×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
$28.75 Million Settlement Paid by New York City in Suit Alleging Rikers Guards Stood by and Watched Detainee Hang Himself
by Douglas Ankney
On April 5, 2024, the City of New York agreed to pay $28.75 million to settle a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint filed by Madeline Feliciano, whose grandson Nicholas Feliciano hanged himself in November 2019 at the city’s Rikers Island jail complex—after which city Department …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Spit Hoods, Modern Legacy of Torture, by Anthony Accurso
- From the Editor
- NYC Rehires Former Head of Rikers Island Lockup Where Guard Assault Left Detainee Quadriplegic
- “Like Being Back in Jail”: Wisconsin Returns Released Sex Offenders to Lifetime GPS Monitoring
- Identities Stolen From Virginia Jail Detainees For $341,205 COVID-19 Fraud
- Alabama Guard, Prisoners Among 13 Sentenced in Phone Scam and Drug-Smuggling Ring
- Facing Bankruptcy, Securus Promotes Prison Tablets
- Fired Missouri Guards Charged with Murder in Prisoner’s Suffocation Death
- California Resentences 15 Condemned Prisoners to Life Without Parole
- Former Virginia Prisoners Win Back Denied Sentence Credits, Sue Over Delayed Release
- California Prisons Ban High-Tech Lie Detector
- Eighth Circuit Asked to Block New FCC Rules Capping Prison Phone Rates and Eliminating Ancillary Fees and Kickbacks
- Florida DOC Failed to Investigate Background of Guard Convicted in Mass Shooting
- $4.77 Million Settlement for Three Alaska Prisoners Exonerated of Murder After 18 Years, by David Reutter
- Alabama Jail Accused of Granting Detainee’s Medical Bond Just Before Death to Avoid Costly Medical Care, by David Reutter
- Kentucky Prisoners Take Advantage of Securus Software Glitch for $1 Million
- $28.75 Million Settlement Paid by New York City in Suit Alleging Rikers Guards Stood by and Watched Detainee Hang Himself, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Interference With His Muslim Religious Practice, by David Reutter
- Colorado Becomes First State to Require Polling Stations in Jails
- Two More West Virginia Jailers Plead Guilty in Detainee’s Homicide
- Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for California Jail Nurse Who Cleared Detainee for Release Just Before His Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
- San Bernardino Jail Partially Released from Court Monitoring After Paying Another $150,000 in Settlements for Detainee Deaths
- Building Carcerality, by Dana McKinney White, Lisa Haber-Thomson
- Corizon Health Bankruptcy Settlement Grows, But Only by $21 Million
- California Throws Prisoners Under the Bus to Adopt New Heat Rules
- PPI Releases 10th Anniversary Report on Mass Incarceration in the U.S.
- Florida Prisoners Exposed to Cancer-Causing Chemicals
- Two Hurricanes in Two Weeks Threaten Prisoners and Jail Detainees in Six States
- Public Defender Files Habeas Petitions for Detainees at “Horrific” Baltimore Lockup
- Another South Carolina Prisoner Convicted of “Sextortion” of U.S. Military Personnel
- $23,138 Plus Out-Of-State Transfer for Virginia Prisoner Who Accused Guards of Excessive Force and Altering Video
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Destroying Evidence in Two Oregon Jail Death Suits, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Guard Accused of Assaulting Restrained and Compliant Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- In Oregon Case, Ninth Circuit Limits Pretrial Detention Without Counsel to Seven Days
- Two Former Georgia Sheriffs Sentenced for Misconduct, Related $5 Million Settlement Approved, by David Reutter
- Washington Appellate Court Reverses Parole Revocation Based on Hearsay
- Illinois Prisoners Stage Hunger Strikes Over DOC Failure to Implement New Sentence Reduction Law
- BOP Ends “Blast” Messages on TRULINCS
- Maryland and Wexford Health Pay $200,000 to Prisoner Denied Care and Partially Blinded, by Douglas Ankney
- Another Payout Brings Arizona Prisoner’s Total to $92,850
- After $750,000 Settlement, Georgia Guard Sued Second Time For Letting One Prisoner Murder Another, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS Stays Texas Execution With 20 Minutes to Spare, by Matthew Clarke
- 50 Years After Starting “Scared Straight,” Former N.J. Prison Warden “Would Do It Again”
- Angola Prisoners Granted Limited Relief From “Farm Line” Work
- Armor Health Liquidates Assets—to Firm’s Founder
- Court Strikes Washington Statute to Regulate GEO Group’s Notorious ICE Lockup
- Milwaukee County Pays $1.05 Million Judgment for Bankrupt Armor Correctional Health to Former Jail Detainee
- California Changes Prisoner Property Policy After Suit Filed Alleging Gender Discrimination Against Men, by Douglas Ankney
- $1.2 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Censorship Suit Against North Carolina Prison System
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Former Federal Prisoner’s Suit Over Assault By Guards at Louisiana Lockup, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.5 Million Settlement Approved in Chicago Jail Suicide Case
- $500 Jury Verdict for Pennsylvania Prisoner After Federal Court Clarifies DOC Grievance Procedures
- California Pays $4.45 Million to Prisoners Allegedly Raped by Guards, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Pennsylvania Guards Who Pepper-Sprayed Asthmatic Prisoner
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Plenary Hearing Before Special Adjudicator on Reliability of Fingerprint Evidence, Holding Century of Judicial Acceptance Did Not Satisfy Trial Court’s Gatekeeping Obligation Under N.J.R.E. 702, Aug. 1, 2026
- En Banc Eleventh Circuit Announces All Parents, Including Those Convicted of Child-Sex Offenses, Enjoy Fundamental Right to Live With Their Children, Holding Alabama Residency Prohibition Subject to Strict Scrutiny, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Announces Courts May Examine Individual Officer’s Subjective Purpose When Assessing Whether Warrantless Administrative Inspection Was Pretextual, Holding Suppression Required Where Trooper’s Sole Motive for Stop Was Criminal Investigati, Aug. 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Holds § 922(g)(3) Prosecution Based Solely on Regular Marijuana Use, Without Individualized Proof of Dangerousness, Violates Second Amendment, Aug. 1, 2026
- Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment, Aug. 1, 2026
- Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted, Aug. 1, 2026
- Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, Aug. 1, 2026
- 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
- California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Protect (Staff).
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Video Shows Guards Watched as Oklahoma Detainee Died in Cell, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Discovery, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Deliberate Indifference.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Washington State Supreme Court Ruling Supports Broad Immunity in Overdose Cases, June 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Failure to Protect (General), Defenses, Immunity/Liability, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- 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.

