More from this issue:

1. Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail, by Douglas Ankney
2. Alabama Guards Still Harming Prisoners, Overcrowding Set to Increase as Governor Slashes “Good Time”, by Chuck Sharman, Jo Ellen Nott
3. Prolonged COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions Net Georgia Jails Over $1.5 Million in Telecom Kickbacks, by Jordan Arizmendi
4. Atlanta Federal Prison Gets Another Reboot, by Chuck Sharman
5. Protest Damages Massachusetts Jail that Sheriff Wants to Update, by Jo Ellen Nott
6. Third Circuit Revives Forced-Labor Claims of Jailed Pennsylvania Child Support Debtors, by Matthew Clarke
7. Biden Commutes 31 Federal Drug Sentences, by Jordan Arizmendi
8. BOP Closes Deadliest Unit, by Chuck Sharman
9. Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to DOC Policy Restricting His Religious Headwear, by Douglas Ankney
10. Ohio Governor Reprieves Three Condemned Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
11. Connecticut GOP Lawmakers Force Governor to Replace Pardon Board Chair, Stopping All Commutation Hearings, by Jordan Arizmendi
12. Flooding Causes Evacuation of 1,075 Detainees from California Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
13. California College Offers Housing, Services to Formally Incarcerated Students, by Keith Sanders
14. SCOTUS Orders Last-Minute Stay of Execution for Oklahoma Death Row Prisoner Richard Glossip
15. Prison Looks Different for Two Celebrity Women, by Jordan Arizmendi
16. Alabama Prisoner’s Family Sues Over Allegedly Botched Execution, by Chuck Sharman
17. Vermont Sheriff Locked Out of National Crime Database, Facing Impeachment, by Chuck Sharman
18. Arizona Prisoner Released from Death Row, by Chuck Sharman
19. Executive Inaction: States and Federal Government Fail to Use Commutations as a Release Mechanism, by Katie Rose Quandt, Naila Awan
20. Senators Spank DOJ for Failure to Implement Death-in-Custody Reporting Act
21. Former Prisoner Uses “Look Back” Window to Sue for Sexual Abuse at Shuttered New York Prison, by David Reutter
22. Corizon Executes “Texas Two-Step,” Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners, by Matthew Clarke
23. Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records, by David Reutter
24. Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, by Matthew Clarke
25. Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
26. Cuyahoga County Sheriff Stripped of Jail Commissary Control After $500,000 in Inventory Goes Missing, by David Reutter
27. Washington State Initiative to Expand Jail Ballot Access Faces Local Pushback, by David Reutter
28. Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, by Kevin Bliss
29. Corizon Bankruptcy Stalls Suit By Alleged Rape Victims of Rikers Island Guard, by Chuck Sharman
30. Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, by Kevin Bliss
31. DOJ Finds Louisiana ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ to Prisoners Incarcerated Long Past Their Release Dates, by Matthew Clarke
32. Seventh Circuit: Cook County Jail Grievance Procedure An “Incomprehensible Trap”, by Douglas Ankney
33. Prisoner Health Update: HIV, by Eike Blohm, MD
34. Ninth Circuit Affirms Expanded Relief for Disabled California Prisoners in Long-Running Class Action, by David Reutter
35. Idaho Revives Firing Squads, by Kevin Bliss
36. $82 Million For Detainee Death in Oklahoma Jail is “Largest Civil Rights Death Claim in U.S. History”, by Matthew Clarke
37. SCOTUS Overrules Arizona Supreme Court, Allows Death Row Prisoner to Proceed With State Habeas Action, by Matthew Clarke
38. $30,000 Paid by Michigan to Prisoner Wrongfully Classified as Sex Offender, by David Reutter
39. Fifth Circuit Kills Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Whose Release Dates Were Incorrectly Calculated, by David M. Reutter
40. New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, by Keith Sanders
41. Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Benjamin Tschirhart
42. 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
43. Missouri Prisoner Illegally Condemned by Illiterate Juror Executed Anyway, by Chuck Sharman
44. Ohio Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner Another $1,000 for Denied Records, by Keith Sanders
45. Four Month Prison Term for BOP Compliance Monitor in Miami Who Sexually Abused Prisoner on His Case Load, by Jo Ellen Nott
46. Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violations After Stonewalling in Prisoner Lawsuits, by Douglas Ankney
47. 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
48. News in Brief

More from David M. Reutter:

• Fifth Circuit Kills Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Whose Release Dates Were Incorrectly Calculated, Aug. 15, 2023
• Federal Court Upholds and Monitors Requirement for Tennessee Jail to Provide COVID-19 Vaccination for Detainees, July 15, 2022
• Federal Courts Order Seizure of Canteen Funds for Restitution Owed by High-Profile Prisoners, July 15, 2022
• California Court Rules Bail Bond Companies Must Give Cosigners Financial Impact Notice, July 15, 2022
• Supreme Court of Kansas: Lower Court Did Not Have Authority to Revoke Probation Without a Warrant, July 15, 2022
• Idaho Supreme Court: Telephonic Testimony Violated Defendant’s Sixth Amendment Right to Confrontation, June 15, 2022
• Ohio Supreme Court: Constitutionality of Indeterminate Sentence Under Reagan Tokes Law May Be Challenged on Direct Appeal, June 15, 2022
• Supreme Court of Iowa: Sentence Vacated Because Prosecution Failed to Follow Spirit of Plea Agreement Requiring Recommendation of Suspended Sentence, June 15, 2022
• Wisconsin Prisoner In Vegetative State After Suicide Attempt Wins New Trial on Jury Instruction Error, July 1, 2021
• Illinois Prisoner’s Negligence Lawsuit Alleging Injuries from Wart Treatment Timely Filed, July 1, 2021

More from these topics:

• Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.
• The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
• After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
• Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
• California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
• First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds.
• Fifth Circuit Judges Battle in Louisiana Over-Detention Cases, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Overdetention, Credits.
• California Supreme Court Announces Uncharged and Unproven Offense-Specific Enhancements May Not Be Imposed Under § 1172.6(e) Resentencing, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
• Third Circuit: Despite ‘Expressly and Repeatedly’ Requesting Low-End Sentence, Government Breached Plea Agreement by Emphasizing ‘Heinous’ Nature of Offense and Presenting Victim-Impact Evidence at Sentencing Thereby Undermining Recommendation, Dec. 1, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Reduction of Sentence, Proffer Agreements/Statements/Sessions.