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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
- Florida Prisoner’s Suicide Suit Settles for $500,000
- $85,000 Settlement in Philadelphia Wrongful Imprisonment Suit
- Former Federal Prisoner Seeks Almost $280,000 in Attorney Fees from BOP
- Prisoners Used to Clean Foreclosed Houses in Georgia
- Third Circuit Upholds Unanimity Requirement for Pennsylvania Pardon Recommendations
- Texas Chaplain Who Complained of Jail Conditions Reinstated, Suit Settled
- Protective Order Denied in Privately Run Florida Juvenile Facility Class-Action Suit, by David Reutter
- $4.5 Million Settlement in Texas County Jail Strip Search Suit
- Florida’s House Speaker Wants to Quicken Executions, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania Sex Offender Treatment Parole Requirement, by Mark Wilson
- 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
- Parole Violator Leaps to Death at Alaskan Jail
- 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
- Canadian Prison Guards Hold Prisoners at Gunpoint for 10 Days
- Smoke ’Em if You Got ’Em, Says Oklahoma DOC
- California: Orange County Jail System Ordered to Remedy ADA Violations, by Michael Brodheim
- Oregon Settles Prisoner’s Heart Failure Medical Mistreatment Case for $390,000, by Mark Wilson
- Arizona County to Pay Ex-Prisoner $325,000 in Jail Guard Beating
- An American Radical: Political Prisoner in My Own Country, by Susan Rosenberg (Kensington Publishing Corp. 2011), 400 pages, $14.95 paperback
- UNICOR Wins $20 Million No-Bid Body Armor Contract
- Federal Stimulus Money Not Spent as Intended by San Diego County Probation Department
- Paperwork SNAFU Leaves Mentally Ill Woman Jailed in Louisiana for Eight Months
- California State Auditor Reports on CDCR Malfeasance
- Official Capacity Not the Same as Governmental Agency in Texas Civil Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- News In Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Motion Judge Abused Discretion by Denying Evidentiary Hearing on IAC Claim Where Plea Counsel’s Affidavit Was Not Inherently Inconsistent With Colloquy Statements Regarding Immigration Advice, March 1, 2026
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial, March 1, 2026
- New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Deliberate Indifference Claim for Baltimore Detainee Served Rotten Food, March 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Clarifies Revocation Appeal Provides “Procedurally Appropriate Mechanism” for Raising Rogers Challenge to Unannounced Supervised Release Conditions, Vacates Revocation Judgment Based on Null Standard Conditions, March 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, March 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, March 1, 2026
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- U.S. Jails Hold 52,000 Detainees for Nothing More than “Failure to Appear”, March 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Bail/Pretrial Release, Arrest/Arraignment.
- 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.
- Alaska’s DOC Was $24 Million Over-Budget Last Year, Spent Most on Overtime, March 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing, Guards/Staff.
- Idaho Prisons Are Full. Costs for Incarcerating Inmates in Jails and Out of State Are Skyrocketing, Feb. 1, 2026. Out of State Transfers, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Overcrowding.
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Wisconsin DOC Is Not Tracking Work Release Data, Jan. 1, 2026. Work Release, Prison Labor, Statistics/Trends, Fair Labor Standards Act.
- New York State Closes Yet Another Prison, Dec. 1, 2025. Transfers, Work Strikes, Statistics/Trends, Staffing, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Prisoners and Detainees in the Gulf Coast Are Particularly at Risk from Natural Disasters, Dec. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Shelter, Exposure to Heat, Hurricane Katrina, Immigration Detention.
- Washington Prisoners Gain Access to Crisis Hotline, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference, Compassionate Release.

