More from this issue:

1. FCC Slashes Prison and Jail Phone Rates, Caps Video Call Cost, Eliminates “Site Commission” Kickbacks
2. From the Editor
3. Missouri Prisoner Executed After Making—and Losing—New Plea Deal
4. Three BOP Prisoners Sentenced for Murder of “Whitey” Bulger at West Virginia Lockup
5. At Oklahoma Lockup: Deputy Warden Fired and Arrested in Smuggling Scheme, Guards Charged in Prisoner’s Assault
6. Alabama Prisoner Disciplined for Lying When Guard Cleared of Sexual Assault Allegation
7. DOJ Opens Investigation Into Sex Abuse at Two California Women’s Prisons
8. Three Former Rikers Island Guards Among Five Ex-Employees Charged in Massive Smuggling Scheme
9. Advanced Correctional Healthcare Ends Two Suits Over Deaths at Ohio Jail
10. Crucial Surveillance Video Missing in Nevada Prisoner’s Homicide Caused by Guards
11. Maine State Prison Warden Replaced As Misconduct Allegations Investigated
12. Texas Holds 1 in 41 Prisoners in Solitary Confinement
13. Second Circuit: New York Prisoner’s Religious Discrimination Need Not Show a “Substantial” Burden of Beliefs, by Douglas Ankney
14. Mistrial for Vermont Sheriff Who Kicked Shackled Detainee
15. Missouri Prisoners Losing Reentry Money to “Incarceration Reimbursement”
16. Georgia Guard Gets 15 Years for Using One Prisoner to Assault Another
17. $1.8 Million Jury Award for San Diego Jail Overdose Death, by Matthew Clarke
18. Paternity Questions Dog Miami Jail Birth
19. More Alabama Prisoners Murdered in Overcrowded Lockups
20. Federal Watchdog, SCOTUS Fail to Limit Solitary Confinement Abuses, by Anthony Accurso, Douglas Ankney
21. America’s Prison Profiteers from Colonial Times Until Now, by Douglas Ankney
22. Unequal Before the Law, by Stephanie Woodard
23. South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Charged With Taking Over $219,000 in Bribes to Smuggle Cellphones
24. North Carolina Expands Supervision for Mentally Ill Probationers, by Anthony Accurso
25. New TV Show Dramatizes Prisoner’s Re-entry
26. Alaska Supreme Court: DOC Can’t Unilaterally Redefine ‘Parole Release Date’, by Douglas Ankney
27. Sixth Circuit Sets Up Circuit Split with Ruling on Michigan Prisoner’s PLRA Exhaustion Dispute
28. Watchdog Calls for Hawaii Prisons, Jails to Stop Using Restraint Chairs
29. Mentally Ill Detainee Allegedly “Stomped” In the Head By South Carolina Jailer, by Anthony Accurso
30. Parole Denied for Indigenous Activist Leonard Peltier
31. Seventh Circuit Avoids Deciding Whether Wisconsin Statute of Limitations Tolls from Prisoner’s Incident or Grievances, by David Reutter
32. Florida Reentry “Success” Story: Convicted Embezzler Promoted to Oversee Miami-Dade County Contracts
33. Ohio Pays $725,000 to Survivors of Two Prisoners Beaten to Death by Lying Guards
34. Rural Washington County Shutters Its Jail
35. Two Wrongful Tennessee Convictions Result in Payouts Over $1 Million
36. Massachusetts Appeals Court Revives Prisoners’ Challenge to DOC Trust Account Policy Change, by Douglas Ankney
37. Houston Detainees Shipped to Private Jails in Mississippi and Louisiana, by Anthony Accurso
38. Rural Areas Increasingly Reliant on Imprisoned Emergency Responders
39. California Bar Accuses L.A. Lawyer of Deceiving Prisoners Seeking Resentencing
40. Alabama Warden and Wife Busted for Making “Magic” Mushrooms
41. Illinois Pays $3 Million for Subjecting Prisoners to Degrading Mass Strip Search, by Anthony Accurso
42. Transgender BOP Prisoner in Arizona Wins $10,243 for Guard’s Negligence
43. Former California Jail Guards Plead Guilty to Fatal Beating of Mentally Ill Detainee
44. Minnesota’s $100 Million-Per-Year Civil Commitment Program Has No “Discernible Impact” on Sex Crimes
45. Federal Prisoner Will Appear on Alaska Congressional Ballot
46. $7.25 Million Paid for Psychotic Detainee’s Suicide After 20 Days in Solitary at Indiana Jail
47. Impoverished Ohio County Gets New Jail Space After Settling Suit for Bloody Detainee Assault
48. Iowa Qualified Immunity Law Lets County Off the Hook for Guard’s Sex Abuse of Jail Detainee
49. Indiana Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Corruption, County Pays $328,000 to Jail Detainees for “Night of Terror”, by Douglas Ankney
50. Third Circuit Finds Relation-Back Rule Misapplied to Philadelphia Prisoner’s “Crappy” Ordeal Lawsuit, by David Reutter
51. Colorado Prisoner Forces Correctional Health Partners to Treat His Colon Disease, by Douglas Ankney
52. Florida Court of Appeals Reinstates Voter Fraud Charges Against Ex-Felons
53. Ninth Circuit Provides Cover to Oregon Governor for Prioritizing Guards Over Prisoners for COVID-19 Vaccine, by Douglas Ankney
54. Suspended South Carolina Sheriff Acquitted of Using Excessive Force on Jail Detainee
55. Nailing Down “Top Cop” Kamala Harris on Criminal Justice Reform
56. Prisoners Reportedly Locked in Showers in Oklahoma, Florida, by David Reutter
57. CDCR Slammed for Reclassifying Staff Misconduct Allegations as Routine Grievances, by Anthony Accurso
58. Maryland Extends Contract with YesCare Despite Bankruptcy of Predecessor Corizon Health
59. After Positive Drug Test, Kentucky Prisoners Allegedly Forced to Choose Between Tasing or Drinking Urine, by David Reutter
60. News in Brief

More from Anthony Accurso:

• Ninth Circuit: No Exception to Due Diligence in Discovery Even for “Conclusive Evidence”, May 1, 2025
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Defense Counsel Had Actual Conflict of Interest Where Own Performance During Police Interview of Defendant Could Serve as Basis of Motion to Suppress Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, New Trial Required W, March 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Reverses Denial of Counsel for “Low IQ” North Carolina Prisoner, March 1, 2025
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Arkansas Jailers Who Ignored Detainee’s Spider Bite, March 1, 2025
• New Mexico Settles Suit Alleging Failure To Implement Expanded Voting For Felons, March 1, 2025
• D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Feb. 15, 2025
• $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, Feb. 15, 2025
• Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, Feb. 15, 2025
• First Circuit Holds No Emergency-Aid Exception to Warrant Requirement Where Police Have Information That Subject Is Already Deceased, Feb. 15, 2025
• Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports, Feb. 15, 2025

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Fingerprint Evidence’s Troubling Flaws, April 15, 2025
• Tenth Circuit Stretches PLRA to Deny Claim of Colorado Prisoner Shot by Guard While Shackled, April 1, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Excuses Maryland Prisoner From Exhaustion Requirement in PREA Claim, April 1, 2025
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces State Wiretap Statute Requires Suppression of Both Audio and Video Components of Audiovisual Footage of Unlawfully Intercepted Oral Communication Showing Defendant as Party to Communication, March 15, 2025
• California Court of Appeal Vacates Sentence Where Trial Court Imposed Sentence Under ‘One Strike’ Enhancement Statute Enacted After Crimes Were Committed, March 15, 2025
• Nevada Supreme Court: Theft Offenses and Possessing or Receiving Stolen Property Offenses Are Mutually Exclusive and Double Jeopardy Protections Bar Conviction for Both Offenses When Based on Same Conduct, March 15, 2025
• Maryland Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Exercise That Discretion Where It Summarily Refused Requested Jury Instruction Because It Was a Non-Pattern Instruction and ‘Some Evidence’ Supported the Instruction, March 15, 2025
• $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, March 1, 2025
• Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
• Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• ‘Eye Opening’ Self-Harm Found in Washington DOC Solitary Confinement, March 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
• Washington Prisoner Sues Jail Where Assault Left Him Comatose, DOC Guard Who Then Sexually Abused Him, March 1, 2025. Prisoner-Staff Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Sex Offender Registration, Failure to Protect (General).
• $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, March 1, 2025. Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
• New York Prison Officials Found Routinely Violating HALT Act With Overuse of Solitary Confinement, Feb. 15, 2025. Disciplinary Hearings, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Oregon Holds BLM Protestor in Solitary Confinement for 250 Days, Feb. 15, 2025. Protests, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Racial Profiling, Prison Classification.
• Pennsylvania Prisoner Released from Solitary After 15 Years, Jan. 15, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Settlements, Americans with Disabilities Act, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
• Details Vague on Spending from San Diego Jail Detainee Welfare Fund, Jan. 15, 2025. Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Jail Misconduct, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Commissary, Federal Funds.
• Six Set Themselves on Fire at Virginia Prison in 2024, Jan. 15, 2025. Retaliation, Protests, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Fire to the Prisons Magazine.
• New York Court of Appeals (Lightly) Slaps State Prison Officials for Holding Sex Offenders Past Release, Dec. 15, 2024. Jail Misconduct, Overdetention, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry.
• Suicidal Texas Prisoners Held in Phone-Booth-Size “Containment Cages”, Dec. 15, 2024. Strip Cells, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Suicides.