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Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement
Loaded on Aug. 1, 2026
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2026, page 26
Filed under:
Restraints,
Medical Neglect/Malpractice,
Excessive Force (Wrongful Death),
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness),
Monell Liability.
Location:
Washington.
by Chuck Sharman
Washington’s King County agreed on May 26, 2025, to pay $3.5 million to Karen Rowland, the widow of a detainee who died in the County jail under a pile-on of guards just hours after his arrest in April 2022. Michael Rowland, 63, was one of …
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More from this issue:
- New Report on Privatized Prison Food Shines a Light on Aramark’s Harmful Practices, by Daniel A. Rosen
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, by Chuck Sharman
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, by Michael Thompson
- BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, by Michael Thompson
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, by Chuck Sharman
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death
- Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- “Safe Inside” Review Paid for by DOJ Found Prisons Grew Much Deadlier in Five Year-Period, by Michael Thompson
- Tuberculosis Outbreak, Protester Shooting at Colorado ICE Lockup
- Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, by Chuck Sharman
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, by Chuck Sharman
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, by Chuck Sharman
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Overtime Cuts Lead to Reduced Programming in California Prisons
- New York Ordered to Pay Prisoner $25,000 for Failing to Protect Him from Attack, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma County Jail Fails 12th Health Inspection
- The Exceptionally High Murder Rate Inside Maryland’s Prisons, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, by Chuck Sharman
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, by Chuck Sharman
- San Diego Guard Sentenced for Shoving a Shackled Detainee
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, by David Reutter
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its “Money of Mass Incarceration” Report, by Michael Thompson
- Airconditioning Failure at Troubled ICE Detention Center in New Jersey, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, by David Reutter
- Trump is Making Federal Prisons More Dangerous for Transgender Prisoners, by Michael Thompson
- Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted, by Douglas Ankney
- $100,000 Paid to New York Detainee Whose Infant Died in Syracuse Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, by Douglas Ankney
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, by Michael Thompson
- Court Records Reveal Alabama DOC Guard Ignored Stabbed Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, by Matthew Clarke
- New York Closes Rikers Infirmary as Broader Jail Shutdown Plan Stalls, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Report Shows Pattern of Sexual Assaults in Santa Clara County Jail, by Michael Thompson
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, by Matthew Clarke
- Jail Oversight Body Stalled by New York Governor, by Michael Thompson
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Damages Class Certification in Opioid Treatment Denial, by Michael Thompson
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, by Matthew Clarke
- Tulsa Jail Shutting Down After Investigative Reporting on Detainee Deaths
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- $3.75 Million Paid by Wisconsin After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies of Dehydration, Oct. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Rules Favorably for Washington Prisoner Whose Writing Submission Was Censored, Oct. 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Bail Ruling Cuts Some Jail Headcounts, Oct. 1, 2026
- $700,000 Paid by West Virginia for Jail Death, Claims Against Wexford Health Pending, Oct. 1, 2026
- BOP Prisoner’s Claim Over Denied Medical Care Ruled Impermissible Bivens Extension, Oct. 1, 2026
- $250,000 Paid by Nevada to Former Prisoner Denied Colonoscopy Who Developed Stage IV Cancer, Oct. 1, 2026
- $5 Million Paid by Washington for Attempted Rape of Seattle Woman by Mentally Ill Prisoner Released to Halfway House, Oct. 1, 2026
- Prisoners At Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” Settle Conditions Suits for $1.2 Million, Whistleblower Alleges Staff Mistreatment, Oct. 1, 2026
- $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026
- Maryland Pays $314,000 for Stonewalling Public Records Requests in Prisoner’s Dehydration Death, Oct. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Injunctions (PLRA), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- $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.
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026. Staffing, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency.
- 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.
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise, Monell Liability.
- $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.
- Fatal LAPD Arrests Show Systemic Failure in Handling Mental Health Crises, Oct. 1, 2026. Shootings, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Mental Health, Staff Training.
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Contractor Liability, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It, Sept. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Staff Training, Deliberate Indifference.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.

