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$4.77 Million Settlement for Three Alaska Prisoners Exonerated of Murder After 18 Years
by David M. Reutter
On November 6, 2023, three of the “Fairbanks Four” accepted $5 million from the Alaska city for 18 years they spent wrongfully incarcerated for a teen’s 1997 murder before their exoneration in 2015. The case featured almost every hallmark of a wrongful conviction, including a confession ...
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More from this issue:
- Spit Hoods, Modern Legacy of Torture, by Anthony Accurso
- From the Editor
- NYC Rehires Former Head of Rikers Island Lockup Where Guard Assault Left Detainee Quadriplegic
- “Like Being Back in Jail”: Wisconsin Returns Released Sex Offenders to Lifetime GPS Monitoring
- Alabama Guard, Prisoners Among 13 Sentenced in Phone Scam and Drug-Smuggling Ring
- Identities Stolen From Virginia Jail Detainees For $341,205 COVID-19 Fraud
- Facing Bankruptcy, Securus Promotes Prison Tablets
- Fired Missouri Guards Charged with Murder in Prisoner’s Suffocation Death
- California Resentences 15 Condemned Prisoners to Life Without Parole
- Former Virginia Prisoners Win Back Denied Sentence Credits, Sue Over Delayed Release
- California Prisons Ban High-Tech Lie Detector
- Eighth Circuit Asked to Block New FCC Rules Capping Prison Phone Rates and Eliminating Ancillary Fees and Kickbacks
- Florida DOC Failed to Investigate Background of Guard Convicted in Mass Shooting
- $4.77 Million Settlement for Three Alaska Prisoners Exonerated of Murder After 18 Years, by David Reutter
- Kentucky Prisoners Take Advantage of Securus Software Glitch for $1 Million
- Alabama Jail Accused of Granting Detainee’s Medical Bond Just Before Death to Avoid Costly Medical Care, by David Reutter
- $28.75 Million Settlement Paid by New York City in Suit Alleging Rikers Guards Stood by and Watched Detainee Hang Himself, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Interference With His Muslim Religious Practice, by David Reutter
- Two More West Virginia Jailers Plead Guilty in Detainee’s Homicide
- Colorado Becomes First State to Require Polling Stations in Jails
- Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for California Jail Nurse Who Cleared Detainee for Release Just Before His Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
- San Bernardino Jail Partially Released from Court Monitoring After Paying Another $150,000 in Settlements for Detainee Deaths
- Building Carcerality, by Lisa Haber-Thomson, Dana McKinney White
- Corizon Health Bankruptcy Settlement Grows, But Only by $21 Million
- California Throws Prisoners Under the Bus to Adopt New Heat Rules
- PPI Releases 10th Anniversary Report on Mass Incarceration in the U.S.
- Florida Prisoners Exposed to Cancer-Causing Chemicals
- Two Hurricanes in Two Weeks Threaten Prisoners and Jail Detainees in Six States
- Public Defender Files Habeas Petitions for Detainees at “Horrific” Baltimore Lockup
- $23,138 Plus Out-Of-State Transfer for Virginia Prisoner Who Accused Guards of Excessive Force and Altering Video
- Another South Carolina Prisoner Convicted of “Sextortion” of U.S. Military Personnel
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Destroying Evidence in Two Oregon Jail Death Suits, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Guard Accused of Assaulting Restrained and Compliant Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- In Oregon Case, Ninth Circuit Limits Pretrial Detention Without Counsel to Seven Days
- Two Former Georgia Sheriffs Sentenced for Misconduct, Related $5 Million Settlement Approved, by David Reutter
- Washington Appellate Court Reverses Parole Revocation Based on Hearsay
- BOP Ends “Blast” Messages on TRULINCS
- Illinois Prisoners Stage Hunger Strikes Over DOC Failure to Implement New Sentence Reduction Law
- Another Payout Brings Arizona Prisoner’s Total to $92,850
- Maryland and Wexford Health Pay $200,000 to Prisoner Denied Care and Partially Blinded, by Douglas Ankney
- After $750,000 Settlement, Georgia Guard Sued Second Time For Letting One Prisoner Murder Another, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS Stays Texas Execution With 20 Minutes to Spare, by Matthew Clarke
- 50 Years After Starting “Scared Straight,” Former N.J. Prison Warden “Would Do It Again”
- Angola Prisoners Granted Limited Relief From “Farm Line” Work
- Armor Health Liquidates Assets—to Firm’s Founder
- Court Strikes Washington Statute to Regulate GEO Group’s Notorious ICE Lockup
- Milwaukee County Pays $1.05 Million Judgment for Bankrupt Armor Correctional Health to Former Jail Detainee
- $1.2 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Censorship Suit Against North Carolina Prison System
- California Changes Prisoner Property Policy After Suit Filed Alleging Gender Discrimination Against Men, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Former Federal Prisoner’s Suit Over Assault By Guards at Louisiana Lockup, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.5 Million Settlement Approved in Chicago Jail Suicide Case
- $500 Jury Verdict for Pennsylvania Prisoner After Federal Court Clarifies DOC Grievance Procedures
- California Pays $4.45 Million to Prisoners Allegedly Raped by Guards, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Pennsylvania Guards Who Pepper-Sprayed Asthmatic Prisoner
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
- ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, Feb. 15, 2025
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, Jan. 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, Jan. 15, 2025
- In Failure-to-Treat Claims, Wellpath Denied Dismissal in Virginia, Settles in Pennsylvania, Dec. 15, 2024
- Trends Show Mortality Risks Increase with Higher Jail Turnover Rates, Dec. 15, 2024
More from these topics:
- U.S. Justice Department Investigating Tennessee CoreCivic Prison After Mother of Murdered Prisoner Reaches Settlement, March 1, 2025. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison/Jail Murders, Staffing, Settlements, Wrongful Death.
- Settlement Bars Family Separations at U.S. Border Until 2031, Pays $6.4 Million in Legal Fees and Costs, March 1, 2025. Settlements, Family, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $6.4 Million Jury Award Against Corizon Nurses For Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Alcohol Withdrawal, March 1, 2025. Corizon, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $1.5 Million Settlement For In-Custody Injury by New York Police, March 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Police/Govt Misconduct, Prison Brutality.
- New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources, Feb. 15, 2025. Wexford Health Services, Systemic Medical Neglect, Malpractice, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $9.9 Million Paid to Washington Prisoner Whose Misdiagnosed Cancer Is Now Terminal, Feb. 15, 2025. Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer, Malpractice, Settlements.
- Oregon Pays $50,000 to Settle Retaliation Suit by PLN Contributor, Who Wins Release, Feb. 15, 2025. Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Media Contact, Settlements.
- Philadelphia Held in Contempt of Jail Conditions Settlement, Ordered to Pay $25 Million, Feb. 15, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Settlements, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Policy Considerations, Fines.
- HRDC Files Suit on Behalf of Florida Man Wrongfully Convicted and Incarcerated for 31 Years, Feb. 15, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, HRDC Litigation.
- Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, Feb. 15, 2025. Private Contractors, Settlements, Suicides.