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$4.77 Million Settlement for Three Alaska Prisoners Exonerated of Murder After 18 Years
by David M. Reutter
On November 6, 2023, three of the “Fairbanks Four” accepted $5 million from the Alaska city for 18 years they spent wrongfully incarcerated for a teen’s 1997 murder before their exoneration in 2015. The case featured almost every hallmark of a wrongful conviction, including a confession ...
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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
- Alabama Guard, Prisoners Among 13 Sentenced in Phone Scam and Drug-Smuggling Ring
- Identities Stolen From Virginia Jail Detainees For $341,205 COVID-19 Fraud
- 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
- Kentucky Prisoners Take Advantage of Securus Software Glitch for $1 Million
- Alabama Jail Accused of Granting Detainee’s Medical Bond Just Before Death to Avoid Costly Medical Care, by David Reutter
- $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
- Two More West Virginia Jailers Plead Guilty in Detainee’s Homicide
- Colorado Becomes First State to Require Polling Stations in Jails
- 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 Lisa Haber-Thomson, Dana McKinney White
- 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
- $23,138 Plus Out-Of-State Transfer for Virginia Prisoner Who Accused Guards of Excessive Force and Altering Video
- Another South Carolina Prisoner Convicted of “Sextortion” of U.S. Military Personnel
- 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
- BOP Ends “Blast” Messages on TRULINCS
- Illinois Prisoners Stage Hunger Strikes Over DOC Failure to Implement New Sentence Reduction Law
- Another Payout Brings Arizona Prisoner’s Total to $92,850
- Maryland and Wexford Health Pay $200,000 to Prisoner Denied Care and Partially Blinded, by Douglas Ankney
- 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
- $1.2 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Censorship Suit Against North Carolina Prison System
- California Changes Prisoner Property Policy After Suit Filed Alleging Gender Discrimination Against Men, by Douglas Ankney
- 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 David Reutter:
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
- ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, Feb. 15, 2025
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, Jan. 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, Jan. 15, 2025
- In Failure-to-Treat Claims, Wellpath Denied Dismissal in Virginia, Settles in Pennsylvania, Dec. 15, 2024
- Trends Show Mortality Risks Increase with Higher Jail Turnover Rates, Dec. 15, 2024
More from these topics:
- $10.5 Million in Settlements for San Diego Jail Detainee’s Severe Brain Injury, May 4, 2025. Brain Injury, Failure to Treat, Settlements.
- Nurse Charged, $2.6 Million Settlement Reached in Minnesota Jail Death, May 1, 2025. Prison/Jail Murders, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Georgia Fights Liability for Strip-Searching Prison Visitor, Nevada Pays $126,500, May 1, 2025. Visitor Searches, Settlements, Searches - Body/Strip.
- GTL, Co-Defendant Agree to $21.3 Million Settlement with HRDC in Price-Fixing Lawsuit, May 1, 2025. Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Telephone Rates, HRDC Litigation, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025. junk science, Wrongful Conviction, Fingerprint Evidence.
- $1.35 Million in Settlements for One-Legged San Francisco Detainee Forced to Hop—Twice, April 1, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Settlements, Deliberate Indifference.
- Self-Harming Wisconsin Prisoner Settles Failure-to-Protect Suit for $7,000, April 1, 2025. Settlements, Suicides, Failure to Protect (Staff).
- Biden Clemency Recipients Included Virginians Sentenced for “Acquitted Conduct”, April 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Pardons/Clemency, False Confessions, Drug Laws/Offenses.
- $42 Million Jury Award for Detainees Tortured by U.S. Military at Abu Ghraib Prison, April 1, 2025. Settlements, Torture Victims Act, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- Nebraska Supreme Court Announces ‘Working Days’ for Purposes of ‘Temporary Domicile’ SORA Reporting Requirement Means Weekdays, Excluding Legal Holidays, and Reverses Conviction for Failure to Register, March 15, 2025. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction.