More from this issue:

1. Alaska’s Prison System: Dangerous, Deadly Yet Repeating Past Mistakes, by David Reutter
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. For Beating Handcuffed Prisoners, Former Alabama Guard Supervisor Gets 87 Months
4. North Carolina’s Largest City Elects First Ex-Prisoner to Council
5. Fifth Circuit: Texas Prisoner’s Declaration Alone Sufficient to Send PLRA Exhaustion Dispute to Trial
6. Four BOP Guards Sentenced for Three Federal Prisoner Assaults at Kentucky Lockup
7. Seventh Kentucky Guard Sentenced for Restrained Prisoner’s Beat-down
8. “Botched” and “Ill-Conceived”: BOP Slammed for Plan to Close California Lockup Known as “Rape Club”
9. Idaho Stopped From Repeatedly Scheduling Executions That It Cannot Carry Out, by Douglas Ankney
10. Securus Wipes Out Months of Washington Prisoners’ Writing—Again
11. “You Just Broke My Neck”: Ohio Detainee Sues Jail Where Guards Are Accused of Multiple Assaults
12. In New Jersey, Yet More Privileged Phone Calls Between Prisoners and Attorneys Recorded and Used by Prosecutors, by Douglas Ankney
13. BOP Hires Sentencing Reform Advocate
14. Federal Watchdog Slams BOP for Sham Accreditations, by Matthew Clarke
15. Cleveland Jail Warden Dismissed After Asking for More Reentry Assistance for Detainees
16. Exonerated Prisoner Sues New York City for 16 Years of Wrongful Incarceration
17. Oregon Parole Board Ordered to Consider Sex-Offense-Free Time When Setting Sex Offender Notification Levels
18. Third Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Pennsylvania Jail Guards and PrimeCare in Detainee’s Overdose Death, by David Reutter
19. Ninth Circuit: Alleged Denial of Hepatitis C Treatment to Federal Prisoner in Washington Presents Valid Bivens Claim, by David Reutter
20. Colorado Program Employs Prisoners as Professors
21. Washington, Virginia Advance Bills to Make Prison Calls Free
22. Georgia Sheriff Takes $160,000 Kickback from Pay Tel for Video Visitation
23. Decoding Recidivism: Unraveling Its Complex Metrics and Real Impact
24. Hope Against Hope, by Daryl Waters
25. Tennessee DOC Faulted for High Staff Vacancy and Turnover, Inadequate Programs, PREA Violations
26. “You Are Not Above the Law”: Former Indiana Sheriff Jailed for Contempt of Court
27. $15,000 Net Award for Georgia Prisoner’s Delayed Hep-C Treatment, by David Reutter
28. West Virginia Slammed for High Costs, Low Quality of Privatized Prison Food
29. CoreCivic Sued by Former Detainee Stabbed at Shuttered Kansas Jail, by David Reutter
30. $500,000 for Texas Teen Sodomized in Jail
31. Seventh Circuit Finds No Problem With Surveillance of Chicago Detainees on Toilets, by David Reutter
32. Warden, Eight Employees Arrested After Four Deaths at Wisconsin Prison in Eight Months
33. Pell Grant Restoration Not Reaching All Prisoners
34. Colorado Jail Guard Must Stand Trial for Opening Accused Sex Offender’s Cell, Subjecting Him to Assault, by David Reutter
35. Wrongfully Convicted Michigan Prisoners Wait for Compensation
36. Illinois Prisoner Awarded Over $822,000 For Hernia Care Denied by Wexford Health, by Douglas Ankney
37. Minnesota Jailers Shrug Off Detainee’s Agony from Fatal Perforated Bowel as Withdrawal Symptoms
38. Hearing-Impaired Massachusetts Prisoners Win ADA Case
39. Virginia Legislature Tables “Second-Look” Bills
40. Federal Sentencing Guidelines Place Heavy Burden on Incarcerated Victims of Sexual Assaults, by David Reutter
41. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Slows the Hand That State DOC Sticks Into Prisoners’ Pockets, by David Reutter
42. Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Retaliation Claim By Federal Prisoner Against Guard in Illinois Lockup Who Saw Grievance Against Him, by Matthew Clarke
43. Mentally Ill Detainee Allegedly Tasered and Starved to Death At South Carolina Jail
44. $8.9 Million Settlement Reached for N.Y. Prisoner’s Death Following Guards’ Baton Beating, by David Reutter
45. Maryland County Wins Fight to Let Bureaucrats Make Pretrial Release Decisions, by David Reutter
46. Eighth Circuit Largely Restores Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guards in Use of Force on Bipolar Prisoner, by David Reutter
47. Maryland Prisoner Prevails in Challenge to Denial of Public Records Requests
48. $2 Million Settlement in Death of Mentally Disabled Detainee Stripped of Anti-Seizure Device at Colorado Jail, by David Reutter
49. Two Who Escaped from Arkansas Jail Recaptured
50. Despite Unemployment Spike, Alabama Refuses Prisoners Work-Release Paroles
51. Ohio Supreme Court Says Prisoner’s ‘Kite’ Is Public Record, But Denies Damages for Withholding It, by Matthew Clarke
52. $56.7 Million Awarded to “Harlem Park Three,” Exonerated of Baltimore Murder After 36 Years in Prison, by David Reutter
53. Missouri Muslim Prisoners Advance Suit Against Guards For Assault During Prayer, by Douglas Ankney
54. Sixth Circuit Revives Ohio Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim That Guards Got Him Kicked Out of Religious Group, by David Reutter
55. $4 Million Settlement in Class Action Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions at West Virginia Jail, by David Reutter
56. Transgender Maryland Prisoner’s Suit Accuses Guard of Shower Rape
57. Two Prisoners Removed from Texas Death Row Due to Intellectual Disability, by David Reutter
58. 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
• Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, Jan. 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
• Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, Jan. 1, 2026
• Third Circuit Rules Awarding BOP Prisoners 54 Days of Good Time Per Year Is Pro-­Rated, Jan. 1, 2026
• Utah Supreme Court Announces Framework for Analyzing Combined Brady and Napue Violations, Affirms Postconviction Relief in Capital Murder Case, Jan. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
• North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, Feb. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, Feb. 1, 2026. Transfers, Pardons/Clemency, Death Row, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Confinement in Segregated Housing.
• 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
• 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.
• Amnesty International Report Claims Torture and Enforced Disappearances at “Alligator Alcatraz”, Jan. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Totality of Conditions, Detention - Generally, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
• Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Detainee’s Jail Food Lawsuit, Jan. 1, 2026. Aramark, Dental Care, Failure to Treat, Food, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.
• Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Complaints, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
• Louisiana Prisoner Granted Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to Jail Book Ban, Dec. 1, 2025. Reading Materials, Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.