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$1.8 Million Jury Award for San Diego Jail Overdose Death
On April 25, 2024, a federal jury in Southern California awarded $1.8 million to the Estate of a detainee who died of a methamphetamine overdose while incarcerated at the San Diego Central Jail. The verdict was preceded by a finding that two jail nurses intentionally denied Ronnie Sandoval needed …
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More from this issue:
- FCC Slashes Prison and Jail Phone Rates, Caps Video Call Cost, Eliminates “Site Commission” Kickbacks
- From the Editor
- Missouri Prisoner Executed After Making—and Losing—New Plea Deal
- Three BOP Prisoners Sentenced for Murder of “Whitey” Bulger at West Virginia Lockup
- At Oklahoma Lockup: Deputy Warden Fired and Arrested in Smuggling Scheme, Guards Charged in Prisoner’s Assault
- Alabama Prisoner Disciplined for Lying When Guard Cleared of Sexual Assault Allegation
- DOJ Opens Investigation Into Sex Abuse at Two California Women’s Prisons
- Three Former Rikers Island Guards Among Five Ex-Employees Charged in Massive Smuggling Scheme
- Crucial Surveillance Video Missing in Nevada Prisoner’s Homicide Caused by Guards
- Advanced Correctional Healthcare Ends Two Suits Over Deaths at Ohio Jail
- Texas Holds 1 in 41 Prisoners in Solitary Confinement
- Maine State Prison Warden Replaced As Misconduct Allegations Investigated
- Second Circuit: New York Prisoner’s Religious Discrimination Need Not Show a “Substantial” Burden of Beliefs, by Douglas Ankney
- Missouri Prisoners Losing Reentry Money to “Incarceration Reimbursement”
- Mistrial for Vermont Sheriff Who Kicked Shackled Detainee
- Georgia Guard Gets 15 Years for Using One Prisoner to Assault Another
- $1.8 Million Jury Award for San Diego Jail Overdose Death, by Matthew Clarke
- More Alabama Prisoners Murdered in Overcrowded Lockups
- Paternity Questions Dog Miami Jail Birth
- Federal Watchdog, SCOTUS Fail to Limit Solitary Confinement Abuses, by Douglas Ankney, Anthony Accurso
- America’s Prison Profiteers from Colonial Times Until Now, by Douglas Ankney
- Unequal Before the Law, by Stephanie Woodard
- North Carolina Expands Supervision for Mentally Ill Probationers, by Anthony Accurso
- South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Charged With Taking Over $219,000 in Bribes to Smuggle Cellphones
- New TV Show Dramatizes Prisoner’s Re-entry
- Alaska Supreme Court: DOC Can’t Unilaterally Redefine ‘Parole Release Date’, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Sets Up Circuit Split with Ruling on Michigan Prisoner’s PLRA Exhaustion Dispute
- Mentally Ill Detainee Allegedly “Stomped” In the Head By South Carolina Jailer, by Anthony Accurso
- Watchdog Calls for Hawaii Prisons, Jails to Stop Using Restraint Chairs
- Seventh Circuit Avoids Deciding Whether Wisconsin Statute of Limitations Tolls from Prisoner’s Incident or Grievances, by David Reutter
- Parole Denied for Indigenous Activist Leonard Peltier
- Florida Reentry “Success” Story: Convicted Embezzler Promoted to Oversee Miami-Dade County Contracts
- Ohio Pays $725,000 to Survivors of Two Prisoners Beaten to Death by Lying Guards
- Rural Washington County Shutters Its Jail
- Two Wrongful Tennessee Convictions Result in Payouts Over $1 Million
- Massachusetts Appeals Court Revives Prisoners’ Challenge to DOC Trust Account Policy Change, by Douglas Ankney
- Rural Areas Increasingly Reliant on Imprisoned Emergency Responders
- Houston Detainees Shipped to Private Jails in Mississippi and Louisiana, by Anthony Accurso
- California Bar Accuses L.A. Lawyer of Deceiving Prisoners Seeking Resentencing
- Alabama Warden and Wife Busted for Making “Magic” Mushrooms
- Illinois Pays $3 Million for Subjecting Prisoners to Degrading Mass Strip Search, by Anthony Accurso
- Transgender BOP Prisoner in Arizona Wins $10,243 for Guard’s Negligence
- Former California Jail Guards Plead Guilty to Fatal Beating of Mentally Ill Detainee
- Minnesota’s $100 Million-Per-Year Civil Commitment Program Has No “Discernible Impact” on Sex Crimes
- Federal Prisoner Will Appear on Alaska Congressional Ballot
- $7.25 Million Paid for Psychotic Detainee’s Suicide After 20 Days in Solitary at Indiana Jail
- Iowa Qualified Immunity Law Lets County Off the Hook for Guard’s Sex Abuse of Jail Detainee
- Impoverished Ohio County Gets New Jail Space After Settling Suit for Bloody Detainee Assault
- Indiana Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Corruption, County Pays $328,000 to Jail Detainees for “Night of Terror”, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Finds Relation-Back Rule Misapplied to Philadelphia Prisoner’s “Crappy” Ordeal Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Florida Court of Appeals Reinstates Voter Fraud Charges Against Ex-Felons
- Colorado Prisoner Forces Correctional Health Partners to Treat His Colon Disease, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Provides Cover to Oregon Governor for Prioritizing Guards Over Prisoners for COVID-19 Vaccine, by Douglas Ankney
- Suspended South Carolina Sheriff Acquitted of Using Excessive Force on Jail Detainee
- Nailing Down “Top Cop” Kamala Harris on Criminal Justice Reform
- Prisoners Reportedly Locked in Showers in Oklahoma, Florida, by David Reutter
- CDCR Slammed for Reclassifying Staff Misconduct Allegations as Routine Grievances, by Anthony Accurso
- Maryland Extends Contract with YesCare Despite Bankruptcy of Predecessor Corizon Health
- After Positive Drug Test, Kentucky Prisoners Allegedly Forced to Choose Between Tasing or Drinking Urine, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Supervisors Who Ignored Detainee’s Cranial Abscesses, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- $700,000 Paid by West Virginia for Jail Death, Claims Against Wexford Health Pending, Oct. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Restraints, Settlements, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Deliberate Indifference.
- $5 Million Paid by Washington for Attempted Rape of Seattle Woman by Mentally Ill Prisoner Released to Halfway House, Oct. 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Train/Supervise, halfway houses, Criminal Sexual Abuse, Prison Classification.
- Prisoners At Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” Settle Conditions Suits for $1.2 Million, Whistleblower Alleges Staff Mistreatment, Oct. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Medication, Settlements, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Immigration Detention.
- Iowa Department of Corrections Settles Lawsuit and Agrees to Implement More Reliable Drug Testing Procedures and Fair Disciplinary Proceeding Policies, Oct. 1, 2026. Liberty Interests, Evidence, Drug Testing, Settlements, Burden of Proof.
- Maryland Pays $314,000 for Stonewalling Public Records Requests in Prisoner’s Dehydration Death, Oct. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Water, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Public Records Act.
- Last of Three Oklahoma Jail Death Settlements Totaling $66.5 Million Paid for Fatal Dehydration of “Cookie Queen”, Oct. 1, 2026. Diabetes, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $3.75 Million Paid by Wisconsin After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies of Dehydration, Oct. 1, 2026. Water, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $250,000 Paid by Nevada to Former Prisoner Denied Colonoscopy Who Developed Stage IV Cancer, Oct. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Deliberate Indifference.
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.

