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Pennsylvania County and Wellpath Pay Over $1.4 Million to Settle Claims of Four Former Jail Detainees, Including Three Who Died by Suicide
Loaded on Jan. 1, 2026
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2026, page 38
Filed under:
Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal,
Private Contractors,
Failure to Treat,
Body Cavity Searches,
Suicides.
Location:
Pennsylvania.
by Chuck Sharman
Meeting at the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the Luzerne County Council approved three settlements in November 2024, totaling $645,330 in payouts on behalf of three former detainees at the Luzerne County Prison—two of whom committed suicides that jailers allegedly failed to prevent. That was on …
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More from this issue:
- Shadow Prisons: How Civil Commitment Leads to Longer Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ninth Circuit Hands Partial Victory to NaphCare, Remanding Much of $27 Million Jury Verdict in Washington Jail Death Case, by Chuck Sharman
- The DOJ Orders Prison Inspectors to Drop LGBTQ+ Protections
- Class Certified in Challenge to Mailed Book Ban at Indianapolis Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $450,000 Paid by Missouri County for Jail Detainee’s Death After 11 Days Without Medical Attention, by Chuck Sharman
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, by Chuck Sharman
- HRDC Sues New Mexico County for Violating 10-Year-Old Settlement of Censorship Suit, by Chuck Sharman
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars
- Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, by Douglas Ankney
- Massive $112 Million Jury Verdict for Detainees Held in New York Jail Past Release Date on ICE Detainers, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Mayor’s Order Opening Rikers Island to ICE Declared Illegal, by Chuck Sharman
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, by Chuck Sharman
- Slender Man Stabber’s Escape Prompts “Serious Questions” for Wisconsin DOC
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, by Douglas Ankney
- Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans
- HRDC Sues Washington Jail for Rejecting PLN and Other Publications, by Chuck Sharman
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $28.3 Million Awarded from NaphCare for Washington Jail Detainee Who Lost Leg to Untreated Gangrene, by Chuck Sharman
- Last of 16 Sentenced in California Prison Aryan Brotherhood Case, As Lawyer Learns He Was Targeted in Murder Plot, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Jails Face Mounting Death Toll Ahead of Likely Receivership
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Death of “Floridly Psychotic” Detainee Left Untreated in Jail for Months, by Chuck Sharman
- New Jail in Oklahoma Is Costing More than Triple the Amount Voters Approved
- $200,000 for Detainee Thrown in “Rollover” Solitary Without Food or Water at Minnesota Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, by Douglas Ankney
- $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma DOC Refuses to Publicly Release Body Camera Footage
- Georgia Bristles at Federal Law that Prohibits Drone Interceptions
- BOP Announces New Conditional Placement Date Calculation, by Chuck Sharman
- Arkansas Guards Can Now Work as Immigration Enforcers
- Chicago Pays Exonerated Prisoners $7.5 Million, Bringing Total to $33.75 Million for Wrongful Convictions, by Chuck Sharman
- Pennsylvania County and Wellpath Pay Over $1.4 Million to Settle Claims of Four Former Jail Detainees, Including Three Who Died by Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Guards in Los Angeles County Now Wearing Body Cameras
- Third Circuit Rules Awarding BOP Prisoners 54 Days of Good Time Per Year Is Pro-Rated, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Shows How Prison Gerrymanders Distort Democracy Across U.S., by Chuck Sharman
- $3.3 Million Verdict for Detainee’s Fatal Fentanyl Overdose in Southern California Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Slams South Carolina Jail for Violating State Rules
- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, by Anthony Accurso
- SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Rastafarian Hair-Cutting Case, by Michael Thompson
- Wisconsin DOC Is Not Tracking Work Release Data
- $4 Million Paid to Former Rikers Island Detainee Whose Reports of Repeated Rapes Were Ignored, by Chuck Sharman
- U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, by Douglas Ankney
- Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Detainee’s Jail Food Lawsuit, by Michael Thompson
- Amnesty International Report Claims Torture and Enforced Disappearances at “Alligator Alcatraz”
- California Funds $38 Million Pilot Program to Investigate Methods for Cooling Three Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- “We’re Broken”: As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE, by Keri Blakinger
- Labor Coalition in Minnesota Demands Disney Contractor Pay Prisoners Minimum Wage
- As California Limits Water Use, People in Prison Face Punishment for Showering, by Steve Brooks, Olivia Hefferman
- $600,000 Awarded So Far in Disgraced Georgia Sheriff’s Trial for Abusing Detainee in Restraint Chair, by Chuck Sharman
- Soaring Medical Costs in Washington Jails, by Michael Thompson
- How I Learned to Transcribe Braille in Prison, by Nathan Gray
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Washington County Pays $300,000 to Jail Detainee Denied Treatment for Kidney Stone, Feb. 1, 2026
- Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2026
- $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, Feb. 1, 2026
- North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, Feb. 1, 2026
- $2 Million Settlement Reached for 12-Year-Old’s Gang Rape in Detroit Juvenile Detention Center, Feb. 1, 2026
- Alabama and Wexford Health Pay Undisclosed Settlement for Delays Costing Prisoner Partial Foot Amputation, Feb. 1, 2026
- Delaware Settles Suit Over Depriving Young Prisoners of Special Education, Feb. 1, 2026
- Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, Feb. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, Feb. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Hygiene Supplies, Suicides.
- Los Angeles County Restricts Opioid Treatment, Feb. 1, 2026. Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Drug Treatment/Rehab.
- Washington County Pays $300,000 to Jail Detainee Denied Treatment for Kidney Stone, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Deliberate Indifference.
- Report: Incarcerated Population in Rural Jails and Prisons At Risk of Losing Hospital Access, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Transportation, Rural Prisons, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, Feb. 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Alabama and Wexford Health Pay Undisclosed Settlement for Delays Costing Prisoner Partial Foot Amputation, Feb. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Infections, Deliberate Indifference.
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.