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Texas Death Row Prisoners Challenge Blanket Policy of Automatic Solitary Confinement
by Douglas Ankney
On January 26, 2023, Texas death-row prisoners Mark Robertson, George Curry, Tony Egbuna Ford and Rickey Cummings filed suit in federal court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of themselves and a putative class of similarly situated prisoners against officials with the state …
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More from this issue:
- Breaking the Cycle of Understaffing, Lockdowns and Increased Violence in Prisons, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Wexford Faces Liability for Indiana Prisoner’s Delayed Specialist Referral, by David Reutter
- After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, by Mark Wilson
- Convicted Sex Offender Now a Licensed Attorney in Washington State
- $110,000 Paid By Tennessee Jail to Women Allegedly Forced to Stage “Sex Shows” for Guard
- Unable to Post Bail, Detainee Starves to Death in Arkansas Jail, by David Reutter
- $1 Million Settlement for California Prisoners Used to Bait Guard Charged with Sexual Misconduct
- $30,000 Paid by Pennsylvania to Prisoner Who Alleged Guards Beat and Tortured Him, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, by Mark Wilson
- Louisiana Prison Guard Helps Pregnant Prisoner and Learns That No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
- Number Held in U.S. Prisons and Jails Dipped in Pandemic’s Second Year, by Douglas Ankney
- 46 Honduran Prisoners Massacred in Their Cells
- $1.25 Million Settlement for California Jail Prisoner’s Loss of Limbs, by David Reutter
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, by Mark Wilson
- COVID-19 Increased Racial Disparities in Prisons and Jails
- Court Orders Preliminary Injunctive Relief for Transgender Massachusetts Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Guantanamo Bay Detainees Subjected to Forced Rectal Feeding and Hydration, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Wrongly Imprisoned for Killing Oregon Prison Director, Frank Gable Finally Fully Freed
- Naphcare’s Lack of Care Leads to $26.75 Million Verdict for Washington Jail Death
- $2,060,000 Awarded to Former New York Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Assault by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
- Ex-felons on Parole and Probation Now Allowed to Vote in Minnesota
- How Corporations Turned Prison Tablets Into a Predatory Scheme, by Tommaso Bardelli, Ruqaiyah Zarook, Derick McCarthy
- The Almost Unknown Turkey Bowl and Black Sheep, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Finds Prison a Factor in Falling U.S. Life Expectancy
- Third Prisoner Dies in 2023 at California’s New Folsom Prison
- Virginia Prisoner Wins Habeas Release on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Settlement Reached Over COVID-19 Measures, Home Confinement Releases at FCC Lompoc
- New York Jailhouse Lawyer Wins Resentencing, Release, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- CoreCivic Fails to Defeat California’s Anti-SLAPP Law at Ninth Circuit, Must Pay $45,630 in Attorney Fees
- Colorado One of Four States Making Phone Calls Free for Prisoners
- Sixth Circuit Revives Blind Tennessee Prisoner’s Suit Against DOC and CoreCivic
- $1.85 Million Approved for Tampa Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 37 Years
- Suit Against Pennsylvania Jail and Controversial Trainer Down to Just Two Plaintiffs
- Almost $1.1 Million Awarded to One-Legged Pretrial Detainee Forced to Hop to California Jail Cell, by David Reutter
- Florida Solitary Confinement Lawsuit Dismissed, by David Reutter
- Former BOP Guard Gets Light Sentence for COVID-19 Fraud, by Douglas Ankney
- Academics Find Prisoners Denied Access to Public Information, by Matthew Clarke
- Citing Improvements at Mississippi State Prison at Parchman, Rappers Drop Suit, by Douglas Ankney
- Settlement Includes $78,000 in Damages Against Minnesota DOC for ADA Violations
- 400 Prisoners Relocated After Fire at Texas State Penitentiary
- Texas Death Row Prisoners Challenge Blanket Policy of Automatic Solitary Confinement, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Lawmakers Shut Down Sheriff’s Participation in ICE 287(g) Program
- JPay Denied Motion to Compel Arbitration in Suit Over Debit Release Cards
- Prisoner Health Update: Hemorrhoids, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Despite Prior Settlement Agreement, Sick Michigan Prisoners Still Forced to Wait for Medication in Cold and Rain, by Douglas Ankney
- Nearly 5,000 Sexual Victimizations Counted in Three Years in U.S. Prisons and Jails, by Douglas Ankney
- $3.25 Million Settlement Reached With Defendants Jailed in Missouri “Debtor’s Prison” for Unpaid Fines, Fees, by Matthew Clarke
- $2.125 Million Paid So Far for Virginia Prisoner’s Death from Treatable Aneurism, by Matthew Clarke
- San Francisco Jail First in Nation to Provide Detainees Tablets With Totally Free Content
- Utah Prisoner Blows Whistle on Abuse of Federal Grants, Leading to $1.55 Million Settlement – And New Law Restricting Prisoner Records Requests
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Barbaric and Deadly Conditions Continue to Plague Los Angeles County Jails, Feb. 1, 2026
- Killings Inside Mississippi’s Prisons Continue Unabated But Report Prompts DOC to Reopen Investigations, Feb. 1, 2026
- Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, Feb. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit: Notice of Appeal of Order Denying Qualified Immunity Must Be Filed Within 30 Days of Entry, Feb. 1, 2026
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, Jan. 1, 2026
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, Jan. 1, 2026
- First Circuit Clarifies Mitigating Role Analysis – Sentencing Courts Must Consider All Identifiable Participants in Drug Shipment, Not Just Crew Members, and Use § 3B1.2 Factors to Assess Relative Culpability, Not Guilt, Dec. 15, 2025
- The Trial Penalty: How America Abandoned the Right to Trial, Nov. 15, 2025
- SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, Nov. 1, 2025
- Fourth Circuit Rules in Favor of Prisoner’s Eligibility for Time Credits, Nov. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- After Exposing Prison Horrors, Incarcerated Whistleblowers Are Moved to Solitary, Feb. 1, 2026. Whistleblowing, Retaliatory Segregation, Work Strikes, Totality of Conditions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Seventh Circuit Rules Against Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Over Wexford Health’s Poor Psychiatric Care, Nov. 1, 2025. Wexford Health Services, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Liberty Interest in Harsh Solitary Confinement Case, Nov. 1, 2025. Liberty Interests, Totality of Conditions, Qualified Immunity, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Date of Firing Squad Execution Vacated for Utah Prisoner with Dementia, Oct. 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Mental Health, Federal Death Penalty Act, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- 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.
- Texas Courts, Legislature at Odds over Executing Potentially Innocent Death Row Prisoner, May 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Death Penalty/Death Row, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Opposition to the Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.

