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Dallas Conviction Integrity Unit Gains National Notoriety
The word “first” was applied to Craig M. Watkins multiple times after his election to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in 2006. He was the county’s first black D.A., the first D.A. who had been a public defender before being elected prosecutor and the first D.A. to establish …
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More from this issue:
- Betraying the Promise of Accreditation: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?, by Gary Hunter
- Supreme Court Sets Aside Death Penalty Conviction on Batson Grounds, by Derek Gilna
- Congressional Black Caucus PAC Urged to Cut Ties with Private Prison Lobbyists
- Court Issues New Injunction Mandating Education for NYC Prisoners at Rikers Island, by Derek Gilna
- Pennsylvania: Woman Dies in Jail While Serving Sentence for Truancy Fines and Court Costs, by Christopher Zoukis
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Prison Policy Banning Adult Magazines, with Caveats, by Derek Gilna
- Private Prison Execs Continue to Make Much More than Guards
- Courts Divided on Confidentiality of Attorney-Prisoner Email, by Derek Gilna
- Pfizer Deals Blow to Lethal Injections, by Christopher Zoukis
- Medical Statistical Model Used to Estimate Wrongful Conviction Rate in Death Penalty Cases, by Matthew Clarke
- Canadian Prison Staff, Cellmate Charged in Prisoner’s Beating Death, by Joe Watson
- Study Shows Modest Decline in Prison Populations, by Derek Gilna
- Illinois Sheriff Demotes One, Fires 3, Suspends 10 after Death of Jail Detainee, by Derek Gilna
- Dekalb County Settles Lawsuit, Ends Debtors’ Prisons
- Crowdfunding Projects Present Opportunities for Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- OIG Study: Bureau of Prisons Held Thousands of Prisoners Beyond Release Dates, by Derek Gilna
- Florida Courthouse Employees Commit Crimes with “Alarming Regularity”
- Dallas Conviction Integrity Unit Gains National Notoriety, by Matthew Clarke
- DC Prisoner Awarded $70,000 for ADA Violations at CCA-run Jail, by Derek Gilna
- Indiana Prisoner Dies after Cell Extraction
- Mississippi DOC Guard Trainee Busted for Smuggling Contraband
- Contaminated Sites and Prisons in New Jersey, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Connecticut Prisoner Wins Motion for Sanctions over Destruction of Evidence; Case Settles for $40,000, by Derek Gilna
- Indiana ACLU Announces Settlement to Help Mentally Ill Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Second Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Bivens Suit Due to Continuing Violation Doctrine, by Derek Gilna
- Amnesty International: Sudanese Prisoners Housed in Shipping Containers
- In California Death Row’s “Adjustment Center,” Condemned Men Wait in Solitary Confinement
- Georgia: Federal Court Finds Bond System Unfair to Indigent Defendants, Enters Injunction, by Derek Gilna
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Federal Prisoner’s Bivens Suit Over Medical Care, by Derek Gilna
- Demonstrators Protest Gates Foundation’s $2.2 Million Investment in GEO Group, by Joe Watson
- Multiple Suicides at Florida Jail a Cause for Concern, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin Prisoner’s Civil Rights Action Alleging Verbal Harassment Reinstated, by Derek Gilna
- California Jail Ordered to Restore Attorney-Client Contact Visits, by Derek Gilna
- The End of Prison Visitation
- Cities Re-evaluating Housing Bans for Former Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Overcrowding at South Dakota Prison Impacts Family Visitation Program
- Defendants Claim Sexual Abuse by Arkansas Judge
- A Deadly Dust is Plaguing Hawaii Prisoners in Arizona
- Supreme Court Allows Prisoner’s § 1983 Action after Dismissal of Federal Tort Claim, by Derek Gilna
- Florida Drug Court Judge’s Relapse Results in Removal from Bench, by David Reutter
- Ohio Prison Guards Cited for Sexual Misconduct with Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- Breaking News: 18 Deaths in Six Months at Mississippi State Penitentiary, by Derek Gilna
- Tennessee Enacts Contrary “Ban the Box” Bills
- The Taste of Exploitation: Whole Foods Stops Carrying Products Made by Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- Coroner: California Prisoner’s Death Due to Starvation
- UK Security Company’s Long History of Controversy, Misconduct, by Derek Gilna
- Michigan State Prisoner Receives $1,250 for Interference with Visit, by Derek Gilna
- Ninth Circuit Finds Accidental Amputation of Prisoner’s Fingertip Not a § 1983 Violation, by Derek Gilna
- U.S. Supreme Court: Prisoners Must Exhaust “Available” Administrative Remedies, by Derek Gilna
- Ex-captain Sentenced for Raping Subordinate at Virginia Prison
- News in Brief
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- 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
More from these topics:
- Alabama Lawmaker Holds Up $38 Million in Payments to Department of Corrections Attorney Sanctioned for AI-Written Brief, Sept. 1, 2026. Attorney Misconduct.
- Rising Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail Linked to Longer Stays, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Reduction of Prison Population.
- What 911 Calls Reveal About Jail Operations, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Staff Training.
- BOP Deputy Director and Former Prisoner Resigns After Just One Year, Sept. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
- California Grand Jury Report on Deaths at Riverside County Jails, Sept. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Public Records.
- Court-Ordered Report on Jail Voting in Massachusetts Finds Low-Rate, Sept. 1, 2026. Elections, Advocacy, Statistics/Trends, Public Records, Voting Rights.
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Damages, Settlements.
- Florida Kills Two Prisoners on Same Day, Both Elderly, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- $75 Million CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Minnesota Private Prison Creates Resistance from Activists and Lawmakers, Sept. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Protests, Advocacy, State Legislation, Immigration Detention.

