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:

• New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Plenary Hearing Before Special Adjudicator on Reliability of Fingerprint Evidence, Holding Century of Judicial Acceptance Did Not Satisfy Trial Court’s Gatekeeping Obligation Under N.J.R.E. 702, Aug. 1, 2026
• En Banc Eleventh Circuit Announces All Parents, Including Those Convicted of Child-Sex Offenses, Enjoy Fundamental Right to Live With Their Children, Holding Alabama Residency Prohibition Subject to Strict Scrutiny, Aug. 1, 2026
• Seventh Circuit Announces Courts May Examine Individual Officer’s Subjective Purpose When Assessing Whether Warrantless Administrative Inspection Was Pretextual, Holding Suppression Required Where Trooper’s Sole Motive for Stop Was Criminal Investigati, Aug. 1, 2026
• SCOTUS Holds § 922(g)(3) Prosecution Based Solely on Regular Marijuana Use, Without Individualized Proof of Dangerousness, Violates Second Amendment, Aug. 1, 2026
• Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment, Aug. 1, 2026
• Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted, Aug. 1, 2026
• Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, Aug. 1, 2026
• California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026
• Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, Aug. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Overdetention, Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
• SCOTUS Refuses to Allow Damages Under RLUIPA for Rastafarian Former Prisoner Shaved Bald by Louisiana Prison Officials, July 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Religious Practices, Damages - Compensatory, Adequacy of Remedy, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
• $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, April 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Religious Practices, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
• $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, Jan. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Food, Settlements, First Amendment, rights, Dismissal.
• Eighth Circuit Orders Preliminary Injunction Requiring Minnesota to Reinstate Program Teaching Biblical “Authentic Manhood”, Nov. 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Injunctions, Interlocutory Appeals, Protected Speech, Religious Freedom/Worship, Prison Regulations.
• $95,000 Paid to Nevada Prisoner Denied 
Muslim Prayer; Pending Cases Allege Continued 
Discrimination Against Non-Protestants, Aug. 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), Free Exercise Clause.
• Wiccan Nevada Prisoner Wins 18-Year Fight for Religious Items, July 15, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
• Ninth Circuit Reinstates Religious Exercise Claim from Arizona “Christian-Israelite” Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, June 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Religious Diet, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
• Fifth Circuit Reinstates Baha’i Texas Prisoner’s Dietary Claim, June 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Religious Diet, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
• Muslim Prisoners Face Price-Gouging, April 1, 2025. Religious Discrimination, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Religious Practices, Religious Property.