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Articles by Christopher Zoukis

$95,000 in Tasing Excessive Force Settlement--in Tazewell County, Illinois!

by Christopher Zoukis

An Illinois man who claimed that he was excessively Tased and pepper-sprayed while imprisoned in the Tazewell County Jail has settled his excessive force claim for $95,000.

Everett Lewis was arrested and booked into the Tazewell County Jail December 9, 2009. He was placed in a jail ...

$90,000 Settlement in Erie County, N.Y. Jail Wrongful Death Case

By Christopher Zoukis

The estate of a prisoner who died as a result of the alleged negligence of Erie County, NY Jail staff has agreed to settle the case for $90,000.
Marguerite Arrindell was held in the jail on drug charges for about a week in April 2008. During her ...

$2,500 Settles New York Man's Excessive Force Case

by Christopher Zoukis

A New York prisoner held at the Five Points Correctional facility has agreed to accept $2,500 to settle a federal lawsuit in which he alleged violations of his civil rights.

Bryant Wheeler was a prisoner at Five Points between December 10, 2007 and February 3, 2008. During ...

California Prisoner Settles Claim of Cruel and Unusual Punishment

by Christopher Zoukis

A California prisoner held at Pelican Bay State Prison has agreed to settle a case in which he alleged that he had been subject to cruel and unusual punishment and deliberate indifference to a serious medical need.

Daniel Treglia started a fire in his cell August 13, ...

Former Texas Deputy Settles Claim that Boss Defamed, Wrongfully Prosecuted Him

by Christopher Zoukis

Mark McAvoy, a former sheriff's deputy in Shelby County, Texas, settled a federal lawsuit against his former employer on May 20, 2013.

McAvoy began his employment as a deputy in November 2010. When he was hired, Sheriff Newton Johnson, Jr. allegedly told him not to investigate drug ...

$283,549 to Jail Guard in Retaliation Suit

by Christopher Zoukis

A captain at the Coastal Bend Detention Center in Texas was awarded $283,549 in damages against the private prison company LCS Corrections Services, Inc. on May 21, 2013.

Captain William O. Soto alleged in his lawsuit that he assisted a female co-worker with filing a sexual harassment ...

$841,000 to Settle Negligent Medical Care Case

by Christopher Zoukis

A federal tort claim brought against the federal government, the Bureau of Prisons, and several medical and administrative officials for negligent medical care leading to a prisoner’s brain damage and death settled for $841,000 in May 2015.

Gerald Kapiloff was convicted of wire fraud and bank fraud ...

$320,000 Settlement in Wrongful Imprisonment Case

by Christopher Zoukis

A federal lawsuit alleging wrongful arrest and imprisonment by the LAPD settled for $320,000 on January 16, 2007.

The case involved the murder of 16-year-old Martha Puebla, who was shot and killed outside her Sun Valley, California home. Puebla was murdered just 11 days after she testified against ...

Fourth Circuit Allows Abu Ghraib Torture Suit to Move Forward

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has reversed a district court's ruling that a war crimes lawsuit brought by Iraqi nationals allegedly tortured by military contractors in 2003 and 2004 cannot go forward.

The claim alleged sundry acts of heinous abuse visited upon detainees at the ...

New York Top Court Invalidates Local Laws Restricting Sex Offender Residency

By Christopher Zoukis

The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that efforts by local governments to restrict where sex offenders may reside in New York are preempted by state law, rendering them invalid.

The court considered Nassau County Local Law 4, which prohibited registered sex offenders from residing within ...