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Unequal Before the Law
by Stephanie Woodard
Native Americans serve astoundingly longer prison sentences—because they are Native.
Federal charges ordinarily cover matters of national reach: immigration, voting rights, racketeering. Not in Indian Country. Tribal members frequently find themselves in federal court for all sorts of allegations— not just serious crimes, such as murder, but ...
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More from this issue:
- FCC Slashes Prison and Jail Phone Rates, Caps Video Call Cost, Eliminates “Site Commission” Kickbacks
- From the Editor
- Missouri Prisoner Executed After Making—and Losing—New Plea Deal
- Three BOP Prisoners Sentenced for Murder of “Whitey” Bulger at West Virginia Lockup
- At Oklahoma Lockup: Deputy Warden Fired and Arrested in Smuggling Scheme, Guards Charged in Prisoner’s Assault
- Alabama Prisoner Disciplined for Lying When Guard Cleared of Sexual Assault Allegation
- DOJ Opens Investigation Into Sex Abuse at Two California Women’s Prisons
- Three Former Rikers Island Guards Among Five Ex-Employees Charged in Massive Smuggling Scheme
- Advanced Correctional Healthcare Ends Two Suits Over Deaths at Ohio Jail
- Crucial Surveillance Video Missing in Nevada Prisoner’s Homicide Caused by Guards
- Maine State Prison Warden Replaced As Misconduct Allegations Investigated
- Texas Holds 1 in 41 Prisoners in Solitary Confinement
- Second Circuit: New York Prisoner’s Religious Discrimination Need Not Show a “Substantial” Burden of Beliefs, by Douglas Ankney
- Mistrial for Vermont Sheriff Who Kicked Shackled Detainee
- Missouri Prisoners Losing Reentry Money to “Incarceration Reimbursement”
- Georgia Guard Gets 15 Years for Using One Prisoner to Assault Another
- $1.8 Million Jury Award for San Diego Jail Overdose Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Paternity Questions Dog Miami Jail Birth
- More Alabama Prisoners Murdered in Overcrowded Lockups
- Federal Watchdog, SCOTUS Fail to Limit Solitary Confinement Abuses, by Anthony Accurso, Douglas Ankney
- America’s Prison Profiteers from Colonial Times Until Now, by Douglas Ankney
- Unequal Before the Law, by Stephanie Woodard
- South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Charged With Taking Over $219,000 in Bribes to Smuggle Cellphones
- North Carolina Expands Supervision for Mentally Ill Probationers, by Anthony Accurso
- New TV Show Dramatizes Prisoner’s Re-entry
- Alaska Supreme Court: DOC Can’t Unilaterally Redefine ‘Parole Release Date’, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Sets Up Circuit Split with Ruling on Michigan Prisoner’s PLRA Exhaustion Dispute
- Watchdog Calls for Hawaii Prisons, Jails to Stop Using Restraint Chairs
- Mentally Ill Detainee Allegedly “Stomped” In the Head By South Carolina Jailer, by Anthony Accurso
- Parole Denied for Indigenous Activist Leonard Peltier
- Seventh Circuit Avoids Deciding Whether Wisconsin Statute of Limitations Tolls from Prisoner’s Incident or Grievances, by David Reutter
- Florida Reentry “Success” Story: Convicted Embezzler Promoted to Oversee Miami-Dade County Contracts
- Ohio Pays $725,000 to Survivors of Two Prisoners Beaten to Death by Lying Guards
- Rural Washington County Shutters Its Jail
- Two Wrongful Tennessee Convictions Result in Payouts Over $1 Million
- Massachusetts Appeals Court Revives Prisoners’ Challenge to DOC Trust Account Policy Change, by Douglas Ankney
- Houston Detainees Shipped to Private Jails in Mississippi and Louisiana, by Anthony Accurso
- Rural Areas Increasingly Reliant on Imprisoned Emergency Responders
- California Bar Accuses L.A. Lawyer of Deceiving Prisoners Seeking Resentencing
- Alabama Warden and Wife Busted for Making “Magic” Mushrooms
- Illinois Pays $3 Million for Subjecting Prisoners to Degrading Mass Strip Search, by Anthony Accurso
- Transgender BOP Prisoner in Arizona Wins $10,243 for Guard’s Negligence
- Former California Jail Guards Plead Guilty to Fatal Beating of Mentally Ill Detainee
- Minnesota’s $100 Million-Per-Year Civil Commitment Program Has No “Discernible Impact” on Sex Crimes
- Federal Prisoner Will Appear on Alaska Congressional Ballot
- $7.25 Million Paid for Psychotic Detainee’s Suicide After 20 Days in Solitary at Indiana Jail
- Impoverished Ohio County Gets New Jail Space After Settling Suit for Bloody Detainee Assault
- Iowa Qualified Immunity Law Lets County Off the Hook for Guard’s Sex Abuse of Jail Detainee
- Indiana Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Corruption, County Pays $328,000 to Jail Detainees for “Night of Terror”, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Finds Relation-Back Rule Misapplied to Philadelphia Prisoner’s “Crappy” Ordeal Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Colorado Prisoner Forces Correctional Health Partners to Treat His Colon Disease, by Douglas Ankney
- Florida Court of Appeals Reinstates Voter Fraud Charges Against Ex-Felons
- Ninth Circuit Provides Cover to Oregon Governor for Prioritizing Guards Over Prisoners for COVID-19 Vaccine, by Douglas Ankney
- Suspended South Carolina Sheriff Acquitted of Using Excessive Force on Jail Detainee
- Nailing Down “Top Cop” Kamala Harris on Criminal Justice Reform
- Prisoners Reportedly Locked in Showers in Oklahoma, Florida, by David Reutter
- CDCR Slammed for Reclassifying Staff Misconduct Allegations as Routine Grievances, by Anthony Accurso
- Maryland Extends Contract with YesCare Despite Bankruptcy of Predecessor Corizon Health
- After Positive Drug Test, Kentucky Prisoners Allegedly Forced to Choose Between Tasing or Drinking Urine, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Stephanie Woodard:
- Unequal Before the Law, Oct. 15, 2024
More from these topics:
- Virginia Parole Board Skirts New Transparency Rules, Governor Walks Back Expanded Sentence Credits—Again, March 1, 2025. Local Rules, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Credits.
- Legal Gaffe Prolongs Case of Former St. Louis Detainee Held Eight Months After Dismissal of Charges, Feb. 15, 2025. Overdetention, Search and Seizure, Pending Appeal/Sentencing, Dismissal.
- Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Fifth Circuit Leaves Louisiana Prisoner Waiting for Reinstated Parole, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole, Overdetention, Victim's Rights to Enforce Collection.
- Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
- Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
- California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
- First Circuit Holds Government Breached Plea Agreement by Implicitly Arguing for Upward Variant Sentence by Including Pictures and Video of Defendant That Allegedly Depict His Criminal Tendencies in Sentencing Memo, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Grounds for Variance, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Grounds.