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 Jo Ellen Nott, Chuck Sharman
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. BOP Closes Deadliest Unit, by Chuck Sharman
8. Biden Commutes 31 Federal Drug Sentences, by Jordan Arizmendi
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. Flooding Causes Evacuation of 1,075 Detainees from California Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
12. Connecticut GOP Lawmakers Force Governor to Replace Pardon Board Chair, Stopping All Commutation Hearings, 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 Naila Awan, Katie Rose Quandt
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. Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, by Matthew Clarke
24. Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records, by David Reutter
25. Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
26. Washington State Initiative to Expand Jail Ballot Access Faces Local Pushback, by David Reutter
27. Cuyahoga County Sheriff Stripped of Jail Commissary Control After $500,000 in Inventory Goes Missing, 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. $82 Million For Detainee Death in Oklahoma Jail is “Largest Civil Rights Death Claim in U.S. History”, by Matthew Clarke
36. Idaho Revives Firing Squads, by Kevin Bliss
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. Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Benjamin Tschirhart
41. New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, by Keith Sanders
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 Douglas Ankney:

• California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026
• Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Holds Federal Habeas Court May Not Consider Post-Trial DNA Evidence That Was Never Presented to Jury When Assessing Whether False Informant Testimony Influenced Verdict, July 1, 2026
• Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Announces Six-Factor Test for Evaluating Presentence Motions to Withdraw Guilty Pleas Under Rule 32(e), Holds Binding Plea Agreement Does Not Extinguish Defendant’s Ability to Seek Withdrawal, July 1, 2026
• New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, July 1, 2026
• Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026
• Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026
• South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Formal Adoption of Fourth Circuit’s Three-Step Cheek Framework for Evaluating Improper Third-Party Contacts With Jurors Under Remmer, Reverses Murdaugh Murder Convictions, and Overrules Ethier Regarding Juror Testim, July 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• BOP Ordered to Restart Gender Affirming Care for Trans Prisoners, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Transgender.
• Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026. Dental Care, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Deliberate Indifference.
• Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Heat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
• Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Damages, Public Records, Public Records Act.
• Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, March 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference.
• U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
• Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit by Civilly Committed Texan, Dec. 1, 2025. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Conditions of Confinement, Complaints, Grievances, Civil Commitment.
• Second Circuit Vacates Finding that Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies; Remands Conditions of Confinement and Due Process Claims, Dec. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Municipal Liability, Ad-Seg Hearings.
• Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Complaints, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
• Wisconsin Prisoner Wins in Seventh Circuit Review of Exhaustive Remedies Case, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Grievances, Jury Trial.