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. Three BOP Prisoners Sentenced for Murder of “Whitey” Bulger at West Virginia Lockup
4. Missouri Prisoner Executed After Making—and Losing—New Plea Deal
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. Three Former Rikers Island Guards Among Five Ex-Employees Charged in Massive Smuggling Scheme
8. DOJ Opens Investigation Into Sex Abuse at Two California Women’s Prisons
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. 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. 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. Alaska Supreme Court: DOC Can’t Unilaterally Redefine ‘Parole Release Date’, by Douglas Ankney
26. New TV Show Dramatizes Prisoner’s Re-entry
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. $7.25 Million Paid for Psychotic Detainee’s Suicide After 20 Days in Solitary at Indiana Jail
46. Federal Prisoner Will Appear on Alaska Congressional Ballot
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. 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 Stephanie Woodard:

• Unequal Before the Law, Oct. 15, 2024

More from these topics:

• Almost $1 Million in Settlements Paid to Three Nevada Prisoners, April 1, 2026. Cancer, Failure to Treat, Overdetention, Deliberate Indifference.
• $1.5 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached in Texas Jail Over-Detention Case, April 1, 2026. Overdetention, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Unlawful Detention, Monell Liability, Class Actions.
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
• Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Parole, Overdetention, Reduction of Prison Population.
• Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway, March 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
• Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Effect of Vacatur, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
• First Circuit Clarifies Mitigating Role Analysis – Sentencing Courts Must Consider All Identifiable Participants in Drug Shipment, Not Just Crew Members, and Use § 3B1.2 Factors to Assess Relative Culpability, Not Guilt, Dec. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
• DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, Dec. 1, 2025. Class Certification, Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention.
• Third Circuit Announces “Commencement of the Instant Offense” in Guidelines § 4A1.2(e) Unambiguously Refers Only to Specific Offense of Conviction, Not Relevant Conduct, Nov. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Adequacy of Criminal History Category, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.