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Detainee Beaten to Death at Nassau County Jail
Loaded on July 15, 1999
by Alex Friedmann
published in Prison Legal News
July, 1999, page 9
When Thomas Pizzuto entered the Nassau Co. jail in East Meadow, New York to serve 90 days for traffic violations, he didn't know the jail term would become a death sentence.
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Medical,
Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal,
Criminal Prosecution,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Guard Unions.
Location:
New York.
Pizzuto, 38, a recovering heroin user who was in daily methadone treatment repeatedly asked for his medication and argued …
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More from this issue:
- Strip Mining Human Rights in Virginia's Supermax Dungeons, by Dan Pens
- Florida Guards Acquitted in Brutality Case, by Alex Friedmann
- The Mentally Disordered Inmate and the Law, by Fred Cohen (Book Review), by Paul Wright
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Behind Bars in Brazil (Review of Human Rights Watch Report), by Julia Lutsky
- Human Feces in California Prison's Water, by Willie Wisely
- Iowa to Close Prison Law Libraries
- South Korea Frees Political Prisoner after 41 Years
- Ohio Prisons Cited by EPA, by Dan Cahill
- Missouri Ends Ad Seg Ban on Publications
- Detainee Beaten to Death at Nassau County Jail, by Alex Friedmann
- Wisconsin Prisoners Stage Food Protest
- Exhaustion Required
- PLRA Physical Injury and Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Not Retroactive
- Illinois Exhaustion Described
- Federal Habeas Not Subject to PLRA
- PLRA Doesn't Affect Court Contempt Powers
- PLRA Physical Injury Requirement Not Retroactive
- Guard Guilty of Penis Stomping
- Florida Prison Erupts
- Washington Gift Subscription Ban Injunction Affirmed
- $660,000 Awarded in Post-Sandin Segregation Suit
- Private Prison Guard Is State Actor for § 1983 Purposes
- VitaPro President Arrested
- Liberty Interest in Parole-Required Custody Classification
- Withholding Dental Care Violates Eighth Amendment, by Ronald Young
- No Interlocutory Appeal on Supervisory Liability When Guard Stabs Prisoner
- Denial of HIV Medication Subjects Medical Contractor to Liability
- Kansas Good Time Forfeiture Violates Ex Post Facto
- Arizona Prisoners Can Pay Filing Fee in Installments
- Infraction Inadmissable at Criminal Trial
- BOP Erred in Running State Sentence Consecutive to Federal Sentence
- Washington Restitution Order Expired Ten Years After Release
- Adequate Opportunity for Discovery Required
- Texas Courts Must Hold Hearing Before Dismissing Suit for Having No Arguable Basis in Fact
- No Suspicion Required for California Parolee Searches
- IDEA Confers Right to Education Even in SHU
- $130,000 in Damages and Fees Awarded in New York Retaliation Suit
- Qualified Immunity in Transsexual Treatment Case
- New York Work Release Suit Dismissed
- Edwards No Bar to Seg Suit
- Washington EFV Cut-Off Date Questioned
- News in Brief
- Retaliation Suit States Claim
- FRAP 24 Good Faith Standard Not High
- 376 Days in New York Seg "Atypical and Significant" Hardship
More from Alex Friedmann:
- A Primer on Prisoners’ Constitutional Rights, Nov. 14, 2016
- Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons, Oct. 3, 2016
- Securus Faces Lawsuit Over Recorded Attorney Calls, Aug. 2, 2016
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Jail in Knoxville, TN, Oct. 26, 2015
- Who Owns Private Prison Stock?, July 31, 2015
- 32 Deaths at CCA-operated Immigration Detention Facilities Include at Least 7 Suicides, July 7, 2015
- How the Courts View ACA Accreditation, Oct. 10, 2014
- Recidivism Performance Measures for Private Halfway Houses in Pennsylvania, Sept. 19, 2014
- Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication, April 15, 2014
- Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever!, Nov. 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Punished for Bleeding: How Periods in Prison Become a Trap, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Strip Searches, Hygiene Supplies, Discrimination (Transgender).
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026. Transportation, Excessive Force, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Deliberate Indifference.
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- Pennsylvania County Renews $8 Million Contract with PrimeCare Despite Settlements, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Contractor Liability.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- California’s Attorney General Is Suing Los Angeles County Jails Over “Inhumane Conditions”, Nov. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Exposure to Cold, Plumbing, Sewage, Sanitation, Hygiene Supplies, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Complaints, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- $5.5 Million Paid for Two Withdrawal Deaths at Washington Jail, Nov. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Protect (General), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- $950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards, Nov. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliation for Organizing, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender), Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Wrongful Use of Force.

