More from this issue:

1. After Spike in Jail Deaths, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation, by Matthew Clarke
2. California Prisoner’s Generosity for Gaza Rewarded With Over $100,000
3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
4. $7.5 Million Settlement in Suit Over California Jail Death, by Matthew Clarke
5. Arizona DOC Agrees to Pay $2,650,000 in Legal Fees and Costs in Long-Running PLN Censorship Suit
6. Unintended Consequence of Texas Prisoner Tablets: Retaliation from Fellow Prisoners
7. Pilot Jail Diversion Program Opens for Mentally Ill Arrestees in Austin
8. Virginia Takes Back One Prison from GEO Group, Closes Four More
9. Oregon Transgender Prisoner Claims Abusive Violation of Injunction, but Court Declines Sanctions, by Matthew Clarke
10. “Too brutal, too disgusting”: Prison Guards Flee as Working Conditions Worsen
11. Contractor Fined $300,000 for Illegal Asbestos Dumping at Wisconsin Federal Prison
12. Kentucky Parole Officer Gets Three Years for Sexually Assaulting Probationers, by Matthew Clarke
13. 46 New York Prisoners Accuse Guards of Beatings—Even Waterboarding, by Douglas Ankney
14. Tennessee DOC Rewards CoreCivic with Pay Increase Despite Critical Watchdog Audit
15. Dead Rikers Island Detainees Had Missed Dozens of Mental Health Appointments
16. New York Revises 2,772 Prisoner Disciplinary Records After Inspector General Finds Defects in Another Contraband Drug Test, by Douglas Ankney
17. Illinois Parole Board Member Resigns After Violator Turns Deadly
18. Inspectors Catch L.A. Jailers Watching Porn
19. Eighth Circuit: Perfect Adherence to Burdened Beliefs Not Required to Demonstrate Sincerity under RLUIPA, by Douglas Ankney
20. Warden and Deputy Out at Kentucky Prison As DOC Investigates Guard Misconduct
21. Florida Jail Chief’s Firing Upheld, Retaliation Lawsuit Headed to Trial
22. Eleventh Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Georgia Jailers Who Housed White Detainee With Black Cellmate Held for Racially Motivated Attack
23. Riot at California GEO Group Lockup Sends Message to U.S. Marshals
24. Cheap Food Enriching Profiteers, Making Prisoners Sick
25. Prisoner Admissions Soar at Massachusetts Psychiatric Lockup Plagued by Overcrowding and Violence
26. Federal Judge Calls BOP Brooklyn Lockup Too Deplorable to House Defendant
27. $275,000 Settlement for Wisconsin Jail Detainee’s Death from Untreated Heart Infection
28. BOP is Holding 12,000 Prisoners in Solitary Confinement, by David Reutter
29. 1,200 Washington Prisoners Lose Laptops After One Shows Up on eBay
30. Fifth Savannah Jail Employee Arrested for Smuggling in Just Over a Year
31. Massachusetts Prison Closure Reflects Success of Criminal Justice Reforms
32. Report Finds Exploitative Disciplinary Fines in One-Third of U.S. Prison Systems
33. Tennessee Sheriff Indicted for Massive Prisoner Work-Release Fraud
34. Fourth Circuit Revives Claim Over North Carolina Jail Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
35. Arrested for Stealing Snacks, Baltimore Diabetic Dies in Jail
36. Georgia Guard Fired, Charged With Setting Up Assault that Left Prisoner Dead
37. Arizona Agrees to $40,000 Settlement in Suit Over Mentally Ill Prisoner’s Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
38. Illinois Prisoner Succumbs to Heat Wave
39. Fourth Circuit Chides Virginia Magistrate for Assuming Prisoners Proceed IFP, by Douglas Ankney
40. New Mexico Jail Sued Again After Paying $787,500 In-Custody Death Settlement
41. First Circuit Tolls Claim for Maine Jail Death from Date of Detainee’s Injury, Rather Than When He Died, by Douglas Ankney
42. Psychiatrist Settles Virginia Jail Suicide Suit for $1.75 Million
43. Florida Court Strikes $10 Million of $16 Million Judgment Against Armor Correctional Health in Jail Death, by David Reutter
44. Criminalizing Poverty Drives Mass Incarceration in Kentucky, Washington, by Douglas Ankney
45. Settlements Total $3.85 Million for Nevada Prisoners Hit with Birdshot, by David Reutter
46. Indiana Supreme Court Says “Summary Judgment Is Not Summary Trial,” Remanding State Prisoner’s Malpractice Claim to a Jury
47. Texas Prosecutor Gets Fine, Probated Bar Suspension After Jailing Woman for Abortion
48. Missouri Warden, Four Guards Out After Prisoner’s Fatal Beating
49. Fourth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Guards Who Left North Carolina Prisoner to Eat with Feces-Soiled Hands
50. Alaska Supreme Court Revives Prisoner’s Claim for 11-Month Solitary Confinement That DOC Admitted Was Improper, by Douglas Ankney
51. Washington Prisoner’s Sentence Vacated After Attorney Calls and Visits Were Recorded, by Douglas Ankney
52. 3,500 Body-Worn Cameras Recalled from Rikers Island Guards After One Catches Fire
53. $11 Million Settlement for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, by David Reutter
54. No Dismissal for San Diego Jail Medical Contractor from Suit Filed Over Detainee’s Withdrawal Death
55. Nevada DOC Under Fire for Hiring Unlicensed Medical Director
56. Ending Prison Slavery on the Ballot in California, Nevada
57. Addicted to Punishment: Jails and Prisons Punish Drug Use Far More Than They Treat It, by Emily Widra
58. Mississippi Prison Warden Suspended After Security Chief Caught Smuggling
59. Intellectually Disabled Georgia Prisoner Executed After SCOTUS Denies Appeal
60. Maryland Pardons 175,000 Marijuana Misdemeanor Convictions
61. Alabama Denies Parole to Dead Prisoner
62. Condemned Alabama Prisoner Challenges Execution by Nitrogen Hypoxia, by David Reutter
63. South Carolina Supreme Court Grants Prisoner Credit for Time Served Awaiting Revocation of Supervised Release
64. Colorado Lawmakers Take a Pass on Cash Assistance for Released Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
65. Bar Complaint Revives 10-Year-Old Question: Why No Charges Filed Against Florida Guards Who Killed Prisoner?, by David Reutter
66. Pro-Navalny Hackers Breach Russian Prison Computers, Lower Commissary Prices
67. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, May 1, 2026
• Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, May 1, 2026
• Illinois Jail Reprimanded for Denying Detainees Mail Based on Media Content, P.O. Box Return Address, Settles Detainees’ Suit with $111,825 Payment of Legal Fees, May 1, 2026
• Oklahoma Supreme Court: Jail Trust Cannot Withhold Requested Records under Law Enforcement Exemption of ORA, May 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026
• Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Parole Board May Delegate Final Revocation Hearings to Administrative Law Judges but Holds Due Process Requires Parolees Be Permitted to File Exceptions to ALJ Findings Before Board Renders a Final Revocation Decision, April 1, 2026
• New York Court of Appeals Holds Generic Physical Description Insufficient to Justify Pursuit in Mistaken Identity Case, and Suspect’s Flight Cannot Support Reasonable Suspicion Absent Evidence He Knew He Was Fleeing Law Enforcement, April 1, 2026
• Montana Supreme Court Holds Defendant’s Sentence Must Be Vacated Where District Court Premised Sentence on Defendant’s Exercise of Constitutional Rights to Jury Trial, Silence, and Against Self-Incrimination, April 1, 2026
• Fifth Circuit Holds Texas Sexual Assault of a Child Statute Sweeps More Broadly Than Federal SORNA Tier Offenses, March 1, 2026
• Delaware Supreme Court Announces Four-Part Plain Error Framework, Aligning Prejudice Standard With Federal Approach Requiring Reasonable Probability of Different Outcome, March 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Oklahoma Supreme Court: Jail Trust Cannot Withhold Requested Records under Law Enforcement Exemption of ORA, May 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Guaranteed Income Helps People Leaving Jail and Prison, and That Helps Everyone, May 1, 2026. Crime/Demographics, Prisoner Privileges, housing, jobs, Restrictions, discrimination, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Fines.
• SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• California Oversight Agency Hasn’t Finished a Single Review of Jail Deaths, Feb. 1, 2026. Corrections Audits, Medical Records, Disclosure of Records, State Legislation.
• Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Recordings, Privacy Act/Rights.
• 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.
• Seventh Circuit Announces One-Year Time Limit in Rule 35(b) Is Nonjurisdictional Claim-Processing Rule, Overruling Prior Precedent in Light of Supreme Court’s Hamer Decision, Dec. 15, 2025. Substantial Assistance to Authorities, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Authority and Jurisdiction, Acceptance of Responsibility.
• Over $222,000 in Legal Costs and Fees Awarded to HRDC in Florida Records Suit Against Centurion, Dec. 1, 2025. Attorney Fee Awards, Costs, Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Public Records Act.
• $1.8 Million Settlement Reached Following CDCR Data Breach, Nov. 1, 2025. DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Records, Settlements, Class Certification, Disclosure of Records, Class Notice, Public Records, Restitution, Trust Accounts.
• Guards Used “Blast Grenades” to Break Up Mob Attack 
in California Prison, July 15, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Prisoner Privileges, Telephone Access.