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From the Editor
Loaded on June 3, 2016
by Paul Wright
published in Prison Legal News
June, 2016, page 16
Filed under:
Editorials,
Advocacy,
Prison Reform,
Toxic Fumes/Chemicals,
Environmental Law,
Water,
PLN related.
Criminologist Jonathan Simon refers to prisons as human toxic waste dumps where the ruling class dumps its human waste: out of sight and out of mind. Sadly, toxic waste is not just a literary analogy when discussing American prisons and jails. As PLN has reported for several decades, and …
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More from this issue:
- Incarceration, Justice and the Planet: How the Fight Against Toxic Prisons May Shape the Future of Environmentalism, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- U.S. Prisons Filled with America’s Mentally Ill, by Derek Gilna
- $8,000 Settlement for Medical Maltreatment by BOP; Court Finds Experts Not Required, by Derek Gilna
- Three California Jail Guards Charged in “Fight Club” Case
- No Place for Old Men
- California: City Council Hears Proposal to Repurpose Empty Prison as Pot Farm
- San Bernardino County Jail Named in Federal Lawsuit, by Christopher Zoukis
- Illinois Prisoner Wins $125,000 Civil Rights Jury Verdict, by Derek Gilna
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Denial of Former Prison Guard’s Marriage to Prisoner, by Derek Gilna
- Bail Bond Payment Plans Face Scrutiny, Criticism in New Jersey, by Joe Watson
- Private Prison Firms Reap Large Profits from Immigration Detention, by Gary Hunter
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Illinois Prisoner’s § 1983 Action, by Derek Gilna
- Crime, Incarceration Rates Decline in New York City, by Mark Wilson
- Tenth Circuit Affirms Murder Conviction Called into Question by New DNA Evidence, by Derek Gilna
- Fifth Circuit Holds Texas Prisoner Has Right to Grow “Fist-Length” Beard
- UK Prisoner Pen Pal Program Relieves Feelings of Isolation, by Derek Gilna
- Another WA DOC Asbestos Abatement Program Shut Down; Prison Officials Fined, by Mark Wilson
- Prisoners Protest Solitary Confinement at Illinois Facility, by Joe Watson
- Former Pennsylvania Prison Guard and Prisoner Charged with Child Sex Trafficking, by David Reutter
- Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions, by David Reutter
- Florida: Drug Arrest Costs Former Prison Official Retirement Benefits
- New York Court of Claims Awards $1.75 Million to Prisoner’s Estate, by Derek Gilna
- Female Prisoners in United Kingdom Make Designer Bags, by Derek Gilna
- Washington DOC Ends Marijuana Testing for Parolees, by Christopher Zoukis
- Sixth Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity Defense by Guards in Wrongful Death Suit, by Derek Gilna
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Finds DOC Violated RLUIPA, Prior Settlement Agreement, by Derek Gilna
- Former Wisconsin Corrections Secretary Fired
- Study of Incarceration from 1999 to 2014 Shows Modest Decline in Prison Populations, by Derek Gilna
- California Federal Court Rules Early Release Program Cannot be Restricted to Women, by Derek Gilna
- Former Georgia Judge Faces Criminal Charges
- Troubled North Dakota Jail to be Reviewed by Feds
- Increasing Number of Jails, Prisons Using Full-body Digital Scanners, by Matthew Clarke
- Mississippi Town Ordered to Abandon “Secured Bail” Arrest Bond System
- Problems with California’s New Medical Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Newspaper Ban at Cook County Jail Violates First Amendment, by Derek Gilna
- California’s Broken Death Penalty System, by Christopher Zoukis
- Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Suit Over Tooth Abscess Reinstated by Seventh Circuit, by Derek Gilna
- Benefits of Allowing Prisoners to Raise Babies Born in Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Wrongful Death Suit Against Illinois Jail Survives Summary Judgment , by Derek Gilna
- Special Supervised Release Conditions Require Sufficient Findings
- “Scared Straight” Programs are Counterproductive, by Derek Gilna
- Custodial Interrogation of Parolee Requires Miranda Warnings
- A Prison Telecom in Sheep’s Clothing, by Carrie Wilkinson
- Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner Commits Suicide
- Lifesaving Overdose Treatment Slowly Becoming Available to Released Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- California State Prisoner’s Habeas Case Gets to Supreme Court but Falls Short, by Derek Gilna
- Company Owes Nevada Prison Industries $428,000, by Bob Sloan
- Advocates Leery of Cell Phones Given to Undocumented Immigrants, by Derek Gilna
- U.S. Department of Education Offers Second Chance Pell Pilot Program, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Supreme Court Holds Prior ACCA Ruling Retroactive, by Derek Gilna
- UK Supreme Court Rules Against Unlawful Use of Solitary Confinement, by Christopher Zoukis
- Penal Servitude: A Reminder about the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment Exclusion Clause
- Colombia: At Least 100 Dismembered Bodies Found in Prison Sewers
- Louisiana Parish Saddled With Large Jail, Large Costs , by Matthew Clarke
- Disputed PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Issues Properly Resolved in Bench Trial
- Music Publishers Sue Companies Providing Mixtapes for Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Paul Wright:
- From the Editor, July 1, 2026
- From the Editor, June 1, 2026
- From the Editor, May 1, 2026
- From the Editor, April 1, 2026
- From the Editor, March 1, 2026
- From the Editor, Feb. 1, 2026
- From the Editor, Jan. 1, 2026
- From the Editor, Dec. 1, 2025
- From the Editor, Nov. 1, 2025
- From the Editor, Oct. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- Environmental Groups Say the Fight to Shut Down “Alligator Alcatraz” Isn’t Over, July 1, 2026. Environmental Law, Injunctions, National Environmental Policy Act, Immigration Detention.
- From the Editor, July 1, 2026. Editorials.
- Prison Profiteer The GEO Group Accused of Refusing Health Inspections at Detention Facility Despite Court Ruling, June 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Food, Water, Injunctions, Immigration Detention.
- Wisconsin Governor Issues Executive Order to Restore Commutations, June 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Pardons/Clemency, Reduction of Prison Population.
- From the Editor, June 1, 2026. Editorials.
- From the Editor, May 1, 2026. Editorials.
- From the Editor, April 1, 2026. Editorials.
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, April 1, 2026. Voting, Advocacy, Settlements, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Infections, Environmental Law, Water, Public Records Act.
- Internal Assessment Contradicts Public Claims About Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Deliberate Indifference.

