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ACLU Report: Women Uniquely Harmed by Solitary Confinement
In April 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report on the use of solitary confinement for women prisoners in the United States. The report concluded that while solitary was an extreme punishment that should not be used on anyone unless lesser measures have failed and the …
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More from this issue:
- Alabama Forced to Confront Criminal Justice Reform, by David Reutter
- Low Pay, Long Hours Fuel Increasing State Prison Staffing Problems, by Derek Gilna
- PLN Exclusive: Illinois Prisoner Exonerated, Released after Ten Years, by Derek Gilna
- How Prison Phone Calls Became a Tax on the Poor
- ACLU Report: Women Uniquely Harmed by Solitary Confinement, by Matthew Clarke
- UK Supreme Court Rules Against Unlawful Use of Solitary Confinement, by Christopher Zoukis
- Disputed PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Issues Properly Resolved in Bench Trial
- $8,000 Settlement for Medical Maltreatment by BOP; Court Finds Experts Not Required, by Derek Gilna
- Corrections Agencies Use Obamacare to Pay for Prisoners’ Medical Care, by Christopher Zoukis
- L.A. County Audit Recommends More Contract Oversight for Probation Department, by Derek Gilna
- Delaware Supreme Court Suspends Prosecutor for Misconduct, by Christopher Zoukis
- $15 Million Award for Prisoner Rendered Paraplegic Due to Medical Malpractice Affirmed, by David Reutter
- Florida’s Private Prison Movement Alive and Well, by David Reutter
- Audits Expose Irregularities in Iowa Prison System Spending, by Derek Gilna
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Ex-prisoner’s § 1983 Action Regarding Computer Disk, by Derek Gilna
- Lawsuit Claims Florida Teen Raped, Beaten in Prison Initiation Ritual
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Summary Judgment to Guards in Excessive Force Suit
- BOP Pays $70,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Sexually Abused Transgender Prisoner, by Derek Gilna
- $30,000 Settlement for New York Prisoner Assaulted by Guard
- California Supreme Court Rules in Prisoner’s Favor in Compassionate Release Denial, by Gary Hunter
- Nonviolent Michigan Offenders Can Seek Expungement Under New Law, by David Reutter
- Prisoner Rights Advocates Disappointed with Pace of Obama Clemency Initiative, by Derek Gilna
- Former U.S. Attorney General’s Legacy: Too Little, Too Late, by Derek Gilna
- Medically Unacceptable Biopsy States Eighth Amendment Claim
- Prisoners in Chicago Learn Skills, Improve Neighborhoods by Demolishing Vacant Homes, by Gary Hunter
- Report Documents U.S. Recidivism Rates for Federal Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- California Jail’s Psychotropic Medication Policy Leads to Lawsuit, Settlement, by David Reutter
- Idaho Prison Population Drops, Out-of-State Prisoners Re-turned, by Christopher Zoukis
- Delaware Prisoners Sue DOC Alleging Sexual Assaults by Prison Doctor, by Christopher Zoukis
- Seventh Circuit: Former Parolee May Sue Over Delayed Release from Parole
- Hawaii Prisons Experience Security Failures, Other Troubling Incidents, by David Reutter
- Second Circuit: Truth of Arrest Remains Despite Connecticut “Erasure” Law, by Mark Wilson
- Second Circuit: Administrative Remedies Unavailable for Beating at Holding Facility
- BOP Recognizes Humanist Religion after Prisoner Files Suit, by Derek Gilna
- A “Quantum Leap” Isn’t Far Enough for the Prison Phone Industry, by Carrie Wilkinson
- Suit Filed Over New Hampshire DOC’s Restrictive Mail Policy
- Warden’s Decision to Quarantine Handicapped Person in Unaccommodated Cell Actionable; $200,000 Settlement
- Tennessee Sheriff’s Denial of Public Records Merits Attorney Fee Award
- Why is California Thumbing its Nose at a Federal Court?, by Caleb Mason
- New York: $35,000 Awarded for Three-week Illegal Confinement, by Mark Wilson
- Fourth Circuit Finds 20 Years in Solitary an Atypical and Significant Hardship, by David Reutter
- California’s Inspector General Cites Abuses at High Desert State Prison, by Derek Gilna
- $1,000 Jury Award in Texas Prisoner’s Excessive Use of Force Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: Witnesses Cannot Refuse to Testify at Civil Trial
- Supreme Court Reverses SORNA Notification Requirement when Sex Offenders Move Overseas, by Derek Gilna
- Lawsuit Filed Over Death of Pepper-sprayed, Mentally Ill California Prisoner, by Gary Hunter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
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:
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Contractor Liability, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It, Sept. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Staff Training, Deliberate Indifference.
- 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.
- New Connecticut Law Changes PREA Standards, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Court Shuts Down Arizona Attempt to Fill Medical Staff Vacancies with Under-Qualified Providers, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- California Grand Jury Report on Deaths at Riverside County Jails, Sept. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Public Records.

