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Prison Legal News

Colorado Passes New Law to Expand 
Prisoner Visitation Rights

Loaded on July 15, 2025 published in Prison Legal News July, 2025, page 36
Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Extended Family Visiting, Video Visitation. Location: Colorado.

In early May 2025, the Colorado Legislature approved a bill that would increase visitation rights for incarcerated people. Signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, the bill, HB25-1013, ends a policy in the state in which “inmate social visiting” can be canceled or withheld by the head of a facility as a form of punishment. While the bill still allows the DOC to shape the rules around visitations, it created a process to file a grievance if prisoners are denied visitation under the requirements of the bill. “Regular visits, phone calls, and moments of connection empower families to support their loved ones’ journey toward rehabilitation,” said state Senate President James Coleman (D), the bill’s sponsor. 

HB25-1013, being limited to banning restricting visitations as punishment, would likely not have an impact on the situation at an institution like the jail in Boulder County, where in-person visits have been curtailed since the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported elsewhere in this issue. [See: PLN, July 2025, p.44.]  

 

Additional source: Colorado Newsline

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  3. Free Calls in Massachusetts Lead to 
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  4. $12 Million for Former California Prisoner 
Exonerated After 17 Years
  5. 14th Alabama Sheriff’s Employee Pleads Guilty 
in Jail Detainee’s Death by Freezing
  6. $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner 
Whose Baby Was Stillborn, by Douglas Ankney
  7. Latest Jail Booking Info Is Based on New Data Source
  8. JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service
  9. Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted 
of a Bribes-for-Badges Scheme
  10. Over One-Third of Older Texas Prisoners 
Suffering Cognitive Impairment, by Matthew Clarke
  11. New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing 
for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
  12. Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages 
for Future Lost Income More Easily, by David Reutter
  13. Bold New Orleans Escape Calls Attention 
to Poor Jail Conditions
  14. Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing 
of Pretrial Detainee
  15. D.C. District Court Dismisses Class Action Against BOP 
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  16. Gag Order on Tennessee Attorney for Criticizing CoreCivic 
Lifted by Judge
  17. Nearly $60,000 Awarded to Mother Of Dead Missouri Prisoner 
In Suit For His DOC Records, by Anthony Accurso
  18. New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, by Douglas Ankney
  19. Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference 
Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim 
for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, by Douglas Ankney
  20. Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arizona Challenge 
to Private Prisons
  21. Wiccan Nevada Prisoner Wins 18-Year Fight for Religious Items, by Clark Nelly
  22. California Prison Plagued by Toxic Water and Chronic Illness
  23. Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP
  24. $22.5 Million Verdict Arrives Too Late for 
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  25. Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance 
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  26. $42,000 Paid to Wisconsin Prisoner Allowed 
to Harm Himself While Under Observation, by Anthony Accurso
  27. First Circuit Revives Rhode Island Prisoner’s 
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  28. Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose 
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  29. Ongoing Detainee Deaths Push Rikers Island 
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  30. Trump’s “Border Czar” Was 
on GEO Group Payroll
  31. Colorado Passes New Law to Expand 
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  32. First Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Maine Guards who Ogled Prisoner During Childbirth, by David Reutter
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  40. First of 10 Guards Charged with Killing 
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  41. Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
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  47. Florida Sheriff Charged in Connection with Massive $21 Million Gambling Ring
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  49. Former New Jersey Jailers Plead Guilty 
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  50. $550,000 Settlement After Juvenile’s Suicide at Charlotte Jail, by David Reutter
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  63. Kentucky Supreme Court Voids Prisoner’s $10,972 Jail Fee, by David Reutter
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