In the News


Pennsylvania Prison Contractor $7MM Settlement re: Mentally Ill Woman on Suicide in Confinement Lawsuit

Pennsylvania Prison Contractor $7MM Settlement re: Mentally Ill Woman on Suicide in Confinement Lawsuit

- CBS News
In November 2017, the estate of Janene Wallace reached a $7 million legal settlement with Community Education Centers (CEC), a for-profit company that manages prisons, to resolve allegations that George W. Hill Correctional Facility staff, “caused her death and failed to further prevent her death by placing her in solitary with a guard who taunted her and told her to kill herself,” according to a spokesperson for the Wallace estate.
CBS reports that Wallace was first sent to...

CO - Denver Jail Fail: $4.6 Million to Family of Mentally Ill Inmate

CO - Denver Jail Fail: $4.6 Million to Family of Mentally Ill Inmate

- Denver Post
The family of a mentally ill man killed in 2015 in Denver’s downtown jail will receive $4.6 million. The settlement was announced on November 1, 2017.
The settlement also addresses and changes the way the Denver Police Department trains staff to deal with Colorado’s mentally ill inmates.
Agitated and Hearing Voices Michael Lee Marshall, 50, had suffered psychotic episodes for a long time in which he heard the voices of Elvis Presley and others. Two years earlier, on...

Jail Death - Medical Neglect: California County Pays $5 Million to Victim’s Family

Jail Death - Medical Neglect: California County Pays $5 Million to Victim’s Family

- San Luis Obispo Tribune
On January 22, 2017, Andrew Holland died at the San Luis Obispo County Jail. In July, San Luis Obispo County officials agreed to settle the wrongful death case brought by his family for $5 million. Holland, 36, died in custody after spending almost two days in chair restraint.
He had been held in the jail since 2015, on charges of public disturbance and resisting arrest. Even though he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 20s and a judge had ordered psychiatric treatment for him...