×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining
by Ed Lyon
New data released in December 2022 by the federal Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) showed a steady decline in prison population from 2011 to 2021 – nearly 25% overall. The number of people imprisoned today – 1,163,665 – reflects the largest slice …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- New York Finding Closed Prisons a Tough Sell, by Chuck Sharman
- Ninth Circuit Says Arizona DOC Policy Cannot Be Used to Censor Prisoner’s Free Expression, by David Reutter
- “Night of Terror” in Indiana Jail Sees Detainees Assaulted by Fellow Prisoners Who Purchased Cell Keys From Guard, by Kevin Bliss
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Prisoner Abused with Overtight Handcuffs Need Only Show Deliberate Indifference, Not Malicious Intent, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Shows COVID-19 Drove Prison Death Rates 50% Higher, by Keith Sanders
- Wellpath Subsidiary Out of Australian Women’s Prison After Indigenous Prisoner’s Death, by Keith Sanders
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Releases Latest First Step Act Data, by Casey Bastian
- “Abdication of Responsibility”: Heads Roll in Tennessee DOC Over Botched Execution Protocols, by Kevin Bliss
- Federal Courts Throw Out Smart Communications’ Mail-Scanning Patent, by Robert Schaeffer
- $775,000 Paid for Mentally Ill California Jail Detainee Who Compulsively Drank Water Until He Died, by Casey Bastian
- Dying for Being Deadbeat Dad in Missouri Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Reveals Extent of Federal Pretrial Detention Crisis, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Requires Source-of-Funds Finding Before Allowing BOP to Raid Account of Federal Prisoner in Missouri, by David Reutter
- Arizona Prison Forcibly Induced Labor for Pregnant Prisoners, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, by Jayson Hawkins
- $17.675 Million Paid for New Yorker’s Wrongful Conviction, by Jacob Barrett
- Sixth Circuit: “Minimal Findings Necessary” Before Garnishing Funds From Federal Prisoner in Ohio, by Casey Bastian
- Prisoner Health Update: Tuberculosis, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Four Escape Troubled Mississippi Jail After Fifth Circuit Postpones Federal Receivership, by Keith Sanders
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, by Edward Lyon
- No Charges for Georgia Guards Who Allegedly Abetted Attack That Left Prisoner Dead, by Keith Sanders
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, by Harold Hempstead
- 70 Months for Former Warden of BOP ‘Rape Club’ in California, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint, by David Reutter
- Illinois Makes Abortion Care Free for State Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $42,500 Awarded to Illinois Prisoner for Denial of Physical Therapy by Wellpath Nurse, by Casey Bastian
- State Prison Systems Failing to Provide Meaningful Programming, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Greenlights Arkansas Execution Protocol, by Jacob Barrett
- Second Circuit Upholds Connecticut Prison Porn Ban, Sets Up Circuit Split Over “Vagueness” Test, by Jacob Barrett
- Louisiana Sheriff Coughs Up $2.75 Million After Falsely Claiming Detainee Died From Accidental Fall, by Jacob Barrett
- Nevada Pays Over $568,000 for Denying Prisoner Cataract Surgery, Ends “One Good Eye” Policy, by Jacob Barrett
- Four Michigan Jail Guards Guilty in Detainee Death, Family Paid $2.4 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Mississippi Sheriff Indicted for Bribery After Allegedly Allowing Detainee Rape at County Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- $3,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Public Records, by David Reutter
- BOP Hits Back Hard After Federal Prisoner in Arizona Brandishes Gun, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- It’s Official: BOP Prisoners on Expanded COVID-19 Home Confinement Staying Put, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Prisoner Counselors STORMING California Prisons to Aid in Addiction Recovery, by Kevin Bliss
- Fifth South Carolina Prisoner Sentenced in “Sextortion” Scams Targeting Military Members, by Chuck Sharman
- Imprisoned Former Head of New York City Jails Guards’ Union Granted Release, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Chronic Punishment: The Unmet Health Needs of People in State Prisons, by Leah Wang
- Prisoners Caught in Ukraine War Crossfire, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Over $3.5 Million Paid to Incontinent Colorado Prisoner Offered Diapers Instead of Dining Priority Pass, by David Reutter
- Sing Sing Prisoners File Suit Against New York State Alleging Vicious Beating by Guards, by Keith Sanders
- No More Naps for Massachusetts Guards, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Eighth Circuit Lets Public Defender Withdraw from BOP Prisoner’s “Frivolous” Appeal, by Matthew Clarke
- Michigan Supreme Court Justice Caves to Criticism, Accepts Resignation of Formerly Incarcerated Clerk, by Kevin Bliss
- Massachusetts Settles One of Three Suits Alleging Retaliation by Prison Guards for Assault on One of Their Own, by Harold Hempstead
- “All Signals Blinking Red” at Federal Prison in West Virginia After DOJ Releases Report on Killing of Mobster “Whitey” Bulger, by Benjamin Tschirhart, Casey Bastian
- Eleventh Circuit Won’t Force Condemned Alabama Prisoner to Die by Method He Didn’t Choose, by David Reutter
- Corizon Bankruptcy Threatens $6.4 Million Award to Family of Michigan Prisoner Whose Five-Day Jail Term Turned Into Death Sentence, by Jacob Barrett
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania Gets Sentence Reduction After Guard Rapes Her, by Casey Bastian
- Hawaii Guard One of Four Convicted in Smuggling Scheme at Honolulu Prison, by Chuck Sharman
More from Edward Lyon:
- “There you go, Agent Orange!” Former South Carolina Sheriff Federally Indicted for Assaulting Jail Detainee, May 1, 2024
- Texas Prisons are Fire Traps, July 15, 2023
- The World’s Biggest Prison, July 15, 2023
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, June 15, 2023
- Civilian Police With Military Equipment, June 15, 2023
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, June 1, 2023
- Warden Ousted from Troubled Alabama Prison After DUI Arrest, May 1, 2023
- $20,000 Settlement for Ohio Prisoner’s Slip-and-Fall Injury, May 1, 2023
- $32,500 Medical Malpractice Award to Ohio Prisoner for Ripped-Out Catheter, May 1, 2023
- New York State’s Veterans Treatment Courts, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Prison Policy Initiative Report Finds Significant Health Outcomes from Past Incarceration, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Collateral consequences of prison, Health care.
- Virginia Report Finds Deaths Increasing as Prison Population Ages, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, De Facto Life Sentence.
- California Supreme Court Bail Ruling Cuts Some Jail Headcounts, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, State Legislation, Bail/Pretrial Release, Reduction of Prison Population.
- It’s Gotten Harder for Illinois Prisoners to Get Into College Classes, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Education.
- 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.
- California Grand Jury Report on Deaths at Riverside County Jails, Sept. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Public Records.
- Court-Ordered Report on Jail Voting in Massachusetts Finds Low-Rate, Sept. 1, 2026. Elections, Advocacy, Statistics/Trends, Public Records, Voting Rights.
- 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.
- Florida Kills Two Prisoners on Same Day, Both Elderly, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.

