Jail inmates have various rights under the United States Constitution. When an inmate dies in custody due to a violation of these rights, a claim may often be asserted in federal court under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 for the unconstitutional death. When considering the full range of legal claims that should be asserted arising out […]
Counties, towns and cities are increasingly turning to private companies to provide health care services to inmates at their jails. When a private health care company agrees to provide health care services to jail inmates, the company and its employees (such as nurses and doctors) are assuming a public function and are responsible for complying […]
From: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 4, 2016): By Cara Lombardo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Two months after a Milwaukee County Jail inmate was found unresponsive in his cell, his family still doesn’t know how he died. Terrill Thomas was arrested April 15 after shooting a man in the chest and later firing two shots in […]
Jails are can be dangerous places. Unfortunately, inmate-against-inmate assaults (including sexual assaults) do occur. Some assaults result in extremely serious injuries, or even death. When such assaults occur, jail officials can face legal liability under the Constitution for failing to prevent them, but only in limited circumstances. The Supreme Court has held that jail officials […]
When police officers use too much force against a citizen, the citizen (or his or her estate) may assert that the force was excessive, in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Such claims are analyzed under an “objective standard.” In order to prove that the force was excessive, the court will […]
Because alcohol withdrawal in jail can be fatal if not treated appropriately, it is incumbent on jail medical staff to ensure that alcohol-dependent detainees and inmates are properly monitored for symptoms of withdrawal when they are admitted to a jail. When alcohol withdrawal symptoms exist, they must be properly addressed. This can include close monitoring […]
Death from alcohol or drug withdrawal in jail is often entirely preventable. When a person who is dependent on alcohol is forced to go “cold turkey” in jail without appropriate medical treatment, the resulting withdrawal symptoms can be deadly. The same is true for certain kinds of drug withdrawal. In particular, withdrawal from prescription benzodiazepines, […]
From: The Influence Julie Cobio Firkins prayed and then walked into a room to watch her 33-year-old husband die. “The video that you’re going to see is very sad,” she remembers the officer warning her—twice—before playing footage from a police bodycam. But as the tape rolled, she had a different thought: “It was brutal, not […]
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office also withheld crucial information on inmate’s death, a lawsuit says A Fremont County jail inmate suffered psychotic delusions and physical abuse by deputies before being found naked and dead on his cell floor in April 2014, according to a federal lawsuit. John Patrick Walter’s death is the fault of Fremont […]
A Fremont County jail inmate died naked on the floor of his cell after he was deprived of a prescription medication and beaten by guards during bouts of withdrawal-related psychosis, a lawsuit alleges. John Patrick Walter, 53, had nine broken ribs and other injuries when Fremont County sheriff’s deputies found him unresponsive while making their […]
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