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Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration
by Chuck Sharman
After more than two decades of wrongful incarceration, Texas state prisoner Carmen Mejia, 54, was exonerated and released from the Travis County Correctional Complex by the state Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) on March 11, 2026. Two days earlier, Travis County District Court Judge P. …
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More from this issue:
- The Systematic Terror of Rankin County’s “Goon Squad”, by Anthony Accurso
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Washington Governor Fires Independent Prison Watchdog
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, by Chuck Sharman
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions
- Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration, by Chuck Sharman
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, by Chuck Sharman
- Hospital Keeps Sending Detainees Back Without Care to County Jail in Colorado
- Former Prison Dentist in Iowa Accused of Harassment
- Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, by Douglas Ankney
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, by Chuck Sharman
- New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, by Douglas Ankney
- Prisoners in Norfolk, Virginia Left on Extended Lockdown, by Michael Thompson
- “Like the Walking Dead”: Smuggled Drugs Fuel Chaos Inside Ohio Prisons, by Laura A. Bischoff, USA Today Network, Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project
- NaphCare Pays $875,000 to Settle New York License Violations, Banned from State for Five Years, by Chuck Sharman
- New Hampshire Officials Halt $700 Million Prison Replacement
- Illinois Jail Reprimanded for Denying Detainees Mail Based on Media Content, P.O. Box Return Address, Settles Detainees’ Suit with $111,825 Payment of Legal Fees, by Douglas Ankney
- Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, by Chuck Sharman
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Supreme Court: Jail Trust Cannot Withhold Requested Records under Law Enforcement Exemption of ORA, by Douglas Ankney
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, by Michael Thompson
- Pennsylvania Closes Its Second-Oldest Prison
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, by Matthew Clarke
- Nearly 50 People Have Died in ICE Custody Since Trump’s Return to White House, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025
- Arkansas Board of Corrections Settles Sunshine Law Charges, Caving to Governor’s Power Grab, by Chuck Sharman
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, by Chuck Sharman
- Watchdog Finds Barely 1 in 10 Complaints Against California Prison Staff Handled Adequately, by Chuck Sharman
- Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, by Chuck Sharman
- Trump Wants $152 Million to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, by Matthew Clarke
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, by Michael Thompson
- Nevada Non-Profit Founder Under Investigation for Misconduct
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- HRDC Sues Colorado Jail for Prohibiting Dozens of Magazines and Books, by Robert Haughn
- Connecticut Correction Ombuds Finds DOC in “Sustained Institutional Failure”, by Chuck Sharman
- Arrests of Unhoused People Driving Albuquerque Jail Bookings, by Michael Thompson
- Indiana DOC Found in Violation of State Public Records Act for Withholding Execution Drug Cost Information, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Jury Awards $307.6 Million to Former Michigan Prisoner After Corizon Refused Surgery, Forcing Him to Wear Colostomy Bag for Two Years, by Robert Haughn
- Alabama DOC Terminates $1 Billion Contract with YesCare
- Prisons in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula “in a Death Spiral” Due to Under-Staffing
- Records Show Culture of Impunity Among Kentucky Prison Guards, by Jo Ellen Knott
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its Mass Incarceration Report, by Michael Thompson
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, by Matthew Clarke
- Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, by Michael Thompson
- Guaranteed Income Helps People Leaving Jail and Prison, and That Helps Everyone, by Aleks Kajstura
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026
- Washington DOC Barred from Putting Prisoners on Lockdown and Calling It “Programming”, Sept. 1, 2026
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026
- “Nothing Short of Disgraceful”: New York Prisoner Wins Injunction Ordering Cancer Treatment Delayed Seven Years, Sept. 1, 2026
- HRDC Wins Injunction Against Minnesota DOC Policy Banning Its Publications, Sept. 1, 2026
- $280,000 Paid for South Carolina Detainee’s Death in Charleston Jail, Sept. 1, 2026
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026
- $5.4 Million Jury Verdict Against Riverside County in Suit Over Jail Fentanyl Death, Sept. 1, 2026
- Atlanta Jail Begins Turning Away Misdemeanor Arrestees, Sept. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Connecticut Supreme Court Holds Trial Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Challenge Misleading CSLI GeoTime Video, Sept. 1, 2026. Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Trial Strategy, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Prejudice - Potential for Undue.
- Hawaii Supreme Court Announces False Evidence Standard Governs Post-Conviction Claims That Scientific Developments Invalidated Expert Testimony, Holding Prosecution Knowledge Not Required Under State Due Process Clause, Sept. 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Constitution, state, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, Aug. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Certificate of Innocence, False Imprisonment, Confessions - Coerced.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Framework Governing Factual Innocence Claims in First Application of La. C.Cr.P. Art. 926.2, Holding Second-Step Review Encompasses All Relevant Evidence, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Plenary Hearing Before Special Adjudicator on Reliability of Fingerprint Evidence, Holding Century of Judicial Acceptance Did Not Satisfy Trial Court’s Gatekeeping Obligation Under N.J.R.E. 702, Aug. 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Daubert Standards, Fingerprint Evidence, Expert and Opinion Testimony.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Postconviction Forensic Testing Statute Permits Digital Forensic Analysis of Cellphones, Holding Chapter 278A Not Limited to Tangible Evidence Testable for Biological Material, Aug. 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Relevance.
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Eyewitness Identification, Brady Rule violations.

