoring Fatally Ill Federal Prisoner in Virginia
- FTC Orders GTL/ViaPath to Help 650,000 Customers Whose Info Was Stolen, Posted on Dark Web, by Douglas Ankney
- “There you go, Agent Orange!” Former South Carolina Sheriff Federally Indicted for Assaulting Jail Detainee, by Edward Lyon
- Dismissal Affirmed of Florida Prisoner’s Claim for Exposure to Human Waste, by David Reutter
- Qualified Immunity Denied to Former New Mexico Warden in Prisoner’s Sexual Abuse Claim
- HRDC Wins Summary Judgment in North Carolina Prison Censorship Case
- Pennsylvania Detainee Found Four Months After Jail Escape, Five Guards Fired
- BOP Guards Plead Guilty in Smuggling Ring at Closed Manhattan Lockup
- San Diego Jury Deadlocks on Charges Against Jail Doctor in Detainee’s Death, Nurse Acquitted
- Legal Noose Tightens Around Necks of CDCR Officials Whose Botched Transfer Sparked San Quentin COVID-19 Outbreak, by Douglas Ankney
- Virginia Supreme Court Denies New Sentence Credits to State Prisoner Serving “Mixed” Sentence, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Supreme Court Orders Records Produced for State Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Massachusetts Makes Calls Free From Prisons and Jails
- $25.2 Million Settlement for Two Connecticut Prisoners Exonerated After 35 Years, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Lets Illinois Prisoner Proceed In Forma Pauperis, Despite Trust Account Balance Exceeding Filing Fee, by Douglas Ankney
- BOP Rolls Out Veterans-Only Housing at Federal Prison in Texas
- Eighth Circuit Upholds Key Parts of Missouri Parole Reform
- Second Circuit Grants New York Officials Qualified Immunity for Prisoner’s Stolen Sentence Credits, by David Reutter
- BOP Shrugs Off Month-Long Leavenworth Lockdown
- $15,000 to Virginia Prisoner Mauled by DOC K-9, by Matthew Clarke
- California Law Extends Involuntary Commitment and Detention to Substance Abusers
- “Sugar Daddy” Pennsylvania Constable Accused of Recruiting “Sugar Babies” at Jail
- West Virginia Supreme Court Orders Prison Officials to Develop Good-Time Credit Policy, by David Reutter
- Sentencing Project Proposes Remedies for Racial Disparities Behind Bars
- North Carolinian Left in Jail Awaiting Trial for 11 Years
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Class Action Consent Decree at California’s Alameda County Jail, by David Reutter
- Fired Alabama Guard Reinstated Despite Excessive Force Used on Prisoner Who Died, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026
- New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, July 1, 2026
- Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Detainee’s Suit Alleging Monell and 14th Amendment Deliberate Indifference Claims, June 1, 2026
- FTC Substantiates Allegations Against ViaPath Related to Data Breach and Orders Remedial Action, June 1, 2026
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules that Sheriff Did Not Violate Open Records Act and Declines to Award Damages to Prisoner, June 1, 2026
- Fifth Circuit Announces Enhanced Supervised Release Provision Under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k) Does Not Apply to Assimilative Crimes Act Offenses, Limiting Statutory Maximum to Five Years Under § 3583(b), June 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal: Vehicle Impoundment Solely to Prevent Further Unlicensed Driving Does Not Satisfy Fourth Amendment’s Community Caretaking Exception; Statutory Authorization Alone Insufficient to Establish Constitutional Reasonableness, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- San Diego Guard Who Fatally Shot Fleeing Detainee Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison, July 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Shootings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Police), Wrongful Use of Force.
- Jury Awards Over $24.4 Million to Kentucky Prisoner Exonerated After 22 Years, Bringing Total Payout for Him and Co-Defendant to Almost $45 Million, June 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Monell Liability, Fabrication of Evidence, Failure to Disclose.
- Ghislaine Maxwell Reportedly Receiving Preferential Treatment at Texas Prison Camp, June 1, 2026. Transfers, DOC/BOP misconduct, Whistleblowing, Protected Speech, Prison Classification.
- Records Show Culture of Impunity Among Kentucky Prison Guards, May 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Whistleblowing, Evidence - Admissibility.
- The Recycled Police Officer: Research Reveals High Cost of Ignoring Prior Misconduct, May 1, 2026. Harassment by Police, Police Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Excessive Force (Police), Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Private Company Investigating Rapes at California ICE Detention Center Instead of Sheriff, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Police/Govt Misconduct, Immigration Detention, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- “I Have Nothing to Hide”: Why Innocent People Should Never Talk to Police, March 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Interviews/Debriefing.
- Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity, Forensic Sciences, Fabrication of Evidence.
- After Exposing Prison Horrors, Incarcerated Whistleblowers Are Moved to Solitary, Feb. 1, 2026. Whistleblowing, Retaliatory Segregation, Work Strikes, Totality of Conditions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Utah Supreme Court Announces Framework for Analyzing Combined Brady and Napue Violations, Affirms Postconviction Relief in Capital Murder Case, Jan. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Constructive/Imputed/Presumed knowledge, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.

