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Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds
Throughout the 1990s, “Supermax” prisons and control units – commonly called Security Housing Units (SHUs) or Intensive Management Units (IMUs) – sprang up across the nation. Between 1995 and 2000 the general prison population increased by 28 percent, but according to a study by the Commission on Safety and Abuse …
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More from this issue:
- Medical Examiners Lack Qualifications, Competence, Oversight, by Matthew Clarke
- Kentucky Jail Under Investigation After Prisoner Dies; Sexual Abuse, Financial Mismanagement Also Alleged, by Derek Gilna
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- St. Louis Lockups Violate Constitutional Rights, ACLU Asserts, by Mark Wilson
- Mentally Ill Prisoner Terrorized, Forced to Wear Pink Underwear by Arizona Jailers
- California Prison Settles Prisoner’s Excessive Force Suit for $15,000
- Texas Capital Defendants with Hired Attorneys Rarely Receive Death Sentences, by Matthew Clarke
- $16 Million Award Upheld in Wrongful Conviction Resulting from Undisclosed Evidence and Relationship
- UNICOR-Made Military Helmets Recalled, Production Suspended, by Derek Gilna
- $300,000 Settlement for New York Guard’s Fondling of Prisoner
- Kansas No Longer a Leader in Post-Release Prisoner Programs, by Derek Gilna
- North Carolina Prison Censorship Class Action Suit Settled
- Federal Rapid REPAT Program Not Working in Rhode Island, by Derek Gilna
- Georgia Prisoners Strike for Wages, Better Medical Care and Food
- Oregon Prisoner Holds Counselor Hostage, Gets New 68-Month Sentence
- California: Confiscation of Prisoner’s Mail May Violate First Amendment
- California: Harsh Sentencing Laws and Health Care Costs Strain Corrections Budget
- Released Prisoners Need Not Exhaust Grievance Remedies Before Filing Suit
- Budget Deficits Lead to Fewer Supermax Beds, by Mark Wilson
- California: Validity of Parole Board’s Psych Evaluation Procedures for Lifers Questioned, by Michael Brodheim
- Fourth Circuit Vacates Pornography Restriction on Federal Defendant
- Connecticut Restricts Prisoners’ FOIA Requests, by David Reutter
- U.S. Department of Justice Releases Report on Deaths in Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Ohio Prison Guard Dies Shackled to Hospital Bed, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment for Guard in Illinois Jail Taser Case
- Oregon Jail Guard Latest to be Indicted for Sexual Misconduct, by Mark Wilson
- Civilly Committing Sex Offenders Strains Some States’ Budgets, by Matthew Clarke
- California: Parole Agents Saw and Spoke to Kidnap Victim, Yet Failed to Identify or Rescue Her
- Political Patronage Scandal Rocks Massachusetts Probation Department, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Restitution Law Failing Crime Victims, by Michael Rigby
- Massachusetts: Court Lifts Stay of Discovery in Challenge to Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Substance, Not Label, of Prisoner Petitions Governs
- Audit Report Finds Georgia Sex Offender Registry Needs Complete Overhaul, by David Reutter
- Probation Officers Working in Los Angeles Juvenile Facilities Engage in Misconduct, Avoid Disciplinary Action, by Michael Brodheim
- Capital Appeals Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Theft, by David Reutter
- California Governor Orders Corrections Officials to Retain Parole Files Indefinitely
- Delaware’s Parole Board Suffers from Infighting, by David Reutter
- Oregon Federal Halfway House Director Removed Due to Embezzlement, by Mark Wilson
- $389,548.55 Total Award in Texas Jail Strip Search Suit
- Washington Supreme Court Holds No Liberty Interest in Sex Offender Release to Community Custody
- Indiana DOC Hires Convicted Former Legislator for Re-Entry Job
- Former Texas Youth Commission Official Gets Ten Years in Prison
- North Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Felon’s Right to Possess Firearm
- Seventh Circuit Holds No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner’s First Amendment Retaliation Suit for Providing Affidavit to Help Dead Prisoner’s Family
- California Supreme Court Clarifies Application of Presentence Good-Conduct Credit Statute
- Speedy Sentencing Procedure Applies to Probation Revocations, California Supreme Court Holds
- Massachusetts DOC Injunction Requiring Broadcast of Jum’ah Services via Closed-Circuit Television Upheld
- Federal Prisoners Making Solar Cells
- Cavity Searches of Civil Commitment Patients for Cellphone Upheld by Eighth Circuit
- News in Brief:
More from Mark Wilson:
- Indiana Prisoner Sues Prison Abolition Group, Wins $1,097 Default Judgment, April 26, 2024
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis, Feb. 1, 2024
- Former Oregon Prison Nurse Gets 30 Years for Raping Prisoners, Dec. 1, 2023
- After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, Oct. 15, 2023
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, Oct. 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, Oct. 15, 2023
- Congress Forces BOP to Upgrade Security Cameras, Sept. 15, 2023
- Oregon Will Hold Release Hearings for 73 Prisoners Sentenced to LWOP as Juveniles, Sept. 15, 2023
- Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees, Sept. 15, 2023
- Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Delayed Transfer of Sex Offenders, Sept. 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- After Exposing Prison Horrors, Incarcerated Whistleblowers Are Moved to Solitary, Feb. 1, 2026. Whistleblowing, Retaliatory Segregation, Work Strikes, Totality of Conditions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
- First Circuit Greenlights Rhode Island Prisoner’s Damages Suit for Disastrous 450-Day Solitary Confinement, Dec. 1, 2025. Eighth Amendment, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Deliberate Indifference.
- Suicidal West Virginia Prisoner Granted Transfer From 13-Year Solitary Confinement, Dec. 1, 2025. Contempt (Civil Procedure), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- Suit by Mentally Disabled Detainees at South Carolina Jail Secures Class Certification; No Action on Damning DOJ Report, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), DOJ CRIPA Actions, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Seventh Circuit Rules Against Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Over Wexford Health’s Poor Psychiatric Care, Nov. 1, 2025. Wexford Health Services, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Liberty Interest in Harsh Solitary Confinement Case, Nov. 1, 2025. Liberty Interests, Totality of Conditions, Qualified Immunity, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.

