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Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss
by Matt Clarke
On October 7, 2024, the federal court for the Southern District of Texas refused a motion by Defendant Harris County Jail officials in Houston to fully dismiss claims made by two Plaintiffs who intervened in a massive suit filed after 27 jail detainees died or …
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More from this issue:
- Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, by Douglas Ankney
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, by Kevin Bliss
- Eighth Circuit: Evidentiary Admissibility Is a “Red Herring” At Class Certification of St. Louis Jail Conditions Challenge, by Douglas Ankney
- Hep-C Treatment Needed in Los Angeles County Jails to Save Lives and Money
- Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling
- With Eleventh Circuit Okay, Alabama Executes Third Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia
- Washington Prisoners Prep for Firefighting Career After Release
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Released from Solitary After 15 Years
- Suits Filed Over Dehydration Deaths at Two Texas Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row
- Blood in the Water Author Wins Censorship Challenges Against Illinois, New York Prison Systems, by Douglas Ankney
- Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide
- Six Set Themselves on Fire at Virginia Prison in 2024
- Two-Week Lockdown at BOP Women’s Prison in Minnesota After Nine Overdoses, Two Deaths
- Fifth Circuit Leaves Louisiana Prisoner Waiting for Reinstated Parole, by Douglas Ankney
- Nebraska Pioneers Diversion Program to Help Arrested Veterans Avoid Jail
- Maryland Cancels Debt Owed by 6,715 Parolees
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Greenlights Muslim Hawaii Prisoner’s Challenge to Early-Served Ramadan Meals, by Douglas Ankney
- Texas Executioners Playing Fast and Furious to Obtain Lethal Drugs
- Details Vague on Spending from San Diego Jail Detainee Welfare Fund
- Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss, by Matthew Clarke
- Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison”
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin DOC Under Fire for Hiring Censured Doctors
- $400,000 Jury Verdict for Medical Neglect Resulting in Amputation of Alabama Prisoner’s Toes
- Minnesota Prisoners Getting Scanned Mail, Kept Waiting 18 Months for Tablets
- Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy
- Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest
- No Charges in Alabama Prisoner’s Torture, Rape and Murder
- Guard Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force at Indiana Jail Sued Nine Times in Two Years
- Pigeonly Flies Into Telecom Turbulence, Declares Bankruptcy
- BOP Prisoners in Alabama Strike to Protest Release Date Confusion
- Tenth Circuit Affirms PTS Driver’s Conviction for Torturous Detainee Transport
- Pennsylvania Jail Guards Accused of Ripping Surgical Pin from Detainee’s Shoulder
- Illinois Sheriff Resigns After Deputy Fatally Shoots 911 Caller
- Arizona DCRR Ordered to Fill Prison Medical Staff Vacancies—Again, by Matthew Clarke
- Four-Month Wait for 40 Percent of South Carolina Jail Detainees Needing Psychiatric Evaluation
- Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Missouri Guards in Transgender Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Retaliation and Unreasonable Search, by Douglas Ankney
- 150 People Sue Over Past Abuse at New York City Juvenile Facilities
- $1.5 Million Settlement Reached for Oregon Prisoner’s Untreated Traumatic Brain Injury
- Former Tacoma Reentry Center Severs Washington DOC Contract
- Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, by David Reutter
- Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, by Anthony Accurso
- Nearly $12 Million Paid to Mentally Disabled Indiana Prisoner Wrongly Convicted of Murder, by Douglas Ankney
- “Locked In, Priced Out”: Markups and Kickbacks in Prison Commissaries
- With HRDC Amicus Brief, Survivor of Dead Washington Prisoner Wins Public Records Case, by Sam Rutherford
- Former Kentucky Sheriff Indicted for Murdering Judge in Chambers
- Michigan Supreme Court Greenlights Adding Restitution At Resentencing of Former Juveniles Sentenced to LWOP
- Second Rapper Stabbed in Atlanta Jail During Record-Long Trial
- South Dakota DOC Locks Down Third Prison in 2024
- New York City Held in Contempt in Long-Running Rikers Island Class-Action
- Lawsuits by Michigan Prisoner Yield $57,750 in Settlements, Plus Policy Changes
- Top Doc Sacked from Maryland Psych Hospital with “Climate of Chaos”
- Colorado Legislature’s New Jail Oversight Committee Not Weighted in Detainees’ Favor
- 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy
- First Circuit Rejects Request by Securus and Pay Tel to Stay FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps
- Georgia Prisoner Accused of Running $3.5 Million “Protection” Racket
- Securus/JPay Video Calling Service Potentially Threatened by New Rate Caps
- GOP Michigan County Commissioner Re-elected— and Headed to Federal Prison
- Push to Digitize Rikers Island Mail Based on Faulty Drug Tests
- “Whoppergate” Embroils Georgia Sheriff
- News in Brief
- Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail
More from Matthew Clarke:
- 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
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Last of 11 Guards Sentenced in Death of New York Prisoner, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), False Statements/Perjury, Obstruction of Justice.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- Troubled Illinois Lockup Sees Guard Abuses, Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Sept. 1, 2026. Hunger Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Assaults on Staff, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Death, Compassionate Release.
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas.
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.

