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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:
- 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
- Sixth Circuit Announces Predetermining a Supervisee’s Revocation Term of Imprisonment at an Earlier Violation Hearing Renders the Resulting Sentence Both Procedurally and Substantively Unreasonable, June 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Framework for Evaluating Delayed Traffic Stops Under Article 14, Holding 24-Hour Gap Between Observed Infraction and Vehicle Stop Was Unreasonable, June 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Announces ICE’s Execution of a Removal Warrant Following a Final Removal Order Does Not Constitute a “Pending Proceeding” Under 18 U.S.C. § 1505, Vacating Noncitizen’s Obstruction Conviction in Issue of First Impression, June 1, 2026
- In Wake of Murders of Prisoners by Guards, New York Passes Legislation to Enhance Safety, Accountability and Training, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- 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.
- Ohio Sheriff Agrees to Outside Probe in Investigation of Jailed Double Amputee’s Death, Dec. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Police/Govt Misconduct.

