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The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire
by Katya Schwenk
The yacht is moored at the mouth of the Miami River, in the long shadows of the city’s luxury hotels and high-rises. It is of Italian design: sleek, imposing, with a flybridge and sundeck and five cabins, and a price point of about $10 million. …
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More from this issue:
- The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire, by Katya Schwenk
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Children Sue County Jail to Fight Visitation Ban
- New Jersey Breaks Ground on New $330 Million Women’s Prison After Raid at Old Facility
- Record $42.75 Million Verdict in Louisiana Detainee’s Death in LaSalle Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Prisoner Assaulted by BOP Guard and Left With Bleeding Rectum—Then the Cover-Up Began, by Chuck Sharman
- One Guard Pleads Guilty, Another Receives Light Sentence in New York Prisoner’s Killing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Tennessee Seeks $13 Million Raise for CoreCivic, Despite Violations
- $1.9 Million Settlement in Washington Jail Death Includes Policy Changes, by Chuck Sharman
- Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, by Chuck Sharman
- $7 Million Paid by Ohio County for Jail Detainee’s Death in Restraint Chair, by Chuck Sharman
- Wisconsin DOC Releases 1,700 Private Health Records by Mistake
- Suicidal West Virginia Prisoner Granted Transfer From 13-Year Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- DOJ Settles With Orange County Over Use of “Jailhouse Snitches”, by Chuck Sharman
- Iowa DOC Declines to Privatize State Prison Healthcare
- Hawaii Prison Warden Reinstated After Being Fired in 2014 for Sexual Harassment, by Michael Thompson
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Michigan Warden Whose Guards Gave Prisoner Plastic Bag Used in Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- $4 Million Settlement Reached in Class Action Challenge to Conditions at Shuttered St. Louis “Workhouse” Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- First Circuit Greenlights Rhode Island Prisoner’s Damages Suit for Disastrous 450-Day Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- Watchdog Calls Out BOP for Widespread Abuse of Restraints on Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Second Circuit Vacates Finding that Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies; Remands Conditions of Confinement and Due Process Claims, by Douglas Ankney
- Arkansas “Jailhouse Attorney” Secures Return from Retaliatory Transfer Out of State, by Chuck Sharman
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit by Civilly Committed Texan, by Matthew Clarke
- 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
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son
- Mississippi Legislator Blasts VitalCore, DOC for Shoddy Prison Healthcare, by Chuck Sharman
- Louisiana Prisoner Granted Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to Jail Book Ban, by Chuck Sharman
- Over $222,000 in Legal Costs and Fees Awarded to HRDC in Florida Records Suit Against Centurion, by Chuck Sharman
- Louisiana Detainee Captured After Two Previous Escapes
- Hyundai and Kia Sued in California for Use of Prison Labor in Southern States
- Arkansas Prison Reaches ADA Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Stops Fourth Circuit from Tossing Federal Prisoner’s Appeal on Technicality, by Chuck Sharman
- $6.49 Million Settlement for 600,000 Prisoners in Massive CorrectCare Data Breach Class Action, by Chuck Sharman
- Brooklyn Jail Guard Convicted for Shooting and Car Chase, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $95,000 Settlement for Trans BOP Prisoner Assaulted by Cellmate in Arizona Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- CDCR May No Longer Use Sentence Credits to Advance Parole Eligibility of Some California Prisoners Serving Indeterminate Sentences, by Chuck Sharman
- Huge $27.75 Million Verdict for Montana Prisoner Nearly “Beaten to Death” at CoreCivic Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Claims Against North Carolina Prison Doctor by Prisoner Nearly Killed by Avian Flu, by Chuck Sharman
- Repairs at Arkansas Prison Wastewater Plant Keep Getting Delayed
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Nurses in Suit Arising from Prisoner’s Death, by Douglas Ankney
- Wisconsin Prisoner Wins in Seventh Circuit Review of Exhaustive Remedies Case, by Michael Thompson
- Louisiana Prisoner’s Mother Sues Warden Following Son’s Death
- Suit by Mentally Disabled Detainees at South Carolina Jail Secures Class Certification; No Action on Damning DOJ Report, by Chuck Sharman
- Third Circuit Revives Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Claims Against the State and Wellpath, by Michael Thompson
- Washington Court of Appeals Refuses to Let DOC Play “Both Sides” with State Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
- New York State Closes Yet Another Prison
- Arrests by Trump-Backed Task Force Make Tennessee Jail Conditions Worse
- The BOP Is Closing a Los Angeles Prison Due to Falling Concrete
- $5,000 Settlement for Missouri Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim After Eighth Circuit Dismissed Due Process Claim Over Falsified Disciplinary Report, by Chuck Sharman
- Broken Water Pipe Leads to Unsanitary Conditions at Montana State Prison
- An AI Model from Securus Aims to Expand Phone Call Monitoring
- Five New York Prison Guards Charged with Employment Fraud
- Prisoners and Detainees in the Gulf Coast Are Particularly at Risk from Natural Disasters
- Ten People Indicted in Three Separate Smuggling Schemes at a Maryland Prison
- New Hampshire Guard Abuse and Theft Uncovered Through Poaching Investigation
- Guards at an Infamous Mississippi Jail Mocked a Disabled Detainee
- Ninth Circuit Remands California Prisoner’s Case in which No Contest Plea Was Admitted as Evidence of Guilt, by Michael Thompson
- Maine Superior Court Order to Reform Public Defender System Paused on Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Sheriff Agrees to Outside Probe in Investigation of Jailed Double Amputee’s Death
- $8.5 Million for Family of Murdered Elderly Californian Detained for Cold Case Killings Based on “Genetic Genealogy”, by Chuck Sharman
- News in Brief
More from Katya Schwenk:
- The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire, Dec. 1, 2025
- The Police Have a Dark Money Slush Fund, May 15, 2024
More from these topics:
- Digital Tablet Shift Brings Added Cost, Lost Data to Prisoners in California, April 1, 2026. Computers, Prisoner Property, Telephone Rates, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, March 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, Censorship, Digital Devices, Private Phone Contractors.
- FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, Feb. 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- An AI Model from Securus Aims to Expand Phone Call Monitoring, Dec. 1, 2025. Databases, Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Electronic Surveillance, Securus.
- Colorado Children Sue County Jail to Fight Visitation Ban, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Children of Prisoners, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Private Phone Contractors.
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access, Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance.
- FCC Votes For Dramatic Hike to Prison Phone Call Rates, Nov. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Cell Phone Access, Video Visitation, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- FCC Backtracks on 2024 Order to Cut Prison Phone and Video Rates by Half, Aug. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Private Phone Contractors, Securus.
- HRDC Collaborates on Prison Telecom Cost Report to Washington Lawmakers, Aug. 1, 2025. Electronic Tablets, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service, July 15, 2025. Electronic Tablets, Computers, Telephone Rates, Securus.

