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$250,000 Paid by Maine to Former Prisoner Held in Solitary Confinement—Which the State DOC Says Doesn’t Exist
by Chuck Sharman
The Maine Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to pay $250,000 to former state prisoner Zachary Swain on February 26, 2026, settling his claims that he was subjected to excessive and debilitating solitary confinement during his six-year incarceration at Maine State Prison (MSP). The payout is …
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More from this issue:
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- California Pays $15,000 to State Prisoner Who Claimed He Was Targeted by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Revives Detainee’s Suit Alleging Monell and 14th Amendment Deliberate Indifference Claims, by Douglas Ankney
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, by Matthew Clarke
- Alabama Prison Warden Reportedly Arrested and Walked Off Job, by Chuck Sharman
- FTC Substantiates Allegations Against ViaPath Related to Data Breach and Orders Remedial Action, by Douglas Ankney
- Number of Prisoners Awaiting Transfer from Jail Surging in Indiana
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, by Chuck Sharman
- Jury Awards Over $24.4 Million to Kentucky Prisoner Exonerated After 22 Years, Bringing Total Payout for Him and Co-Defendant to Almost $45 Million, by Chuck Sharman
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Finds Stark Racial Disparities in Wisconsin Prisons
- $5 Million Paid by Colorado County for Jail Detainee’s “Gruesome” Death from Untreated Ulcer; Claims Proceeding Against Southern Health Partners, by Chuck Sharman
- Kansas DOC Replaces Centurion with Another Prison Healthcare Contractor
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $10 Million Wrongful Conviction Verdict for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, by Matthew Clarke
- Spate of Deaths at Tulsa Jail Highlights Medical Neglect, by Michael Thompson
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules that Sheriff Did Not Violate Open Records Act and Declines to Award Damages to Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
- $250,000 Paid by Maine to Former Prisoner Held in Solitary Confinement—Which the State DOC Says Doesn’t Exist, by Chuck Sharman
- Former Maine Prison Official Will Serve 5 Years in Prison for $2.4 Million Bribe
- Arkansas Supreme Court Bows to Governor’s Board of Correction Takeover, by Chuck Sharman
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
- Ambulance Calls at Boston Jail Have Tripled Since 2010
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, by Chuck Sharman
- Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida Federal Court Excoriates BOP for Health Care Failures, Grants Prisoner Early Release to Seek Treatment for Possible Breast Cancer, by Matthew Clarke
- North Carolina Prison Closing Due to Short Staffing
- New York Prisoner, Paroled After 25 Years, Exonerated of Crime, by Chuck Sharman
- Former Georgia Prison Warden Indicted for Role in Smuggling Scheme
- Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, by Matthew Clarke
- NaphCare Pulls Out of Washington Jails After Lawsuit Payouts, by Michael Thompson
- Federal Court Partially Enjoins Enforcement of Georgia’s S.B. 185 Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Health Care in DOC, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Profiteer The GEO Group Accused of Refusing Health Inspections at Detention Facility Despite Court Ruling
- $75,000 for Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Against Jail Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Reaches Settlements Totaling Nearly $5.2 Million with Estates of Two Fatal Methadone Overdose Victims Detained on Rikers Island, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Jury Awards $2,500 to Male Wisconsin Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Female Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, by Chuck Sharman
- Washington State Supreme Court Ruling Supports Broad Immunity in Overdose Cases, by Michael Thompson
- Nevada Ex-Warden Ordered to Counseling After Ear-Biting Incident
- Pepper Spraying Incident Prompts Policy Change at Washington Women’s Prison, by Jo Ellen Nott
- They Thought They Were Leaving Prison Early. Then They Weren’t., by Phillip Luna
- New Orleans Sheriff Indicted on 30 Charges Related to Malfeasance and Fraud
- Ghislaine Maxwell Reportedly Receiving Preferential Treatment at Texas Prison Camp, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Prosecutors Had a Drugs-for-Votes Scheme “Locked Up.” Under Trump, They Were Told Not to Pursue Charges., by Raquel Rutledge
- Oklahoma Governor Pressured DOC to Grant Preferential Treatment to Friend, by Jo Ellen Nott
- In Wake of Murders of Prisoners by Guards, New York Passes Legislation to Enhance Safety, Accountability and Training, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Auditor Demands Private Prison Company Pay $7.4 Million to Mississippi
- Wisconsin Governor Issues Executive Order to Restore Commutations, by Michael Thompson
- Our Money Is Disappearing Inside ViaPath’s Prison Tablets, by Christopher Santiago
- Ombuds Report Doesn’t Rule Out Racism or Retaliation at Red Onion State Prison, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado DOC Allows Some Prisoners Convicted of Sex Crimes to be Released While Delaying Parole Consideration for Others, by Douglas Ankney
- Murder Convictions Tossed for Three Pennsylvania Prisoners After 28 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison, by Mike Ludwig
- 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.
- Prisoners At Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” Settle Conditions Suits for $1.2 Million, Whistleblower Alleges Staff Mistreatment, Oct. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Medication, Settlements, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Immigration Detention.
- 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.
- Maryland Pays $314,000 for Stonewalling Public Records Requests in Prisoner’s Dehydration Death, Oct. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Water, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Public Records Act.
- 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.
- Nevada Reentry Nonprofit CEO Arrested for Sexual Assault, Oct. 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, DOC/BOP misconduct, Criminal Sexual Abuse.
- Disabled Prisoners in New York Aren’t Receiving Entitled Accommodations, Oct. 1, 2026. Disabled Prisoners, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Failure to Treat, Americans with Disabilities Act.
- $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.
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s ADA Complaint Alleging Denial of Toileting and Hygiene Services, Oct. 1, 2026. Disabled Prisoners, Hygiene Supplies, Summary Judgment, Americans with Disabilities Act, Deliberate Indifference.
- GAO Report on ICE Jail in Fort Bliss Finds Independent Failures, Sept. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Overcrowding, Security Systems, Americans with Disabilities Act, Immigration Detention.

