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Alaska Prisons and Jails Filled with Mentally Ill Prisoners
Correctional facilities in Alaska are confronted with a record number of prisoners with mental illnesses. In February 2016, KTUU reported that 65% of Alaskan prisoners suffered from some form of mental health problem while 80% had drug or alcohol addictions. The lack of resources to properly treat those prisoners …
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More from this issue:
- When Prison is Not Enough: The Rise (and Perhaps the Fall) of the Supermax Prison
- Local Jails Increasingly Refuse to Comply with ICE Detainers, by Joe Watson
- Maryland DOC Suspends Volunteer, Drops Literature Program
- Oregon “Incorrigible Masturbator’s” Life Sentence Unconstitutionally Disproportionate, by Mark Wilson
- Ohio Federal Court Dismisses Suit Against Doctor Over Prisoner’s Suicide
- Maryland Prisoner’s Death Occurs Under Unusual Circumstances
- Rare Corporate Prosecution: West Virginia’s “King of Coal” Sentenced for Conspiracy in Mine Deaths
- Alabama Prisoner Exonerated after Serving 30 Years on Death Row
- Former Pennsylvania Prison Doctor Sentenced for Fraud; Accomplices Convicted
- Mold-infested Prisons Sicken Guards and Prisoners
- Nevada Attorney General Investigates Shooting of Two Handcuffed Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Company Offers Educational Tablets to Prisoners, with Mixed Results, by Matthew Clarke
- United Kingdom: Prison Book Ban Overturned, by Derek Gilna
- Full Senate Report on CIA Torture Remains Classified, Largely Unread, by Matthew Clarke
- Corrections Corporation of America, Rocked by Setbacks, Changes its Name, by Derek Gilna
- CDCR Drug-sniffing Dog Trainer Resigns Over Switch to “Passive” Dogs, by Joe Watson
- Colorado’s “Make My Day” Law No Longer Applies to Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Canadian Solitary Confinement Deaths Result in Rare Lawsuits, Eventual Reforms, by Mark Wilson
- Pennsylvania: Former Cop Indefinitely Jailed for Failure to Supply Passwords
- Justice Policy Institute Report Challenges Reformers to Focus on Violent Crimes, by Derek Gilna
- Arkansas Secretary of State Issues Faulty Felon Data, Thousands Purged from Electoral Rolls
- Federal Judge Sanctions Idaho DOC for Misleading Special Master in Balla Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Illinois Jail Detainee’s Inadequate Food and Contaminated Water Claims Survive Initial Dismissal
- Preliminary Injunction Granted in Class-action Suit Challenging Private Probation Services in Tennessee, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Reverses Finding that Seizure of Prisoner’s Legal Mail Stated Claim
- Wisconsin: Prison Hunger Strike Reaches Crisis Point
- Settlement Comprehensively Overhauls Solitary Confinement in New York Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Inquisitorial Telephonic Hearing to Screen Civil Rights Case Deemed Unlawful
- The Rape Victims Silenced by Their Prison Cells
- Arkansas Court of Appeals Upholds Civil Forfeiture Ruling
- Southern Health Partners to Face Liability in Kentucky Pre-trial Detainee’s MRSA Death
- Challenge to Ohio Private Prison Confinement Not Cognizable in Habeas Corpus, by Mark Wilson
- Fifth Circuit Holds Four Decades in Solitary Confinement Implicates Liberty Interest; Last Angola 3 Member Finally Released, by Matthew Clarke
- Book Review: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
- Federal Prisoner Tells President “No Thanks” to Offer of Clemency with RDAP Condition, by Derek Gilna
- Tenth Circuit: No Summary Judgment on Official Capacity Claims, by Mark Wilson
- Allocation of Fault Required in Verdict Regarding Alaska Detainee’s Suicide; Case Settles for $900,000
- Federal Court Upholds New York Prison System’s Denial of Motorized Wheelchairs; Second Circuit Reverses, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Parole Board Incorrectly Prohibited Legal Assistant from Speaking at Parole Hearing, by Mark Wilson
- ACLU Sues California as Incompetent Defendants Wait in Jail for Mental Health Treatment, by Joe Watson
- Collecting Unpaid Booking Fees in Colorado may be Illegal, Experts Say, by Joe Watson
- Alaska Prisons and Jails Filled with Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty Moratorium, by David Reutter
- Indiana Federal Court Certifies Habeas Corpus Class of Prisoners Disciplined for Refusing to Admit Guilt in Sex Offender Program, by Matthew Clarke
- Hunger Strikes by Immigrant Detainees Expose Abuses by ICE, Private Detention Centers, by Joe Watson
- Federal Judge Orders Texas Department of Criminal Justice to Provide Safe Water to Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Prison Parenting Program Dramatically Reduces Recidivism, by Mark Wilson
- Class-action Certified in Challenge to Treatment of Mentally Ill Mississippi Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Supervised Release Term Does Not Limit Prison Sentence Upon Violation
- Wayward Prosecutors Go Unpunished as Prison Time for Victims Piles Up
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026
- Nevada Prisoners, Families Call Out Predatory Tablet Program, Sept. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit: Error in Granting Judgment Prior to Adjudging Spoliation Motion, Sept. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity in Strip Searches Resulting from Anonymous Tips, Sept. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- GAO Report on ICE Jail in Fort Bliss Finds Independent Failures, Sept. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Overcrowding, Security Systems, Americans with Disabilities Act, Immigration Detention.
- 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.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Mental Health Diversion from New York State Jails Varies Widely by County, Sept. 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health, State Legislation.
- 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.

