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BOP Closes Deadliest Unit
by Chuck Sharman
On February 14, 2023, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced it was closing Special Management Unit (SMU) at the U.S. Penitentiary (USP) in Thomson, Illinois, where seven deaths have been recorded since it opened in 2019, the highest death toll in any BOP facility.
Some 350 …
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More from this issue:
- Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail, by Douglas Ankney
- Alabama Guards Still Harming Prisoners, Overcrowding Set to Increase as Governor Slashes “Good Time”, by Jo Ellen Nott, Chuck Sharman
- Prolonged COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions Net Georgia Jails Over $1.5 Million in Telecom Kickbacks, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Atlanta Federal Prison Gets Another Reboot, by Chuck Sharman
- Protest Damages Massachusetts Jail that Sheriff Wants to Update, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Revives Forced-Labor Claims of Jailed Pennsylvania Child Support Debtors, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Closes Deadliest Unit, by Chuck Sharman
- Biden Commutes 31 Federal Drug Sentences, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to DOC Policy Restricting His Religious Headwear, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Governor Reprieves Three Condemned Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Flooding Causes Evacuation of 1,075 Detainees from California Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Connecticut GOP Lawmakers Force Governor to Replace Pardon Board Chair, Stopping All Commutation Hearings, by Jordan Arizmendi
- California College Offers Housing, Services to Formally Incarcerated Students, by Keith Sanders
- SCOTUS Orders Last-Minute Stay of Execution for Oklahoma Death Row Prisoner Richard Glossip
- Prison Looks Different for Two Celebrity Women, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Alabama Prisoner’s Family Sues Over Allegedly Botched Execution, by Chuck Sharman
- Vermont Sheriff Locked Out of National Crime Database, Facing Impeachment, by Chuck Sharman
- Arizona Prisoner Released from Death Row, by Chuck Sharman
- Executive Inaction: States and Federal Government Fail to Use Commutations as a Release Mechanism, by Naila Awan, Katie Rose Quandt
- Senators Spank DOJ for Failure to Implement Death-in-Custody Reporting Act
- Former Prisoner Uses “Look Back” Window to Sue for Sexual Abuse at Shuttered New York Prison, by David Reutter
- Corizon Executes “Texas Two-Step,” Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, by Matthew Clarke
- Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records, by David Reutter
- Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
- Washington State Initiative to Expand Jail Ballot Access Faces Local Pushback, by David Reutter
- Cuyahoga County Sheriff Stripped of Jail Commissary Control After $500,000 in Inventory Goes Missing, by David Reutter
- Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, by Kevin Bliss
- Corizon Bankruptcy Stalls Suit By Alleged Rape Victims of Rikers Island Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- DOJ Finds Louisiana ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ to Prisoners Incarcerated Long Past Their Release Dates, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit: Cook County Jail Grievance Procedure An “Incomprehensible Trap”, by Douglas Ankney
- Prisoner Health Update: HIV, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Expanded Relief for Disabled California Prisoners in Long-Running Class Action, by David Reutter
- $82 Million For Detainee Death in Oklahoma Jail is “Largest Civil Rights Death Claim in U.S. History”, by Matthew Clarke
- Idaho Revives Firing Squads, by Kevin Bliss
- SCOTUS Overrules Arizona Supreme Court, Allows Death Row Prisoner to Proceed With State Habeas Action, by Matthew Clarke
- $30,000 Paid by Michigan to Prisoner Wrongfully Classified as Sex Offender, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Kills Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Whose Release Dates Were Incorrectly Calculated, by David M. Reutter
- Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, by Keith Sanders
- Fourth Circuit: Federal Prisoner in North Carolina Making Rehabilitation Act Claim Must Exhaust Both BOP Grievance Process and Justice Department’s EEO Complaint Process, by David Reutter
- Missouri Prisoner Illegally Condemned by Illiterate Juror Executed Anyway, by Chuck Sharman
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner Another $1,000 for Denied Records, by Keith Sanders
- Four Month Prison Term for BOP Compliance Monitor in Miami Who Sexually Abused Prisoner on His Case Load, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violations After Stonewalling in Prisoner Lawsuits, by Douglas Ankney
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to N.Y. Prison Official Who Imposed Post-Release Supervision on Prisoner – But Reverses Damages Award, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- Now Under Federal Receivership, New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, Aug. 1, 2025
- Watchdog Calls Out D.C. for Dragging Feet on Construction of New Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- $75,000 for Transgender Maryland Prisoner Raped by Guard, Aug. 1, 2025
- Two Exonerated Illinois Prisoners Win Settlements Totaling $14.5 Million, Aug. 1, 2025
- $2.6 Million Paid for Detoxing Washington Jail Detainee Allowed to Leap to His Death, Additional NaphCare Payout Undisclosed, Aug. 1, 2025
- Multiple Prisoner Suits Accuse Guards of Violence at Virginia BOP Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025
- Alabama DOC Attorneys Reprimanded for Filing AI-Written Briefs in Prisoner’s Suit, Aug. 1, 2025
- $1.2 Million for New York Prisoner Waterboarded by Guards, Aug. 1, 2025
- $15 Million Settlement Reached in San Diego Jail Detainee’s Untreated Withdrawal Death, Aug. 1, 2025
- $6.75 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Accusing Massachusetts Guards of Retaliatory Assaults on Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025. Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- California Enacts Counterproductive, Regressive Solitary Confinement Bill, June 1, 2025. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, State Legislation.
- Third Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Pennsylvania DOC in Prisoner’s Challenge to 26 Years of Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2025. Qualified Immunity, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Deaths, Deplorable Conditions, Staff Misconduct Plague Memphis Jail, April 1, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Conditions of Confinement, Wrongful Death.
- $250,000 Settlement But No Charges After Alabama Guards Beat Prisoner To Death, April 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Deliberate Indifference.
- New York Suspends Solitary Ban to Woo Back Striking Prison Guards, April 1, 2025. Work Strikes, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff.
- Tenth Alabama Jail Employee Pleads Guilty in Detainee’s Freezing Death, April 1, 2025. Exposure to Cold, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- U.S. Justice Department Investigating Tennessee CoreCivic Prison After Mother of Murdered Prisoner Reaches Settlement, March 1, 2025. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison/Jail Murders, Staffing, Settlements, Wrongful Death.

