More from this issue:

1. The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire, by Katya Schwenk
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, by Chuck Sharman
4. Colorado Children Sue County Jail to Fight Visitation Ban
5. New Jersey Breaks Ground on New $330 Million Women’s Prison After Raid at Old Facility
6. Record $42.75 Million Verdict in Louisiana Detainee’s Death in LaSalle Jail, by Chuck Sharman
7. Prisoner Assaulted by BOP Guard and Left With Bleeding Rectum—Then the Cover-Up Began, by Chuck Sharman
8. One Guard Pleads Guilty, Another Receives Light Sentence in New York Prisoner’s Killing, by Jo Ellen Nott
9. Tennessee Seeks $13 Million Raise for CoreCivic, Despite Violations
10. $1.9 Million Settlement in Washington Jail Death Includes Policy Changes, by Chuck Sharman
11. Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, by Chuck Sharman
12. $7 Million Paid by Ohio County for Jail Detainee’s Death in Restraint Chair, by Chuck Sharman
13. Wisconsin DOC Releases 1,700 Private Health Records by Mistake
14. Suicidal West Virginia Prisoner Granted Transfer From 13-Year Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
15. DOJ Settles With Orange County Over Use of “Jailhouse Snitches”, by Chuck Sharman
16. Iowa DOC Declines to Privatize State Prison Healthcare
17. Hawaii Prison Warden Reinstated After Being Fired in 2014 for Sexual Harassment, by Michael Thompson
18. Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution
19. Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Michigan Warden Whose Guards Gave Prisoner Plastic Bag Used in Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
20. $4 Million Settlement Reached in Class Action Challenge to Conditions at Shuttered St. Louis “Workhouse” Jail, by Chuck Sharman
21. First Circuit Greenlights Rhode Island Prisoner’s Damages Suit for Disastrous 450-Day Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
22. Watchdog Calls Out BOP for Widespread Abuse of Restraints on Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
23. Second Circuit Vacates Finding that Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies; Remands Conditions of Confinement and Due Process Claims, by Douglas Ankney
24. Arkansas “Jailhouse Attorney” Secures Return from Retaliatory Transfer Out of State, by Chuck Sharman
25. Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit by Civilly Committed Texan, by Matthew Clarke
26. Disabled Prisoner Who Won $1.85 Million After Fall in Chicago Jail Secures Class Certification for Separate ADA Challenge to Jail Conditions, by Chuck Sharman
27. Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son
28. Mississippi Legislator Blasts VitalCore, DOC for Shoddy Prison Healthcare, by Chuck Sharman
29. Louisiana Prisoner Granted Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to Jail Book Ban, by Chuck Sharman
30. Over $222,000 in Legal Costs and Fees Awarded to HRDC in Florida Records Suit Against Centurion, by Chuck Sharman
31. Louisiana Detainee Captured After Two Previous Escapes
32. Hyundai and Kia Sued in California for Use of Prison Labor in Southern States
33. Arkansas Prison Reaches ADA Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
34. SCOTUS Stops Fourth Circuit from Tossing Federal Prisoner’s Appeal on Technicality, by Chuck Sharman
35. $6.49 Million Settlement for 600,000 Prisoners in Massive CorrectCare Data Breach Class Action, by Chuck Sharman
36. Brooklyn Jail Guard Convicted for Shooting and Car Chase, by Jo Ellen Nott
37. $95,000 Settlement for Trans BOP Prisoner Assaulted by Cellmate in Arizona Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
38. CDCR May No Longer Use Sentence Credits to Advance Parole Eligibility of Some California Prisoners Serving Indeterminate Sentences, by Chuck Sharman
39. Huge $27.75 Million Verdict for Montana Prisoner Nearly “Beaten to Death” at CoreCivic Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
40. Fourth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Claims Against North Carolina Prison Doctor by Prisoner Nearly Killed by Avian Flu, by Chuck Sharman
41. Repairs at Arkansas Prison Wastewater Plant Keep Getting Delayed
42. Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Nurses in Suit Arising from Prisoner’s Death, by Douglas Ankney
43. Wisconsin Prisoner Wins in Seventh Circuit Review of Exhaustive Remedies Case, by Michael Thompson
44. Louisiana Prisoner’s Mother Sues Warden Following Son’s Death
45. Suit by Mentally Disabled Detainees at South Carolina Jail Secures Class Certification; No Action on Damning DOJ Report, by Chuck Sharman
46. Third Circuit Revives Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Claims Against the State and Wellpath, by Michael Thompson
47. Washington Court of Appeals Refuses to Let DOC Play “Both Sides” with State Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
48. New York State Closes Yet Another Prison
49. Arrests by Trump-Backed Task Force Make Tennessee Jail Conditions Worse
50. The BOP Is Closing a Los Angeles Prison Due to Falling Concrete
51. $5,000 Settlement for Missouri Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim After Eighth Circuit Dismissed Due Process Claim Over Falsified Disciplinary Report, by Chuck Sharman
52. Broken Water Pipe Leads to Unsanitary Conditions at Montana State Prison
53. An AI Model from Securus Aims to Expand Phone Call Monitoring
54. Five New York Prison Guards Charged with Employment Fraud
55. Prisoners and Detainees in the Gulf Coast Are Particularly at Risk from Natural Disasters
56. Ten People Indicted in Three Separate Smuggling Schemes at a Maryland Prison
57. New Hampshire Guard Abuse and Theft Uncovered Through Poaching Investigation
58. Guards at an Infamous Mississippi Jail Mocked a Disabled Detainee
59. Ninth Circuit Remands California Prisoner’s Case in which No Contest Plea Was Admitted as Evidence of Guilt, by Michael Thompson
60. Maine Superior Court Order to Reform Public Defender System Paused on Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
61. Ohio Sheriff Agrees to Outside Probe in Investigation of Jailed Double Amputee’s Death
62. $8.5 Million for Family of Murdered Elderly Californian Detained for Cold Case Killings Based on “Genetic Genealogy”, by Chuck Sharman
63. 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:

• Class Certification Granted to Suit Challenging Suspension of HALT Act in New York Prisons, April 1, 2026. Injunctions, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guard Unions, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
• 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.
• Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
• Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Parole Board May Delegate Final Revocation Hearings to Administrative Law Judges but Holds Due Process Requires Parolees Be Permitted to File Exceptions to ALJ Findings Before Board Renders a Final Revocation Decision, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Revocation Proceedings, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Ninth Circuit Affirms $3.84 Million Jury Verdict in Death of San Bernardino Jail Detainee from Acute Alcohol Withdrawal, March 1, 2026. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
• Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, March 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Americans with Disabilities Act.
• SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
• Jury Awards Over $9.5 Million for Oklahoma Jail Death, March 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
• $300,000 Class-Action Settlement at California Jail Includes Policy Changes; Agreements with Aramark and Wellpath Reached Confidentially, March 1, 2026. Food, Sanitation, Settlements, Class Certification, Monell Liability.