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Washington State Closes McNeil Island Prison
by David M. Reutter
Citing $12 million in annual savings, the Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) has closed the 1,200-bed McNeil Island Corrections Center. A 2009 audit, however, found there would be no actual savings because it would cost the same amount to continue operating the island’s civil commitment …
Citing $12 million in annual savings, the Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) has closed the 1,200-bed McNeil Island Corrections Center. A 2009 audit, however, found there would be no actual savings because it would cost the same amount to continue operating the island’s civil commitment …
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More from this issue:
- Remembering Attica Forty Years Later, by Dennis Cunningham
- Extra Earned Time Sentence Reductions Save Oregon $25 Million
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- 800,000 Ex-Offenders Regain Voting Rights – 5.3 Million More to Go
- Female Prisoners Removed from CCA Facility in Kentucky
- PLN Files Censorship Suit Against Michigan Jail over “Postcard Only” Policy
- Reform Comes to Maine Supermax: New commissioner cuts population by more than half; prisoner rights advocates help in the reform, by Lance Tapley
- $73,700 Jury Award for Guard’s Sexual Encounters with Massachusetts Prisoner, by David Reutter
- New Mexico Spends $20 Million in Federal Stimulus Money to Fund Prison Jobs
- Sixth Circuit Upholds Tennessee’s Financial Obligation Re-Enfranchisement Law, by Mark Wilson
- Ninth Circuit Finds Maricopa County Jail’s Cross-Gender Strip Searches Unreasonable
- $60 Million in Strip Search Settlements for Cook County Jail Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- California: OAL Disapproves Proposed Parole Board Regulation Formalizing Lifer Risk Assessments, by Michael Brodheim
- Feds Pay Wrongfully Convicted D.C. Men $1.9 Million
- Florida Reenacts Reconstruction-Era Felon Disenfranchisement Rule, by David Reutter
- EEOC Files Suit Against GEO Group for Sexual Harassment at Arizona Prisons
- Georgia Deputy Fired for Refusing Threesome with Sheriff
- Feds Intervene in Suit, Allege “Sadistic” Stun Gun Use at Ohio Jail; Jail Settles, by Brandon Sample
- Federal Court Dismisses Virginia Lifers’ Parole Suit
- New Laws Improve Job Prospects for Former Prisoners
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- Prisoners Used to Clean Foreclosed Houses in Georgia
- Third Circuit Upholds Unanimity Requirement for Pennsylvania Pardon Recommendations
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- Protective Order Denied in Privately Run Florida Juvenile Facility Class-Action Suit, by David Reutter
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- Florida’s House Speaker Wants to Quicken Executions, by David Reutter
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- Michigan Prisoner’s Failure to Protect Case Settles for $100,000
- Florida Courts Criticize Indefinite Detention While Awaiting Civil Commitment Trials
- North Carolina Prisoner’s First-Degree Murder Conviction is Valid Basis to Deny Awarding Good Time Credits, by David Reutter
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- North Carolina Jail Prisoner Housed with TB Infected Cellmate Receives $2,250 Settlement
- New Mexico State Auditor Investigates Prison Contracts
- Washington State Closes McNeil Island Prison, by David Reutter
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- Smoke ’Em if You Got ’Em, Says Oklahoma DOC
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- Oregon Settles Prisoner’s Heart Failure Medical Mistreatment Case for $390,000, by Mark Wilson
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- News In Brief
More from David Reutter:
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025
- Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay for Non-Medical Reasons, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, Aug. 1, 2025
- First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court, Aug. 1, 2025
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
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- Crime Down But Incarceration Up In Tennessee, March 1, 2025. Crime, Statistics/Trends.
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- 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy, Jan. 15, 2025. Crime, Statistics/Trends, Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Data Report on Compassionate Release in FY 2023, Oct. 1, 2024. COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Compassionate Release, Official Report.
- One of Eight Prisoners Now Released is a Woman, Sept. 15, 2024. Gender Discrimination -- Women, Statistics/Trends.
- The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death, July 15, 2024. Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Conviction.
- Decoding Recidivism: Unraveling Its Complex Metrics and Real Impact, July 1, 2024. Statistics/Trends.
- Report Finds Inaccurate Field Drug Tests Major Cause of Wrongful Convictions, June 15, 2024. Drug Testing, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Wrongful Conviction, False Arrest.
- Push Notifications Pull to the Forefront, June 15, 2024. Statistics/Trends, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.

