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$220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal
by Anthony W. Accurso
With signing of a settlement agreement on September 11, 2024, Ohio’s Richland County was on the hook for $220,000 to the estate of detainee Maggie Copeland, who died while experiencing withdrawal symptoms at the County lockup on Mother’s Day in May 2022. Under a …
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More from this issue:
- New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources, by Sam Rutherford
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- BOP Shutters “Rape Club” in California, Director Peters Quits
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Presumption of Innocence Not Violated by Jail Courtroom
- Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Sleep Deprivation Claim—Again
- San Francisco Supervisor Calls for “Mass Arrests” and Compulsory Addiction Treatment in “Drug Jails”
- Arizona To Resume Executions
- Washington Spends Only Fraction of Fund to Improve Prisoner Welfare
- Prisons Don’t Fix Rural Poverty—They Make It Worse
- Eleventh Circuit Tells BOP Prisoner in Georgia: Bivens Is On “Endangered Species List”
- Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, by Douglas Ankney
- Biometric Monitoring Comes to Washington Jail
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, by David Reutter
- USDC (D. Oregon), Case No. 6:22-cv-00451, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida to Trans Prisoners: We’re Coming for Your Bras
- U.S. Navy Exonerates Wrongly Convicted Black WWII Sailors
- 20 South Carolina Prisoners Sentenced So Far for Deadly 2018 Riot
- Long Wait List for Texas’ Only College-Level Re-Entry Class for Prisoners
- Florida Prisoners Sue Over Deadly Heat
- $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, by Anthony Accurso
- Seventh Circuit Offers Wisconsin Prisoner Just a Little Help in Suit Alleging He Was Held in Feces-Stained Cell Without Water
- Legal Gaffe Prolongs Case of Former St. Louis Detainee Held Eight Months After Dismissal of Charges, by Matthew Clarke
- State Forces Minneapolis Jail to Ship Out Detainees
- Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Allows More Releases for Medically Frail Prisoners
- Medicare Now Available to Those on Probation and Parole
- Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, by Douglas Ankney
- BOP Eases Money Grab from Federal Prisoners
- Among World Nations, Individual U.S. States Near Top of List for Per Capita Incarceration, by Matthew Clarke
- Tennessee DOC Found in Violation of ADA With Failure to Accommodate Hearing Impaired Prisoners
- Washington DOC Physician Assistant Surrenders Medical License in Wake of Malpractice Allegations, by Sam Rutherford
- HRDC Files Suit on Behalf of Florida Man Wrongfully Convicted and Incarcerated for 31 Years
- Federal Prison Oversight Act Becomes Law
- Despite Prevalence, Most ADHD Behind Bars Goes Undiagnosed and Untreated
- $9.9 Million Paid to Washington Prisoner Whose Misdiagnosed Cancer Is Now Terminal
- Indiana Resumes Executions
- Cuyahoga County Judges Vowed to Reform the Bail System. Here’s What Happened., by Ilica Mahajan, Rachel Dissell
- Philadelphia Held in Contempt of Jail Conditions Settlement, Ordered to Pay $25 Million
- Louisiana Prisoner Charged With Running Sports Gambling Operation
- Sixth Circuit: Leaman Doctrine Did Not Bar Ohio Prisoner’s Pro Se Federal Civil Rights Suit Over Interference with Legal Mail
- Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed, by Douglas Ankney
- DOJ Directs BOP, U.S. Marshals to Improve Suicide Prevention
- Minnesota Supreme Court Says Randy Guard Must Face Prisoner’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Claims
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing, by Douglas Ankney
- Arkansas Moving Some State Prisoners from County Jails… to a Former County Jail
- Oregon Pays $50,000 to Settle Retaliation Suit by PLN Contributor, Who Wins Release
- DOJ Settles Complaints About Conditions for Disabled Detroit Jail Detainees, by Matthew Clarke
- $150,000 Settlement But No Charges After Schizophrenic Florida Detainee Killed by Jail Guards
- California Prisoner Allegedly Ran Alaska Drug Ring from His Cell
- Oregon Holds BLM Protestor in Solitary Confinement for 250 Days
- New York Prison Officials Found Routinely Violating HALT Act With Overuse of Solitary Confinement, by Matthew Clarke
- Harvey Weinstein Files Notice of Claim Over Rikers Island Detention
- Prison Profiteers Ready to Help Trump Make Good on Deportation Threats
- Oregon DOC Investigation Puts Top Medical Officials on Leave
- Ohio Guard Killed by Prisoner in Christmas Day Attack
- Two Mississippi Prisoners Escape in One Month
- Charges Dismissed Against Connecticut Guards Who Assaulted Prisoner
- California Governor Pardons Former Prisoner Podcaster of “Ear Hustle”
- Historic $7 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Matthew Clarke
- New York Governor Orders Firing of 13 Guards, Nurse in Prisoner’s Fatal Beating
- Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff
- Nearly 800 California Prisoners Battle Huge Los Angeles Wildfires—for About $1 an Hour
- Thousands Freed from Syrian Prison
- Tennessee Finalizes New One-Drug Execution Protocol
- News in Brief
More from Anthony Accurso:
- Virginia Prisoners Stuck Waiting for Education Programs, Feb. 1, 2026
- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, Jan. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections, Dec. 15, 2025
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025
- Protecting Your Digital Privacy, Oct. 15, 2025
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Evidence of Criminal Activity Identified in Warrant, Oct. 15, 2025
- Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions”, Oct. 15, 2025
- How Nepotism in New York Prisons Cost Prisoners Their Lives, Oct. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Bedding, Settlements.
- Hospital Keeps Sending Detainees Back Without Care to County Jail in Colorado, May 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- NaphCare Pays $875,000 to Settle New York License Violations, Banned from State for Five Years, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026. Prison Health Services, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Jail Specific, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, April 1, 2026. Voting, Advocacy, Settlements, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.

