More from this issue:

1. Breaking the Cycle of Understaffing, Lockdowns and Increased Violence in Prisons, by David Reutter
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. Wexford Faces Liability for Indiana Prisoner’s Delayed Specialist Referral, by David Reutter
4. After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, by Mark Wilson
5. Convicted Sex Offender Now a Licensed Attorney in Washington State
6. $110,000 Paid By Tennessee Jail to Women Allegedly Forced to Stage “Sex Shows” for Guard
7. Unable to Post Bail, Detainee Starves to Death in Arkansas Jail, by David Reutter
8. $1 Million Settlement for California Prisoners Used to Bait Guard Charged with Sexual Misconduct
9. $30,000 Paid by Pennsylvania to Prisoner Who Alleged Guards Beat and Tortured Him, by Douglas Ankney
10. Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, by Mark Wilson
11. Louisiana Prison Guard Helps Pregnant Prisoner and Learns That No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
12. Number Held in U.S. Prisons and Jails Dipped in Pandemic’s Second Year, by Douglas Ankney
13. 46 Honduran Prisoners Massacred in Their Cells
14. $1.25 Million Settlement for California Jail Prisoner’s Loss of Limbs, by David Reutter
15. Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, by Mark Wilson
16. COVID-19 Increased Racial Disparities in Prisons and Jails
17. Court Orders Preliminary Injunctive Relief for Transgender Massachusetts Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
18. Guantanamo Bay Detainees Subjected to Forced Rectal Feeding and Hydration, by Eike Blohm, MD
19. Wrongly Imprisoned for Killing Oregon Prison Director, Frank Gable Finally Fully Freed
20. Naphcare’s Lack of Care Leads to $26.75 Million Verdict for Washington Jail Death
21. $2,060,000 Awarded to Former New York Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Assault by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
22. Ex-felons on Parole and Probation Now Allowed to Vote in Minnesota
23. How Corporations Turned Prison Tablets Into a Predatory Scheme, by Tommaso Bardelli, Ruqaiyah Zarook, Derick McCarthy
24. The Almost Unknown Turkey Bowl and Black Sheep, by Douglas Ankney
25. Report Finds Prison a Factor in Falling U.S. Life Expectancy
26. Third Prisoner Dies in 2023 at California’s New Folsom Prison
27. Virginia Prisoner Wins Habeas Release on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim, by Douglas Ankney
28. Settlement Reached Over COVID-19 Measures, Home Confinement Releases at FCC Lompoc
29. New York Jailhouse Lawyer Wins Resentencing, Release, by Benjamin Tschirhart
30. CoreCivic Fails to Defeat California’s Anti-SLAPP Law at Ninth Circuit, Must Pay $45,630 in Attorney Fees
31. Colorado One of Four States Making Phone Calls Free for Prisoners
32. Sixth Circuit Revives Blind Tennessee Prisoner’s Suit Against DOC and CoreCivic
33. $1.85 Million Approved for Tampa Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 37 Years
34. Suit Against Pennsylvania Jail and Controversial Trainer Down to Just Two Plaintiffs
35. Almost $1.1 Million Awarded to One-Legged Pretrial Detainee Forced to Hop to California Jail Cell, by David Reutter
36. Florida Solitary Confinement Lawsuit Dismissed, by David Reutter
37. Former BOP Guard Gets Light Sentence for COVID-19 Fraud, by Douglas Ankney
38. Academics Find Prisoners Denied Access to Public Information, by Matthew Clarke
39. Citing Improvements at Mississippi State Prison at Parchman, Rappers Drop Suit, by Douglas Ankney
40. Settlement Includes $78,000 in Damages Against Minnesota DOC for ADA Violations
41. 400 Prisoners Relocated After Fire at Texas State Penitentiary
42. Texas Death Row Prisoners Challenge Blanket Policy of Automatic Solitary Confinement, by Douglas Ankney
43. Colorado Lawmakers Shut Down Sheriff’s Participation in ICE 287(g) Program
44. JPay Denied Motion to Compel Arbitration in Suit Over Debit Release Cards
45. Prisoner Health Update: Hemorrhoids, by Eike Blohm, MD
46. Despite Prior Settlement Agreement, Sick Michigan Prisoners Still Forced to Wait for Medication in Cold and Rain, by Douglas Ankney
47. Nearly 5,000 Sexual Victimizations Counted in Three Years in U.S. Prisons and Jails, by Douglas Ankney
48. $3.25 Million Settlement Reached With Defendants Jailed in Missouri “Debtor’s Prison” for Unpaid Fines, Fees, by Matthew Clarke
49. $2.125 Million Paid So Far for Virginia Prisoner’s Death from Treatable Aneurism, by Matthew Clarke
50. San Francisco Jail First in Nation to Provide Detainees Tablets With Totally Free Content
51. Utah Prisoner Blows Whistle on Abuse of Federal Grants, Leading to $1.55 Million Settlement – And New Law Restricting Prisoner Records Requests
52. 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:

• Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026. Release and Reentry, Habeas Corpus, First Step Act, Community Confinement/Home Detention, Credits.
• Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
• SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
• SCOTUS Announces Federal Prisoners May Seek Certiorari Review of Authorization Denials Under § 2255(h) and Are Not Subject to § 2244(b)(1)’s Bar on Previously Presented Claims, Feb. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Authorized, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Effect of Vacatur.
• First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-­Without-­Parole Sentence to Parole-­Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-­in-­Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
• Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Effect of Vacatur, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
• Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, Jan. 1, 2026. Defenses, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Failure to Object, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Maryland Supreme Court Announces Public Defender Act Requires Effective Assistance of Counsel in Certiorari Petition Where Public Defender Appointed Panel Attorney for Direct Appeal and Certiorari Petition, Dec. 15, 2025. Public Defenders, Indigent Defense, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Strickland Standard.
• DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, Dec. 1, 2025. Class Certification, Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention.