More from this issue:

1. Spit Hoods, Modern Legacy of Torture, by Anthony Accurso
2. From the Editor
3. NYC Rehires Former Head of Rikers Island Lockup Where Guard Assault Left Detainee Quadriplegic
4. “Like Being Back in Jail”: Wisconsin Returns Released Sex Offenders to Lifetime GPS Monitoring
5. Identities Stolen From Virginia Jail Detainees For $341,205 COVID-19 Fraud
6. Alabama Guard, Prisoners Among 13 Sentenced in Phone Scam and Drug-Smuggling Ring
7. Facing Bankruptcy, Securus Promotes Prison Tablets
8. Fired Missouri Guards Charged with Murder in Prisoner’s Suffocation Death
9. California Resentences 15 Condemned Prisoners to Life Without Parole
10. Former Virginia Prisoners Win Back Denied Sentence Credits, Sue Over Delayed Release
11. California Prisons Ban High-Tech Lie Detector
12. Eighth Circuit Asked to Block New FCC Rules Capping Prison Phone Rates and Eliminating Ancillary Fees and Kickbacks
13. Florida DOC Failed to Investigate Background of Guard Convicted in Mass Shooting
14. $4.77 Million Settlement for Three Alaska Prisoners Exonerated of Murder After 18 Years, by David Reutter
15. Alabama Jail Accused of Granting Detainee’s Medical Bond Just Before Death to Avoid Costly Medical Care, by David Reutter
16. Kentucky Prisoners Take Advantage of Securus Software Glitch for $1 Million
17. $28.75 Million Settlement Paid by New York City in Suit Alleging Rikers Guards Stood by and Watched Detainee Hang Himself, by Douglas Ankney
18. Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Interference With His Muslim Religious Practice, by David Reutter
19. Colorado Becomes First State to Require Polling Stations in Jails
20. Two More West Virginia Jailers Plead Guilty in Detainee’s Homicide
21. Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for California Jail Nurse Who Cleared Detainee for Release Just Before His Suicide, by Douglas Ankney
22. San Bernardino Jail Partially Released from Court Monitoring After Paying Another $150,000 in Settlements for Detainee Deaths
23. Building Carcerality, by Dana McKinney White, Lisa Haber-Thomson
24. Corizon Health Bankruptcy Settlement Grows, But Only by $21 Million
25. California Throws Prisoners Under the Bus to Adopt New Heat Rules
26. PPI Releases 10th Anniversary Report on Mass Incarceration in the U.S.
27. Florida Prisoners Exposed to Cancer-Causing Chemicals
28. Two Hurricanes in Two Weeks Threaten Prisoners and Jail Detainees in Six States
29. Public Defender Files Habeas Petitions for Detainees at “Horrific” Baltimore Lockup
30. Another South Carolina Prisoner Convicted of “Sextortion” of U.S. Military Personnel
31. $23,138 Plus Out-Of-State Transfer for Virginia Prisoner Who Accused Guards of Excessive Force and Altering Video
32. Wellpath Sanctioned for Destroying Evidence in Two Oregon Jail Death Suits, by David Reutter
33. Eighth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Guard Accused of Assaulting Restrained and Compliant Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
34. In Oregon Case, Ninth Circuit Limits Pretrial Detention Without Counsel to Seven Days
35. Two Former Georgia Sheriffs Sentenced for Misconduct, Related $5 Million Settlement Approved, by David Reutter
36. Washington Appellate Court Reverses Parole Revocation Based on Hearsay
37. Illinois Prisoners Stage Hunger Strikes Over DOC Failure to Implement New Sentence Reduction Law
38. BOP Ends “Blast” Messages on TRULINCS
39. Maryland and Wexford Health Pay $200,000 to Prisoner Denied Care and Partially Blinded, by Douglas Ankney
40. Another Payout Brings Arizona Prisoner’s Total to $92,850
41. After $750,000 Settlement, Georgia Guard Sued Second Time For Letting One Prisoner Murder Another, by Douglas Ankney
42. SCOTUS Stays Texas Execution With 20 Minutes to Spare, by Matthew Clarke
43. 50 Years After Starting “Scared Straight,” Former N.J. Prison Warden “Would Do It Again”
44. Angola Prisoners Granted Limited Relief From “Farm Line” Work
45. Armor Health Liquidates Assets—to Firm’s Founder
46. Court Strikes Washington Statute to Regulate GEO Group’s Notorious ICE Lockup
47. Milwaukee County Pays $1.05 Million Judgment for Bankrupt Armor Correctional Health to Former Jail Detainee
48. California Changes Prisoner Property Policy After Suit Filed Alleging Gender Discrimination Against Men, by Douglas Ankney
49. $1.2 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Censorship Suit Against North Carolina Prison System
50. Fifth Circuit Reinstates Former Federal Prisoner’s Suit Over Assault By Guards at Louisiana Lockup, by Matthew Clarke
51. $1.5 Million Settlement Approved in Chicago Jail Suicide Case
52. $500 Jury Verdict for Pennsylvania Prisoner After Federal Court Clarifies DOC Grievance Procedures
53. California Pays $4.45 Million to Prisoners Allegedly Raped by Guards, by Anthony Accurso
54. Third Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Pennsylvania Guards Who Pepper-Sprayed Asthmatic Prisoner
55. News in Brief

More from these topics:

• Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Good-Cause Standard Governing State Motions to Continue Based on Witness Unavailability, Aug. 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of, Periods of Delay, Excludable Time.
• California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Due Process, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
• Retroactive Guideline Amendments: The Narrow Path to a Federal Sentence Reduction, July 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Career Offenders, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Guideline Amendment/Variances and Retroactivity.
• Colorado Supreme Court Holds Prosecutor’s Interlocutory Appeal of Evidentiary Ruling Lacked Arguable Merit, Did Not Toll Speedy Trial Deadline, and Violated Defendant’s Right to Speedy Trial, May 1, 2026. Appealable Issues/Orders, Interlocutory Appeals, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Prejudice - Potential for Undue.
• Report Finds Persistent Overcrowding Drives Cascade of Problems at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Bail/Pretrial Release, Indictment/Information.
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Bright-Line Rule Requiring Dismissal Without Prejudice When State Fails to Appoint Counsel for Eligible Criminal Defendant Within 60 Days in Misdemeanor Cases or 90 Days in Felony Cases Post-Arraignment, March 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders, Indigent Defense, Constitution, state, Counsel - Right to.
• Washington County Pays $300,000 to Jail Detainee Denied Treatment for Kidney Stone, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Deliberate Indifference.
• Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Monell Liability, Prison Classification.
• Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, Feb. 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency, Competency Hearing.
• Delaware Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must First Resolve Defense Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw Before Addressing Defendant’s Plea-­Withdrawal Request, Holding Failure to Do So Violates Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, Jan. 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Self-representation, Withdrawal.