More from this issue:

1. The History of Prison Legal News, by Paul Wright
2. Twenty Years of PLN in Court
3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
4. Private Manufacturers Use Cheap Arkansas Prison Labor, by Matthew Clarke
5. Virginia Jail Prisoner Awarded $7,500 after Being Beaten By Guards
6. Sex for Contraband Racket Unravels After Kansas Prisoner Has Abortion, by David Reutter
7. Housing Mentally Ill Violent Offender in Nursing Home Leads to Rape, by Matthew Clarke
8. Georgia Law Creates Homeless Sex Offender Colony, by David Reutter
9. $5,000 Award in New York Prisoner’s Retaliation Suit
10. Cornell Wins $19.5 Million Alaska Contract; CCA Protest Denied, by Matthew Clarke
11. Early Release Scam Results in Arrests, by Brandon Sample
12. $99,999 Settlement for Michigan Prisoner Damaged by Second-Hand Smoke
13. CA Prisoner Erroneously Validated as Prison Gang Member; Clears His Name, Has Records Expunged, $1.04 Million in Fees Awarded, by Michael Brodheim
14. Study Finds Pharmacological Treatment of Opiate Dependence Under-Utilized in State and Federal Prisons, by Michael Brodheim
15. Washington LFOs Issued Before July 1, 2000 Expire in 10 Years
16. Ninth Circuit: Federal Receiver May be Sued for Breach of Contract, by Michael Brodheim
17. Ohio Prisoner Awarded $40,000 for Sexual Assault
18. Missouri DOC Targeted by State Auditors
19. California: Failure to Maintain Relevant Data Renders CDCR Unable to Effectively Monitor and Manage its Operations, by Michael Brodheim
20. Illinois Jail Agrees to Pay $290,000 & Annuity Payments to Settle Excessive Force Suit
21. Iraq: Unrest at Abu Ghraib as Camp Bucca Closes, by Matthew Clarke
22. Ion Spectrometry Scans Resume at BOP Facilities
23. Methadone Vending Machines Installed in British Prisons
24. Faith-Based Substance Abuse Program Contracts May Violate Florida’s Constitution, by David Reutter
25. Missouri Jail Prisoner Awarded $5,000 in Failure to Protect Case
26. Tennessee Jail Agrees to Pay $5,000 for Withholding Prisoner’s Leg
27. State of Washington Settles Suit for $400,000 After Released Sex Offender Goes on Crime Spree, by Michael Brodheim
28. Political Uproar Follows NC Court Ruling that Life Sentence is 80 Years, by David Reutter
29. King County, WA Pays $125,000 for Assault on Juvenile Prisoner
30. DOJ Releases Report on Staff Sexual Abuse of Federal Prisoners, by Justin Miller
31. $900,000 Settlement in Washington State Suit Over Parolee Murdering Woman
32. Fifth Circuit Orders Discovery in Katrina Prisoner Evacuation Case, by Matthew Clarke
33. Colorado Guards Rarely Jailed for Sexual Abuse of Prisoners
34. Mississippi Earned Time Policy Violates Ex Post Facto Clause
35. Are Debtors’ Prisons Making a Comeback in Indiana?, by Justin Miller
36. Closed Door Justice: Court Seeks Disbarment of Attorney in Secret, by Brandon Sample
37. Washington Prisoner’s Rape Claim Results in $60,000 Settlement
38. Cost of Capital Punishment Comes Under Increased Scrutiny in a Struggling Economy, by Justin Miller
39. PLRA Attorney Fee Caps Constitutional, Third Circuit Decides
40. $12,000 Award to Wheelchair-Bound NY Prisoner for Fall off Loading Ramp
41. 17,698 DNA Profiles Missing from Wisconsin Database, by Matthew Clarke
42. Kentucky Supreme Court: Retroactive Application of Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Unconstitutional
43. Kern County Settles False Arrest Lawsuit for $5.5 Million, by Michael Brodheim
44. CCA Agrees to Pay $1.3 Million to Settle Sexual Harassment, Retaliation Suit
45. $932,900 Award to Hawaii Prisoner Rendered Infertile Due to Inept Medical Care
46. Flushing Junk Down Jail Toilets Damages Sewer System, Prompts $2.3 Million Settlement in California Lawsuit
47. Gloucester County, New Jersey Settles Jail Strip Search Class Action for $4 Million, by Matthew Clarke
48. $27,500 Settlement for Washington Prisoner’s Public Records and RLUIPA Claims
49. Opening Legal Mail Outside BOP Prisoner’s Presence States Constitutional Claim
50. Alternative Prisoner Phone Service Company Files Unsuccessful Suit, by David Reutter
51. Bivens Case by Disabled Prisoner Against Federal Prison Officials Remanded; Settles for $15,000
52. News in Brief:

More from Matthew Clarke:

• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
• Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
• California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
• Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
• CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
• Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Immunity/Liability, Mental Health.
• $25,000 Paid to Former New York Jail Detainee Subjected to Delayed Healthcare and Denied Mental Healthcare— Despite Seven Suicide Attempts, July 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Conditions of Confinement, Mental Health, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
• $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Minnesota Study Shows Disproportionate Rate of Health and Mental Problems for Recently Incarcerated, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical, Statistics/Trends, Mental Health, Health care.
• $2 Million Settlement Reached for 12-Year-Old’s Gang Rape in Detroit Juvenile Detention Center, Feb. 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Monell Liability.
• 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
• $4 Million Paid to Former Rikers Island Detainee Whose Reports of Repeated Rapes Were Ignored, Jan. 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Security Systems, Deliberate Indifference.
• Wisconsin DOC Releases 1,700 Private Health Records by Mistake, Dec. 1, 2025. DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Records, Mental Health, Visiting, Public Records Act.
• California Court of Appeal Reverses Superior Court’s Denial of Motion to Vacate Conviction Where Defendant Established His Failure to Understand the Immigration Consequences of Plea, Oct. 15, 2025. Mental Health, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant, Aggravated Felony, Asylum, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made.
• Date of Firing Squad Execution Vacated for Utah Prisoner with Dementia, Oct. 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Mental Health, Federal Death Penalty Act, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.