×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
CoreCivic Pays $82,500 for First COVID-19 Death at San Diego ICE Lockup
Loaded on Nov. 1, 2025
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2025, page 20
Filed under:
Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic,
COVID-19,
Federal Tort Claims Act,
Failure to Train/Supervise,
Detention - Generally.
Location:
California.
by Chuck Sharman
Back in January 2020, Carlos Escobar Mejia, 57, was in a car in San Diego when he was pulled over by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Though he had lived and worked in the U.S. since 1980, he was …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, by Anthony Accurso
- Washington Prisoners Gain Access to Crisis Hotline
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- HRDC’s Washington Jail Debit-Release Card Suit Survives Summary Judgment, by Chuck Sharman
- $11 Million Paid to Estate of Mentally Ill Illinois Jail Detainee Who Lost 60 Pounds During 85-Day Incarceration, by Chuck Sharman
- Dying Mississippi Prisoner Wins Preservation Testimony in Suit Blaming Terminal Cancer on Exposure to Janitorial Chemicals, by Chuck Sharman
- Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisors from Prison Pastor’s Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Ninth Circuit Finds No Bivens Extension Needed for Federal Prisoner Prescribed Water and Exercise for Thyroid Storms, by Chuck Sharman
- Trans Kentucky Prisoner Loses Bid to Block State’s New Ban on Hormone Replacement Therapy, by Chuck Sharman
- Enormous $14 Million Settlement Reached by Los Angeles County with Former Prisoner Exonerated After 20 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- San Diego County Files Unusual Suit Against NaphCare Over Jail Detainee’s Murder, by Chuck Sharman
- For Delay in Summoning Medical Care for Detainees, Alabama Jailers Granted Immunity But California Trooper Headed to Trial, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit Rules Against Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Over Wexford Health’s Poor Psychiatric Care, by Michael Thompson
- Sixth Circuit Clarifies What Constitutes PLRA “Strike” and Reinstates Michigan Prisoner’s Lawsuit, by Matthew Clarke
- $2.4 Million Paid to Indiana Prisoners Sickened With Legionnaire’s Disease by Contaminated Water, by Chuck Sharman
- Body-Worn Camera Program for Guards Expands to all Maryland Prisons, by Chuck Sharman
- CoreCivic Pays $82,500 for First COVID-19 Death at San Diego ICE Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- Wisconsin DOC Ordered to Provide Programming for Pregnant Prisoners—34 Years After Law Was Passed, by Chuck Sharman
- Securus Loses Bid to Dismiss HRDC Price-Fixing Suit, by Chuck Sharman
- $150,000 Paid by Jacksonville for Mother of Five’s Jail Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, by Chuck Sharman
- While Mentally Ill Rikers Island Detainee Lay Dying, Staff Sprayed Air Freshener, Fudged Cell Checks, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, by Douglas Ankney
- $1.8 Million Settlement Reached Following CDCR Data Breach, by Chuck Sharman
- North Carolina Prison Officials Run Out the Clock On Trans Prisoner’s Vulvoplasty, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, by Anthony Accurso
- Fourth Circuit Rules in Favor of Prisoner’s Eligibility for Time Credits, by Douglas Ankney
- Jailhouse Lawyer Gets 16-1/2-Year Sentence for Defrauding Prisoner “Clients”, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Government, CoreCivic Slow-Walk Class-Action Challenges to Forced Labor of ICE Detainees, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma County Jailers Lose Bids to Derail Three Suits Over Detainee Murders, by Chuck Sharman
- Ohio Appoints Special Prosecutor to Investigate Double Amputee’s Restraint and Death
- Fifth Circuit Remands Louisiana Detainee’s Medical Grievance Case, by Michael Thompson
- South Dakota Approves $650 Million New Prison Construction
- Eighth Circuit Orders Preliminary Injunction Requiring Minnesota to Reinstate Program Teaching Biblical “Authentic Manhood”, by Matthew Clarke
- Appeals Court Rules Michigan’s Tolling Provision Is Not Inconsistent with the PLRA, by Douglas Ankney
- California’s Attorney General Is Suing Los Angeles County Jails Over “Inhumane Conditions”, by Michael Thompson
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, by Chuck Sharman
- Preliminary Injunction Halts Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill Prisoners at New York Lockup Where Wildcat Guard Strike Began, by Chuck Sharman
- Florida Sheriff Fires Five Guards for Two Cases of Detainee Abuse
- $5.5 Million Paid for Two Withdrawal Deaths at Washington Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Liberty Interest in Harsh Solitary Confinement Case, by Michael Thompson
- Eleventh Circuit Overturns 1990 Alabama Death Sentence Over Racially Biased Jury Selection; ACLU Report Shows It Is Still Happening, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit Declines to Extend to Summary Judgment Proceedings a Rule Requiring District Courts to Notify Pro Se Litigants, by Douglas Ankney
- BOP Cancels Union Rights for Prison Guards
- $4 Million Verdict Returned in Colorado Jail Suicide Case, by Chuck Sharman
- $100,000 Settlement Reached Between Imprisoned BOP Guard and Prisoners He Raped, by Chuck Sharman
- Fifth Circuit Dismisses Sex Abuse Claims Filed by Three Texas Prisoners Against Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Nearly $528,000 Paid by Kansas Jail to Detainees Raped by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
- Two Re-Entry Non-Profit Leaders in Tennessee and Massachusetts Accused of Criminal Charges
- New York Jury Convicts Former Guard for Robert Brooks’ Taped Killing
- The Last Escaped Detainee from the New Orleans Jail Was Arrested in an Atlanta Crawlspace
- California Approves Higher Wage for Prisoner Firefighters (But Still Underpays)
- Former Prisoners’ Challenge to Virginia Constitution’s Felony Disenfranchisement Clause Allowed to Proceed, by Douglas Ankney
- $3.6 Million Paid by Minnesota County After Hemophiliac Jail Detainee Died from Brain Bleed, by Chuck Sharman
- Appeals Court Allows Illinois Prisoner’s Suit for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by Douglas Ankney
- FCC Votes For Dramatic Hike to Prison Phone Call Rates, by Chuck Sharman
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026
- Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration, May 1, 2026
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026
- New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2026
- NaphCare Pays $875,000 to Settle New York License Violations, Banned from State for Five Years, May 1, 2026
- Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- 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.
- 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.
- Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Treat, Overcrowding, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Officials in Kansas Allow CoreCivic to Reopen Leavenworth Prison, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Advocacy, Injunctions, Immigration Detention, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Montana Switches to Sending Prisoners to a Private Prison in Mississippi, April 1, 2026. Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Overcrowding.
- Colorado Governor Tells Lawmakers to Open New Prison, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cost of Prison Systems, Revocation Proceedings, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Idaho DOC Transfers Prisoners to Arizona Facility Run by CoreCivic, April 1, 2026. Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Overcrowding.
- Private Company Investigating Rapes at California ICE Detention Center Instead of Sheriff, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Police/Govt Misconduct, Immigration Detention, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- Private Prison Firm GEO Group Reports Record $254 Million Profit After New ICE Contracts, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Systemic Medical Neglect, Immigration Detention.

