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Texas Abolishes Last Meals for Death Row Prisoners, Reduces Weekend Meals
Texas served its final last meal to condemned prisoner Lawrence Russell Brewer, who, on September 21, 2011, was executed for the infamous racially-motivated 1998 dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. Brewer requested an extensive last meal and then didn’t eat any of it, which prompted state Senator John Whitmire, …
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More from this issue:
- Solitary Confinement Subject of Unprecedented Congressional Hearing, by Alex Friedmann
- Solitary Confinement: Bad for Chimps, Okay for Humans?, by Lance Tapley
- California Female Prisoners Eligible for Early Release, but Disqualified Due to Lack of Local Rehabilitative Services
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ninth Circuit Judge Who Co-Authored “Torture Memos” Discloses Receipt of $3.4 Million in Legal and Consulting Help
- The Price to Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization in the Prison Phone Industry, by Drew Kukorowski
- Ninth Circuit Holds CAFRA Attorney Fees Should be Paid to Claimant, not Attorney
- Fifth Circuit Holds Louisiana Prisons Can’t Ban Nation of Islam Newspaper
- New York Court Upholds Law Requiring Census Count to Use Prisoners’ Pre-Incarceration Address
- Texas Abolishes Last Meals for Death Row Prisoners, Reduces Weekend Meals, by Matthew Clarke
- Manhattan Prosecutor Who Moonlights as Dominatrix Suspended, Resigns, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Cites Rising Violence, Other Problems at Illinois Maximum-Security Prison, by David Reutter
- Private Prison Monopolies, by Christopher Petrella
- 46 California Prisoners Injured in Disturbance at CCA-run Oklahoma Facility
- Washington State Post-Judgment Interest Award Required when Judgment Increased by Appellate Court in Records Case
- Violence in Tennessee Prisons up 20 Percent Under New Commissioner, by Alex Friedmann
- Mug Shot Websites Based on Extortion Business Model, by David Reutter
- Advanced Criminal Procedure in a Nutshell, 2nd Ed., by Mark E. Cammack and Norman M. Garland (Thomson West, 2006). 505 pages, $38.00, by John Dannenberg
- Florida: Two Men Sentenced in Prison Canteen Kickback Scheme
- California Federal Judge Denies Habeas Petitions after Sitting on Them for Years
- California’s Experiment with Community Correctional Facilities Coming to an End?
- UTMB Challenges Texas State Audit, while Legislature Imposes $100 Prisoner Health Care Co-Pay, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Adopts 5% Prison Trust Fund Account “Service Fee”
- North Dakota Farmers Help Flush Out Escaped Florida Sex Offender
- New Hampshire Court Invalidates City’s Sex Offender Residency Ordinance
- Texas Compensates Exonerees Unequally, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Upholds North Carolina Sheriff’s Bribery Conviction
- Criminal Law in a Nutshell, 5th Ed., by Arnold H. Loewy (West Law School, 2009). 387 pages, $38.00, by John Dannenberg
- Former Delaware Prisoner Settles Sexual Assault Suit for $287,500 and Policy Changes, by Derek Gilna
- Eight Puerto Rican Prisoners Drown in Flooded Van
- Oregon Passes Legislation to Move Juveniles Out of Adult Jails
- Oregon Guard Shoots, Wounds Prisoner; Unreported Earlier Prisoner Murder Exposed
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
- D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, Feb. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Adoption of Transferred Intent Self-Defense, Jan. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, Feb. 1, 2026. Transfers, Pardons/Clemency, Death Row, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- Report on Baltimore Jail Reveals Human Waste Dripped from Ceilings, Feb. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Food, Plumbing, Sewage, Security Systems.
- $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, Jan. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Food, Settlements, First Amendment, rights, Dismissal.
- Guards in Los Angeles County Now Wearing Body Cameras, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Food, Water, Vermin, Security Systems.
- “We’re Broken”: As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE, Jan. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Food, Staffing, Hygiene Supplies, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
- Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Detainee’s Jail Food Lawsuit, Jan. 1, 2026. Aramark, Dental Care, Failure to Treat, Food, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, Nov. 1, 2025. Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Plumbing, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Summary Judgment, Injunctions, Class Certification, Immigration Detention.
- California’s Attorney General Is Suing Los Angeles County Jails Over “Inhumane Conditions”, Nov. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Exposure to Cold, Plumbing, Sewage, Sanitation, Hygiene Supplies, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Complaints, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- In the Killing Chamber, Oct. 1, 2025. Death Penalty, Death Row.
- Angola Prison Re-Opens Area Once Called “The Dungeon” to Hold Immigrants, Oct. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Detention - Generally.

