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Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff
Loaded on Feb. 15, 2025
published in Prison Legal News
February, 2025, page 60
Filed under:
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines,
Sentences - Adjustments and Departures,
Offense of Conviction.
Location:
South Carolina.
A former South Carolina jailer who cut a plea deal and testified against his former boss is now the only one of the two to be convicted. But David Andrew Cook, 30, will not spend any time behind bars for viciously and repeatedly attacking a detainee with a Taser …
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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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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 these topics:
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, May 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Obstruction of Justice, Wrongful Use of Force, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, May 1, 2026. Work Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Train/Supervise, Police--Excessive Force, Deliberate Indifference.
- Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, March 1, 2026. Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway, March 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.

