On April 11, 2025, amended judgment was entered in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois, awarding $4,384,216.16 to state prisoner Timothy Kyles, who successfully prosecuted his claim that state Department of Corrections (DOC) officials were guilty of failure to protect him and of intentional infliction of emotional …
On December 17, 2024, the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington, Division II, held that a trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and dismissed a motion to enforce a released prisoner’s community custody condition. The Court concluded with an important warning …
A $2.8 million partial settlement was reached on March 4, 2024, in a national class action lawsuit challenging excessive fees on jail and prison “debit release” cards. The case was filed in 2015 by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), publisher of PLN, on behalf of Danica Love …
On December 18, 2024, notice was filed in the federal court for the Central District of Illinois that a $6 million good-faith settlement had been reached resolving a lawsuit seeking compensation for the April 2022 death of pretrial detainee Brian Downs at the Morgan County Detention Facility (MCDF). The …
by David M. Reutter
One year after Illinois eliminated cash bail, state courts are not only remanding fewer people to jail to await trial but also engaging in more deliberation about pretrial detention. Those results are part of the findings in a report published by the Loyola Chicago …
by David M. Reutter
The City of Philadelphia agreed on November 3, 2023, to pay $9.1 million to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit brought by Walter Ogrod, 59, a former state prisoner exonerated of murder and released after more than 28 years of wrongful incarceration—including 23 years on …
by David M. Reutter
On November 12, 2024, the federal court for the Eastern District of California entered judgment in favor of state prisoner Anthony Penton, adding $788,744.97 to an earlier $475,000 jury award on his claim that a guard violated his civil rights by withholding his mail …
by David M. Reutter
On May 15, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed summary judgment on a New York prisoner’s First Amendment free exercise claim while also affirming a jury’s verdict finding continuous lighting in his cell did not constitute cruel and …
by David M. Reutter
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit clarified the standards to determine whether Baltimore County prisoners are considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 203, when working in a recycling facility overseen by …
by David M. Reutter
On November 11, 2024, private prison and jail healthcare contractor Wellpath LLC filed for bankruptcy protection from debtors collectively owed $544 million, casting doubt on its ability to continue in business, much less pay settlements and verdicts owed in suits for poor medical care filed by prisoners, detainees or their estates.
One of the many cases still pending against the firm was filed by the family of a Virginia detainee who died of “salt wasting” after being denied medication necessary to control the disorder by officials at Henry County Adult Detention Center (HCADC), where Wellpath held the healthcare contract. Deborah Sue Damron, a firm nurse responsible for Brad Steven Hensley’s care, was not only named a defendant in the civil case but also criminally charged after his death with involuntary manslaughter.
Hensley, 42, was born with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, which caused him to suffer from “salt wasting” when his body failed to produce cortisol needed to regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, among other things. Hensley’s condition was treated with twice daily doses of prescribed Prednisone and Fludrocortisone, which was noted at booking into HCADC on August 22, 2022. It was further …
