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Alabama Plan to Relieve Prison Overcrowding: Tap COVID-19 Funds to Build “Mega-Prisons”
by Jo Ellen Nott
When Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed legislation in October 2021 to take $400 million of the state’s pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan to build a trio of massive prisons, it was an attempt to assuage federal officials who have been …
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More from this issue:
- Deaths and Violence Mount at Overcrowded Alabama Prisons While Parole Rate Hits New Low, by Kevin Bliss, Jo Ellen Nott
- Alabama Plan to Relieve Prison Overcrowding: Tap COVID-19 Funds to Build “Mega-Prisons”, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit Refuses to Reinstate Suit by NC Jail Detainee Alleging Denial of Access to Grievance System and Timely Medical Care Prisoner Didn’t Ask the Court to Extend Kingsley Protections, by Keith Sanders
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Death by Incarceration: Study Reveals High Death Rates Inside NY’s State Prisons, by Keith Sanders
- John Boston, The PLRA Handbook: Law and Practice Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, by Michael Mushlin
- Centurion Health Supplants Corizon in Missouri After Court Ruling, by Keith Sanders
- Extreme Sentences for Women in the U.S.: An Overview, by Ashleigh Dye
- Frozen in Place: How Winter Storms Push Texas Jails and Prisons to the Brink, by Tyler Hicks
- Texas Rangers Often Lackadaisical in Prisoner Death Investigations, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, by Derek Gilna
- ICE Settles Florida Detention Facility COVID-19 Class Action, All Detainees Offered Vaccination, by Mark Wilson
- Massachusetts Appellate Court Reinstates Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Food Substitution, by Matthew Clarke
- $14.3 Million in Costs, Attorney Fees and Interest Awarded Against GEO Group in Suits for Not Paying Minimum Wage to Immigrant Detainee Workers in Washington, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Telecom Giant GTL Agrees to $67 Million Settlement in Class-Action Over Inactive Account Seizure Policy, by Anthony Accurso
- After Two Detainee Deaths, CoreCivic Hit With $2,500 Daily Fine for Chronically Short-Staffed Florida Jail
- Eighth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Private Companies Providing Missouri Prisoner’s Health Care, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.65 Million Settlement Reached in Connecticut Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Lupus, by David Reutter
- CFPB Report: ‘Criminal Justice Financial Ecosystem Exploits Families at Every Stage’: Finds ‘Products and Services Rife with Burdensome Fees and Lack of Choice’, by Chuck Sharman
- $325,000 to Detainee Assaulted at East Texas Jail, 90 Days to Former Deputy Who Beat Him While Restrained in Wheelchair, by Jo Ellen Nott
- No Charges So Far Against Former Arizona Corrections Director After Boozy Standoff with Police, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $1.1 Million Colorado Initiative Set to Assist Prisoners With More Employment Opportunities Upon Release, by Keith Sanders
- With $2.95 Million Settlement, San Diego County Jail Racks Up Over $15 Million in Wrongful Death Payments, by Jacob Barrett
- $1.5 Million Awarded for Failure to Protect Rikers Jail Prisoner Who Was Attacked Repeatedly, by Kevin Bliss
- California Supreme Court Reclassifies Clemency Records, No Longer Confidential, by Keith Sanders
- Private Prison Firm Revenues Soar on “Tailwind” of Immigrant Detainees, by Chuck Sharman
- Vermont Hep-C Settlement Agreement Provides Direct-Acting Antivirals to Infected Prisoners, by David Reutter
- $170,000 Damages and Fees As New Jersey Prisons Settle Transgender Lawsuit With New Policy, by Jayson Hawkins
- Ninth Circuit Overturns California Law Banning Private Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Medical Paroles Revoked in California and Massachusetts, by Matthew Clarke
- $170,000 in Attorney’s Fees, Solitary Confinement Reforms Achieved in Settlement of Maine Prisoner’s Lawsuits, by Matthew Clarke
- $325,000 Paid by Colorado County to Jail Detainee Brutalized by Guards Equipped with Controversial Training, by Chuck Sharman
- Third Circuit Says Mixed Dismissal of Civil Rights Action Not a Strike Under PLRA, by David Reutter
- Federal Court Sanctions Wexford for Discovery Abuse in Illinois Prisoner’s Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Tenth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Colorado Prison Officials Who Shut Down Native American Religious Activities, by Jayson Hawkins
- Advocating for Objective Standards in a Post-Kingsley World, by Megha Ram
- $199,000 Awarded to California Detainee Assaulted by Santa Clara County Jail Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- $781 Settlement Paid to Oregon Prisoner Over Censorship of ‘Sexually Explicit’ Text Message
- Ninth Circuit: California Jail Prisoners Have No Constitutional Right Per Se to Outdoor Recreation and Direct Sunlight, by Matthew Clarke
- $100,000 Paid by Pennsylvania DOC to Family of Pro Se Prisoner Litigant Who Committed Suicide, by Kevin Bliss
- Settlement Relieves Death Row Isolation in Louisiana: Four Hours Daily Out of Cell, Five Hours Per Week in New Yard, by Jayson Hawkins
- News In Brief
- $1 Million Settlement in Inadequate Nutrition Class-Action Against New York Jail, by David Reutter
More from Jo Ellen Nott:
- Florida Kills Two Prisoners on Same Day, Both Elderly, Sept. 1, 2026
- $75 Million CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Minnesota Private Prison Creates Resistance from Activists and Lawmakers, Sept. 1, 2026
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ohio Finds Guards and Medical Staff Failed to Render Life-Saving CPR to Detainee, Sept. 1, 2026
- Troubled Illinois Lockup Sees Guard Abuses, Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Sept. 1, 2026
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026
- BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages, Aug. 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.
- North Carolina’s “Iryna’s Law” Leads to Jail Overcrowding, Sept. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, State Legislation, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- 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.
- Severely Ill Prisoners in Hawai‘i Denied Early Release Due to State Policy, Sept. 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, housing, Restrictions, discrimination, Compassionate Release.
- “Safe Inside” Review Paid for by DOJ Found Prisons Grew Much Deadlier in Five Year-Period, Aug. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing, Assaults on Staff.
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its “Money of Mass Incarceration” Report, Aug. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Forfeiture, Effects of Mass Incarceration, Ability to Pay.
- Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Rebellion, Overcrowding, Staffing, Security Systems, Assaults on Staff.
- Overtime Cuts Lead to Reduced Programming in California Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism.
- Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, Aug. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Overdetention, State Legislation, Credits, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.

