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Articles in Verdict1

Federal Suit Over Wisconsin Suicide Attempt Settles for Millions

On February 22, 2007, a lawsuit against employees of the Monroe County Jail in Wisconsin settled for between $6,100,000 and $13,100,000. The suit alleged deliberate indifference in a suicide attempt that left a prisoner permanently disabled

In 2002, Brenda Mombourquette was on probation for possessing the narcotic painkiller Oxycontin without ...

Wrongful Death At Wallens Ridge State Prison Settled For $1,540,000

In 2002, the state of Connecticut paid $1.1 million and in 2003 the state of Virginia paid $350,000 to the family of Connecticut state prisoner Larry Frazier who died a torturous death in a supermax prison.

To ease Connecticut overcrowding, Frazier, serving a 30 to 60-year sentence for rape, was ...

Colorado Settles Class Action Prison Disability Discrimination Suit For Over $3 Million

The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) has settled a class action disability discrimination suit over accessibility inside its state prisons for prisoners with impairments in mobility, hearing, sight and for diabetics. Over $3 million will be spent on accessibility renovations and $252,300 in awards, fees and costs. Individual claims from ...

NJ Parole Class Action Settled

A U.S. District Court for New Jersey held that a group of New Jersey state
prisoners, who were seeking injunctive relief from the state's Parole Board
for its consistent failure to conduct timely parole hearings, warranted
certification as a class action for the purpose of settlement. Once that
issue was ...

Summary Judgment Partly Reversed for Refusing Amended Complaint Filing

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an Arizona federal
district court for refusing to allow a federal prisoner to file an amended
complaint.

Michael Satz, a prisoner in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), was
held in a Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) prison. He ...

Plaintiffs Awarded Attorney Fees For Criminal Defense In § 1983 Action

Plaintiffs Awarded Attorney Fees For Criminal Defense In § 1983 Action


The United States District Court for the Central District of California, in
ruling on a novel issue in the Ninth Circuit, held that a plaintiff in a §
1983 action was entitled to attorney fees for his criminal defense. ...

$90,000 Settlement for Alabama Prisoners Raped by Jail Guards

In June 2002, the City of Homewood, Alabama, paid a total of $90,000 to
settle with two unidentified women who claimed they were forced to provide
sexual favors to guards while imprisoned at the city jail.

The plaintiffs, Jane Doe, 32, and Janet Doe, 22, alleged that while
incarcerated at ...

Canadian Crime Victim Settles Halfway House Suit for $215,000

On January 22, 2001, the Correctional Services of Canada agreed to pay an
unidentified female rape victim $215,000 (Canadian) hours before her civil
suit for damages was scheduled to begin. In 1998 the victim was attacked by
James Armbruster, described in media accounts as a career criminal with
more than ...

Altercation Suit Brought By Prisoner Backfires; $250,000 Awarded to Guard

Virginia state prisoner Lament Douglas brought a § 1983 suit against prison
guard J. McCarty for an altercation which left both parties injured. The
Court granted remittur and awarded $250,000 to McCarty on his counterclaim.
Douglas' motion for a new trial was denied and affirmed on appeal.

Douglas appealed the ...

PLN Uncovers Secret Sweetheart Settlement Between PRIDE and Former Board Members

by David M. Reutter

In its continual effort to expose corruption within prisons, PLN has uncovered the confidential settlement between Florida?s Prison Rehabilitation Industries and Diversified Industries (PRIDE) and the corporations spawned by its former directors? corporations.

Our January 2005 cover article detailed how PRIDE corporate executives and directors had ...