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Suicides Plague Wisconsin Jails; Attempted Suicide Suit Settles for $13.1 Million
by Matthew T. Clarke
There has been a rash of suicides in Wisconsin jails, including six in 2005 and four in the first half of 2006. One jail, in LaCrosse County, experienced prisoner suicides in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2006. La Crosse County Sheriff Mike Weissenberger blamed the problem on …
There has been a rash of suicides in Wisconsin jails, including six in 2005 and four in the first half of 2006. One jail, in LaCrosse County, experienced prisoner suicides in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2006. La Crosse County Sheriff Mike Weissenberger blamed the problem on …
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More from this issue:
- The Political Economy of Prison and Jail Litigation, by Margo Schlanger
- Florida’s Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Suicides Plague Wisconsin Jails; Attempted Suicide Suit Settles for $13.1 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Dr. Yank: Washington Prison Dentist Nearly Kills Patient
- Landmark Settlement Reduces SHU Time, Increases Treatment Of New York Prisoners With Mental Illness
- Maryland Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Felons
- Missouri Legislature Allows Wrongfully Convicted to Receive Compensation
- Supreme Court: California’s Law Permitting Suspicionless Police Search of Parolees Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment, by Marvin Mentor
- Increasingly Repressive Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Have Doubtful Benefits, by John Dannenberg
- Phoenix, Arizona Sheriff’s Policy Delaying Prisoners’ Elective Abortions Enjoined, by John Dannenberg
- Alaska Jail Settles Alcohol Withdrawal Death Case For $573,000
- Colorado Successfully Pressures FBI To Release DNA Info; Racial Bias Infects DNA Databases, by Gary Hunter
- Guards Convicted of Stealing, Bringing Drugs into Washington State Private Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Disallowing Printed E-Mail Responses To Wisconsin Prisoner’s Web Page Raised Triable Issues of Fact, by John Dannenberg
- BOP Cancels Solicitation of Proposal for Single-Faith Program
- Lifetime Supervision or Lifetime Incarceration for Colorado Sex Offenders?
- Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under “Approved Vendor” Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees
- Study: Supermax Prisons Achieve Control While Inflicting Debilitating Side Effects, But Don’t Reduce Recidivism, by John Dannenberg
- California Sheriff Criticized on Injury Non-Treatment After Use of Force
- South Carolina Prisoner Awarded $4,000 For Fall, Broken Ankle
- Human Rights Watch Urges Access to Condoms in U.S. Prisons and Jails
- Private Prison Companies Bilk Florida Taxpayers Out of Millions, by David Reutter
- $30,000 Award in Hawaii Medical Negligence Suit
- Los Angeles County Jail Visitor’s Injury After Scuffle With Deputies Settles For $150,000
- Florida Court Without Jurisdiction to Impose Confinement Condition Sanctions at Sentencing
- City of Detroit Must Record Suspect Confessions; $4 Million Wrongful Incarceration Award
- Excessive Force And Medical Negligence Death In Youngstown, Ohio Arrest Settles For $350,000 From Police, $100,000 From PHS, by John Dannenberg
- U.S. Supreme Court: State Felon’s Deportation Order Reversed Where Underlying Offense Amounted Only to Federal Misdemeanor
- $248,000 Jury Award for Inhumane D.C. Jail Conditions
- Fifth Circuit Remands Texas Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim, Adopts De Minimis Standard, by Michael Rigby
- Harsh Federal Parole Conditions for Federal Sex Offender Upheld
- California Prison Guards Awarded $440 Million Retroactive Pay Increase
- Second Hawaii Sex Assault Case Settled for $25,000
- $2.5 Million Settlement in Schenectady County Strip Search Suit
- California Governor’s Parole Veto Reversed by Federal Court, by John Dannenberg
- New York Jail’s Juvenile Education Suit Returns to District Court
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner is Protected by Legal Privilege but Not Marriage Privilege When Writing His Lawyer-Wife
- Federal Prisoner’s Criminal Assault Conviction Reversed; Entitled to Raise Self-Defense
- Washington Indigents All Get Experts at Public Expense
- New York Prisoner Beaten By Unofficial Enforcer Awarded $500,000
- News in Brief:
- Alaska DOC Liable for Rape of Federal Prisoner by Prison Doctor
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
- D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, Feb. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Adoption of Transferred Intent Self-Defense, Jan. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Barbaric and Deadly Conditions Continue to Plague Los Angeles County Jails, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Hygiene Supplies, Suicides.
- Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, Feb. 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency, Competency Hearing.
- Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, Feb. 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Death of “Floridly Psychotic” Detainee Left Untreated in Jail for Months, Jan. 1, 2026. Naphcare, Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $200,000 for Detainee Thrown in “Rollover” Solitary Without Food or Water at Minnesota Jail, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Ad-Seg Hearings, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- $3.3 Million Verdict for Detainee’s Fatal Fentanyl Overdose in Southern California Jail, Jan. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.

