More from this issue:

1. “Frozen in Solitude’’: Heat-Sensitive Texas Prisoners Get More Than Air Conditioning Locked Inside Former Segregation Cells, by Matthew Clarke
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. Four Hawaii Prison Guards Sentenced for Beating Prisoner – But One Wins Back-Pay, by David Reutter
4. Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats As Part Of Jail Telecom Contracts, by Hayden Betts
5. $1 Million Settlement Reached After Detainee’s Suicide in Washington Jail, by David Reutter
6. Arkansas Parole Board Denies Release to Sex Offender For Failure to Find Appropriate Housing, by David Reutter
7. The Lecturer at the Lockup: Maine Prisoner Is First to Teach College Courses from His Cell
8. Unyielding Pursuit of Justice or Unfulfilled Promises: Doubts Surround California Habeas Attorney
9. After $300,000 Settlement for Detainee’s Death, Texas County Looks to Replace Jail
10. LGBTQ+ Detainees at Rikers Island Suffer Under Mayor Adams, by Kevin Bliss
11. $8.25 Million Verdict Against Former Colorado Sheriff for Detainee’s Sexual Assault During Jail Transfer, by Matthew Clarke
12. Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
13. Calls for California Sheriff’s Department Oversight After Jail Deaths, $30,000 Settlement for Botched Traffic Stop
14. Innovative Brazilian Prison Claims “Here the Man Enters, the Crime Stays Outside”
15. Oregon Parole Hearing Exclusion Rule Invalidated, by David Reutter
16. U.S. Marshals Pull Out of Virginia Jail After Two Escapes in One Day
17. BOP Guard, Nurse in Virginia Indicted in Prisoner’s Death
18. Government Watchdog Adds BOP to List at “High Risk” of Mismanagement, by Kevin Bliss
19. Washington Supreme Court: Requiring Certificate of Merit for Medical Malpractice Suits Held Invalid
20. Four Deaths in Seven Weeks at Pennsylvania Prison
21. Two Dead and $4.675 Million Paid After Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct in California’s Sonoma County, by Casey Bastian
22. Congress Forces BOP to Upgrade Security Cameras, by Mark Wilson
23. Prisoner Health Update: Over-the-Counter Medications, by Eike Blohm, MD
24. San Diego County Pays $4.35 Million After Jail Guards Failed to Stop Detainee From Blinding Herself, by David Reutter
25. New York Prison System Found Liable for Failure to Protect Prisoner from Assault
26. Insider Trading Charges Dropped Against JPay Founder, by Matthew Clarke
27. Prison Ministry Sues Indiana Jail Over Book Ban
28. Five Years After Limiting Personal Visits and Banning Mail, Drug Use Worse in Pennsylvania Prisons
29. FBI Crime Report Lacking Data from Police Agencies Serving 25 Percent of U.S. Population
30. At Massive and Corrupt Philippine Prison, Contraband Includes Jacuzzis and Horses, by Kevin Bliss
31. Incarceration Increases Death Risk for Cancer Patients
32. $120,000 Paid to Muslim Detainees for Discrimination by Maryland Jail, by David Reutter
33. Oregon Will Hold Release Hearings for 73 Prisoners Sentenced to LWOP as Juveniles, by Mark Wilson
34. Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees, by Mark Wilson
35. Federal Watchdog Finds BOP Staffing, Maintenance in Crisis
36. Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Delayed Transfer of Sex Offenders, by Mark Wilson
37. Former BOP Employees Guilty of Assaulting a Prisoner and Taking Bribes at Troubled Federal Prison in Massachusetts
38. Second Circuit Affirms $600,000 Punitive Damage Award to New York Prisoner Brutally Beaten by Guards, by Kevin Bliss
39. Aramark Sparks Nevada Prison Hunger Strike, by Mark Wilson
40. “Be Christian or Be Penalized”: After Fourth Circuit Revives Muslim Prisoner’s Challenge, Virginia Jail Settles Suit for $30,000, by Douglas Ankney
41. HRDC Granted Injunction to End Censorship in Arkansas Jail, by David Reutter
42. $50,002 Jury Award to Illinois Prisoner Retaliated Against for Daughter’s Facebook Posts, by David Reutter
43. As e-Messaging Takes Off in U.S. Prisons, Complaints Over Service and Costs Multiply, by David Reutter
44. Maryland Sheriff Charged with Illegally Procuring Machine Guns from ATF, by Kevin Bliss
45. California Guard Charged with Raping 22 Prisoners
46. Nevada Pays $75,000 for Religious Discrimination Claims of Prisoners in Episcopal and The Way Faith Groups, by David Reutter
47. California Supreme Court Remands Guards’ Overturned Murder Convictions In Detainee Death At Santa Clara County Jail
48. Former Connecticut Prisoner’s Challenge Proceeds Against “Pay-to-Stay” Fees
49. Alabama Denies Parole to 90% of Eligible Prisoners
50. No Summary Judgment for Private Transportation Company in Maryland Detainee’s Suit Alleging “Horrific” 2,000-Mile Journey, by Keith Sanders
51. $5,000 Settlement for Warrantless Search of Pro Se North Carolina Prisoner’s Cellphone, by Matthew Clarke
52. Challenge Survives to Maryland County’s Cash Bond Program, by David Reutter
53. Shocking Video Footage Reveals Rampant Violence and Neglect in Los Angeles County Jails
54. Oregon Governor Commutes All Death Sentences, by Mark Wilson
55. Voting Rights Restoration for Virginia Ex-Felons Once Again Subject to Governor’s Whim, by Kevin Bliss
56. Doctor Convicted of Sexually Abusing USA Gymnasts Is Stabbed in Prison Cell
57. Solitary Confinement is a Catch-22 for Colorado Prisoners and a “Moral Injury” for Mental Health Workers
58. Exasperated Federal Judge Issues Permanent Injunction to Arizona DOC in Healthcare Class-Action, by Matthew Clarke
59. News in Brief

More from Matthew Clarke:

• Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
• D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, Feb. 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026
• Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, Feb. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
• Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Adoption of Transferred Intent Self-­Defense, Jan. 1, 2026
• Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Report: Incarcerated Population in Rural Jails and Prisons At Risk of Losing Hospital Access, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Transportation, Rural Prisons, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
• Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
• “Critical Labor Shortage” Declared at Two Rural Prisons in Nevada, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Rural Prisons, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
• $450,000 Paid by Missouri County for Jail Detainee’s Death After 11 Days Without Medical Attention, Jan. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Monell Liability, Inadequate Health Care Facilities, Deliberate Indifference.
• New York City Mayor’s Order Opening Rikers Island to ICE Declared Illegal, Jan. 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Injunctions, Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Enforcement of Immigration Laws.
• Louisiana Prisoner Granted Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to Jail Book Ban, Dec. 1, 2025. Reading Materials, Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
• Wisconsin DOC Ordered to Provide Programming for Pregnant Prisoners—34 Years After Law Was Passed, Nov. 1, 2025. Gender Discrimination -- Women, Injunctions, Mothers in Prison, Statutes of Limitation and Laches, Compassionate Release.
• Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, Nov. 1, 2025. Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Plumbing, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Summary Judgment, Injunctions, Class Certification, Immigration Detention.
• Eighth Circuit Orders Preliminary Injunction Requiring Minnesota to Reinstate Program Teaching Biblical “Authentic Manhood”, Nov. 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Injunctions, Interlocutory Appeals, Protected Speech, Religious Freedom/Worship, Prison Regulations.
• Former Prisoners’ Challenge to Virginia Constitution’s Felony Disenfranchisement Clause Allowed to Proceed, Nov. 1, 2025. Injunctions, Federal Statutory Law, Voting Rights Act, Sovereign Immunity, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute, Prison Regulations.