More from this issue:

1. Now Under Federal Receivership, 
New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have 
No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, by Chuck Sharman
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. Watchdog Calls Out D.C. for Dragging Feet 
on Construction of New Jail, by Chuck Sharman
4. $75,000 for Transgender Maryland Prisoner Raped by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
5. Texas Social Workers Challenge Blanket Denial of State Occupational License Based on Youthful Assault Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
6. CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million 
in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care
7. Two Exonerated Illinois Prisoners Win Settlements 
Totaling $14.5 Million, by Chuck Sharman
8. California Prisoners Sue Gynecologist for Sexual Abuse, by Casey Bastian
9. Oklahoma Prisoner’s Execution Was Expedited 
by the Trump Administration
10. $2.6 Million Paid for Detoxing Washington Jail Detainee Allowed 
to Leap to His Death, Additional NaphCare Payout Undisclosed, by Chuck Sharman
11. Multiple Prisoner Suits Accuse Guards of Violence 
at Virginia BOP Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
12. Sixth Circuit Holds Dismissal Not Automatic When Plaintiff Simultaneously Files Same Claims in State Court, by Anthony Accurso
13. Alabama DOC Attorneys Reprimanded for 
Filing AI-Written Briefs in Prisoner’s Suit, by Chuck Sharman
14. Nebraska Considers Curbing Double-Bunking 
in Restrictive Housing
15. FCC Backtracks on 2024 Order to Cut 
Prison Phone and Video Rates by Half
16. $1.2 Million for New York Prisoner Waterboarded by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
17. Former Maine Prison Guard Arrested 
and Detained by ICE Agents
18. $15 Million Settlement Reached in San Diego Jail Detainee’s Untreated Withdrawal Death, by Chuck Sharman
19. $6.75 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Accusing 
Massachusetts Guards of Retaliatory Assaults on Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
20. Missouri Prison Nurse Sentenced 
to 12 Years for Poisoning Husband
21. Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, by David Reutter
22. $325,000 Paid to Former Wisconsin Prisoner Whose Cancer Biopsy Was Delayed by Previously Disciplined Doctor, by Chuck Sharman
23. SCOTUS Partially Overturns Pavey, Holds PLRA Exhaustion 
Dispute Must Go to Jury Even If Intertwined with 
Merits of Michigan Prisoner’s Claim, by Chuck Sharman
24. Texas Lawmakers Restrict Bail and Raise Criminal Penalties, 
Punt on Prison and Jail Conditions, by Chuck Sharman
25. PLN Publisher Wins Settlement Records from Centurion 
in Florida Prisoner’s Wrongful Death, by Chuck Sharman
26. Prison Gerrymandering 
Alive and Well in Oklahoma, by Chuck Sharman
27. After Judge’s Letter, at Least 22 Former FCI Dublin Prisoners Granted Compassionate Release, by Matthew Clarke
28. Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s 
Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, by David Reutter
29. $815,000 Settlement in Nevada Class-Action Suit 
Over Debit Release Cards
30. Review: “Reforming the Shadow Carceral State”
31. Fourth Circuit Revives Wrongful Conviction Claim of Exonerated Maryland Prisoner, State Pays Him $3.1 Million, by Chuck Sharman
32. HRDC Wins $480,000 in Legal Fees from Centurion for Denied New Mexico Records, by Chuck Sharman
33. DOJ Tables Controversial Kentucky Prison 
to Claw Back $500 Million Budget
34. Costs of U.S. Incarceration to Families
Pegged at Nearly $350 Billion a Year, by Chuck Sharman
35. $3,800 Paid to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Request, by Chuck Sharman
36. Delaware’s ACLU Files Action on Behalf Of Six Prisoners 
Assaulted During Midnight Raid, by Anthony Accurso
37. DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, by Chuck Sharman
38. HRDC Collaborates on Prison Telecom Cost Report 
to Washington Lawmakers, by Chuck Sharman
39. Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner 
That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, by Chuck Sharman
40. Over Eight Years in Prison for iCare Founder Who Ran Prisoner Gift Basket Scam, by Chuck Sharman
41. Life Sentences, by the Numbers
42. Former California Prison Guard 
Pleads Guilty to Planting Contraband 
He Pretended to Discover
43. Sixth Circuit Upholds $45 Million Verdict for 
Wrongfully Convicted Former Ohio Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
44. Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement 
for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, by David Reutter
45. SCOTUS Clamps Down on Bivens Extension to Prisoner 
Beaten by BOP Guards at Virginia Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
46. Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee 
Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, by David Reutter
47. $1.875 Million Partial Settlement for Colorado Detainee’s 
Death from Untreated Alcohol Withdrawal; 
Claims Against Wellpath Pending Bankruptcy, by Chuck Sharman
48. $95,000 Paid to Nevada Prisoner Denied 
Muslim Prayer; Pending Cases Allege Continued 
Discrimination Against Non-Protestants, by Chuck Sharman
49. Life-Sentenced California Prisoner Cannot be Convicted Under Both §§ 4500 and 4501
50. On Remand, Eleventh Circuit Clarifies, Affirms Grant 
of Habeas Relief to Death Row Prisoner
51. Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay 
for Non-Medical Reasons, by David Reutter
52. California Attorney Disbarred for Deceiving 
Prisoners Seeking Resentencing, by Chuck Sharman
53. HRDC Wins Consent Decree, $350,000 in Jail Censorship Suit 
against California’s Sonoma County, by Chuck Sharman
54. DOJ Inspects BOP Food Service Operations, 
Finds Troubling Issues at Multiple Facilities, by Anthony Accurso
55. Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill to Penalize Private Prisons 
for High Mortality Rates
56. Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies 
for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, by David Reutter
57. Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Award of Time Served 
Credit for Non-Citizen Awaiting Extradition, by Matthew Clarke
58. Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner 
Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, by Douglas Ankney
59. Shady Firm Awarded $78 Million Contract for Services 
at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz”
60. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Gave Massive Handouts to ICE and Private Prison Industry
61. Guaranteed Basic Income Programs for Prisoners 
Reduce Food Insecurity and Homelessness, by Anthony Accurso
62. Sixth Circuit Order Sealing Records 
in Private Prison Shareholder Suit 
Vacated, Remanded
63. Former Oregon Prison Guard Sergeant Sentenced 
for Sexually Abusing Imprisoned Women, by Matthew Clarke
64. News in Brief

More from Chuck Sharman:

• ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026
• Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026
• Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration, May 1, 2026
• Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026
• Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026
• $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026
• New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2026
• NaphCare Pays $875,000 to Settle New York License Violations, Banned from State for Five Years, May 1, 2026
• Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026
• $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Heat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
• Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Damages, Public Records, Public Records Act.
• Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, March 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference.
• U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
• Second Circuit Vacates Finding that Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies; Remands Conditions of Confinement and Due Process Claims, Dec. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Municipal Liability, Ad-Seg Hearings.
• Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Complaints, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
• Wisconsin Prisoner Wins in Seventh Circuit Review of Exhaustive Remedies Case, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Grievances, Jury Trial.
• Ninth Circuit Finds No Bivens Extension Needed for Federal Prisoner Prescribed Water and Exercise for Thyroid Storms, Nov. 1, 2025. Systemic Medical Neglect, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Deliberate Indifference, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
• Appeals Court Allows Illinois Prisoner’s Suit for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, Nov. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Summary Judgment, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Hearsay Evidence/Exceptions.
• Appeals Court Rules Michigan’s Tolling Provision Is Not Inconsistent with the PLRA, Nov. 1, 2025. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Limitations, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches.