More from this issue:

1. Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, by Douglas Ankney
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. Eighth Circuit: Evidentiary Admissibility Is a “Red Herring” At Class Certification of St. Louis Jail Conditions Challenge, by Douglas Ankney
4. After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, by Kevin Bliss
5. Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling
6. Hep-C Treatment Needed in Los Angeles County Jails to Save Lives and Money
7. With Eleventh Circuit Okay, Alabama Executes Third Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia
8. Washington Prisoners Prep for Firefighting Career After Release
9. Pennsylvania Prisoner Released from Solitary After 15 Years
10. Suits Filed Over Dehydration Deaths at Two Texas Jails, by Matthew Clarke
11. Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row
12. Blood in the Water Author Wins Censorship Challenges Against Illinois, New York Prison Systems, by Douglas Ankney
13. Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide
14. Two-Week Lockdown at BOP Women’s Prison in Minnesota After Nine Overdoses, Two Deaths
15. Six Set Themselves on Fire at Virginia Prison in 2024
16. Fifth Circuit Leaves Louisiana Prisoner Waiting for Reinstated Parole, by Douglas Ankney
17. Maryland Cancels Debt Owed by 6,715 Parolees
18. Nebraska Pioneers Diversion Program to Help Arrested Veterans Avoid Jail
19. California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, by David Reutter
20. Texas Executioners Playing Fast and Furious to Obtain Lethal Drugs
21. Ninth Circuit Greenlights Muslim Hawaii Prisoner’s Challenge to Early-Served Ramadan Meals, by Douglas Ankney
22. Details Vague on Spending from San Diego Jail Detainee Welfare Fund
23. Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss, by Matthew Clarke
24. Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison”
25. Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, by David Reutter
26. Wisconsin DOC Under Fire for Hiring Censured Doctors
27. $400,000 Jury Verdict for Medical Neglect Resulting in Amputation of Alabama Prisoner’s Toes
28. Minnesota Prisoners Getting Scanned Mail, Kept Waiting 18 Months for Tablets
29. Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy
30. Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest
31. No Charges in Alabama Prisoner’s Torture, Rape and Murder
32. Guard Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force at Indiana Jail Sued Nine Times in Two Years
33. Pigeonly Flies Into Telecom Turbulence, Declares Bankruptcy
34. BOP Prisoners in Alabama Strike to Protest Release Date Confusion
35. Pennsylvania Jail Guards Accused of Ripping Surgical Pin from Detainee’s Shoulder
36. Tenth Circuit Affirms PTS Driver’s Conviction for Torturous Detainee Transport
37. Illinois Sheriff Resigns After Deputy Fatally Shoots 911 Caller
38. Arizona DCRR Ordered to Fill Prison Medical Staff Vacancies—Again, by Matthew Clarke
39. Four-Month Wait for 40 Percent of South Carolina Jail Detainees Needing Psychiatric Evaluation
40. Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires
41. Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Missouri Guards in Transgender Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Retaliation and Unreasonable Search, by Douglas Ankney
42. 150 People Sue Over Past Abuse at New York City Juvenile Facilities
43. Former Tacoma Reentry Center Severs Washington DOC Contract
44. $1.5 Million Settlement Reached for Oregon Prisoner’s Untreated Traumatic Brain Injury
45. Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, by David Reutter
46. Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, by Anthony Accurso
47. Nearly $12 Million Paid to Mentally Disabled Indiana Prisoner Wrongly Convicted of Murder, by Douglas Ankney
48. “Locked In, Priced Out”: Markups and Kickbacks in Prison Commissaries
49. With HRDC Amicus Brief, Survivor of Dead Washington Prisoner Wins Public Records Case, by Sam Rutherford
50. Former Kentucky Sheriff Indicted for Murdering Judge in Chambers
51. Michigan Supreme Court Greenlights Adding Restitution At Resentencing of Former Juveniles Sentenced to LWOP
52. South Dakota DOC Locks Down Third Prison in 2024
53. Second Rapper Stabbed in Atlanta Jail During Record-Long Trial
54. New York City Held in Contempt in Long-Running Rikers Island Class-Action
55. Lawsuits by Michigan Prisoner Yield $57,750 in Settlements, Plus Policy Changes
56. Top Doc Sacked from Maryland Psych Hospital with “Climate of Chaos”
57. 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy
58. Colorado Legislature’s New Jail Oversight Committee Not Weighted in Detainees’ Favor
59. Securus/JPay Video Calling Service Potentially Threatened by New Rate Caps
60. First Circuit Rejects Request by Securus and Pay Tel to Stay FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps
61. Georgia Prisoner Accused of Running $3.5 Million “Protection” Racket
62. GOP Michigan County Commissioner Re-elected— and Headed to Federal Prison
63. Push to Digitize Rikers Island Mail Based on Faulty Drug Tests
64. “Whoppergate” Embroils Georgia Sheriff
65. News in Brief
66. Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail

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.
• 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.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants May Obtain Brady Evidence From Police Officers’ Personnel Files in Advance of § 1172.6 Hearing Requesting Vacatur of Conviction and Resentencing for Certain Types of Murder Convictions, Feb. 15, 2025. Disclosure of Records, Police, Brady Violations, Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Evidence - Admissibility.
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Resentencing, Threats, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
• First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners, Feb. 1, 2025. First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits.
• California Court of Appeal Announces Youthful Defendants Sentenced to Terms ‘Functionally Equivalent’ to LWOP Entitled to Resentencing Under § 1170(d), Feb. 1, 2025. Life without Parole (LWOP), Resentencing, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
• The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row, Jan. 15, 2025. Alternative Sentencing, Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.
• 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.