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. Crucial Surveillance Video Missing in Nevada Prisoner’s Homicide Caused by Guards
10. Advanced Correctional Healthcare Ends Two Suits Over Deaths at Ohio Jail
11. Texas Holds 1 in 41 Prisoners in Solitary Confinement
12. Maine State Prison Warden Replaced As Misconduct Allegations Investigated
13. Second Circuit: New York Prisoner’s Religious Discrimination Need Not Show a “Substantial” Burden of Beliefs, by Douglas Ankney
14. Missouri Prisoners Losing Reentry Money to “Incarceration Reimbursement”
15. Mistrial for Vermont Sheriff Who Kicked Shackled Detainee
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. More Alabama Prisoners Murdered in Overcrowded Lockups
19. Paternity Questions Dog Miami Jail Birth
20. Federal Watchdog, SCOTUS Fail to Limit Solitary Confinement Abuses, by Douglas Ankney, Anthony Accurso
21. America’s Prison Profiteers from Colonial Times Until Now, by Douglas Ankney
22. Unequal Before the Law, by Stephanie Woodard
23. North Carolina Expands Supervision for Mentally Ill Probationers, by Anthony Accurso
24. South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Charged With Taking Over $219,000 in Bribes to Smuggle Cellphones
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. Mentally Ill Detainee Allegedly “Stomped” In the Head By South Carolina Jailer, by Anthony Accurso
29. Watchdog Calls for Hawaii Prisons, Jails to Stop Using Restraint Chairs
30. Seventh Circuit Avoids Deciding Whether Wisconsin Statute of Limitations Tolls from Prisoner’s Incident or Grievances, by David Reutter
31. Parole Denied for Indigenous Activist Leonard Peltier
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. Rural Areas Increasingly Reliant on Imprisoned Emergency Responders
38. Houston Detainees Shipped to Private Jails in Mississippi and Louisiana, by Anthony Accurso
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. Iowa Qualified Immunity Law Lets County Off the Hook for Guard’s Sex Abuse of Jail Detainee
48. Impoverished Ohio County Gets New Jail Space After Settling Suit for Bloody Detainee Assault
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. Florida Court of Appeals Reinstates Voter Fraud Charges Against Ex-Felons
52. Colorado Prisoner Forces Correctional Health Partners to Treat His Colon Disease, by Douglas Ankney
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 Douglas Ankney:

• The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity but Clarifies that 14th Amendment ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Is Standard of Review for Pretrial Detainee’s Claim of Sexual Abuse, Oct. 1, 2026
• California Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-Circumstances Framework Focused on Defendant’s Subjective Understanding Under § 1473.7(a)(1), Holding Immigration Consequences Advisement Is Relevant but Not Dispositive, Oct. 1, 2026
• Idaho Supreme Court Holds Conflicting Affidavits About Plea Acceptance Require Evidentiary Hearing on Ineffective-Assistance Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces, Oct. 1, 2026
• Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
• Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
• Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• GEO Group Funnels Millions to Trump PAC Following Windfall ICE Contracts, Oct. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Immigration Detention.
• $700,000 Paid by West Virginia for Jail Death, Claims Against Wexford Health Pending, Oct. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Restraints, Settlements, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Deliberate Indifference.
• $5 Million Paid by Washington for Attempted Rape of Seattle Woman by Mentally Ill Prisoner Released to Halfway House, Oct. 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Train/Supervise, halfway houses, Criminal Sexual Abuse, Prison Classification.
• Prisoners At Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” Settle Conditions Suits for $1.2 Million, Whistleblower Alleges Staff Mistreatment, Oct. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Medication, Settlements, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Immigration Detention.
• Iowa Department of Corrections Settles Lawsuit and Agrees to Implement More Reliable Drug Testing Procedures and Fair Disciplinary Proceeding Policies, Oct. 1, 2026. Liberty Interests, Evidence, Drug Testing, Settlements, Burden of Proof.
• Maryland Pays $314,000 for Stonewalling Public Records Requests in Prisoner’s Dehydration Death, Oct. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Water, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Public Records Act.
• Last of Three Oklahoma Jail Death Settlements Totaling $66.5 Million Paid for Fatal Dehydration of “Cookie Queen”, Oct. 1, 2026. Diabetes, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
• $3.75 Million Paid by Wisconsin After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies of Dehydration, Oct. 1, 2026. Water, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
• $250,000 Paid by Nevada to Former Prisoner Denied Colonoscopy Who Developed Stage IV Cancer, Oct. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Deliberate Indifference.
• L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.