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En Banc Fifth Circuit Reverses Panel, Holds Mississippi Felon Disenfranchisement Does Not Violate Eighth Amendment
by Matt Clarke
On July 18, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed an earlier holding by a three-judge panel of the Court, which found that § 241 of the Mississippi Constitution was unconstitutional. That’s the portion of the state’s Constitution that disenfranchises …
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More from this issue:
- Pay-for-Play Tablets: The Costly New Prison Paradigm
- No Evacuations for Los Angeles Prisoners in Wildfire’s Path
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Number of Texas Detainees Jailed Out-of-County Doubled in Five Years
- Nebraska Supreme Court Spanks Attorney General, Orders Felons Be Allowed to Vote
- Ninth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Arizona Prisoner’s Heat-Related Death
- Warden, Top Deputy Walked Off the Job at “Wild West” Missouri Prison
- Crime Down But Incarceration Up In Tennessee
- Michigan Judge Sued for Jailing Teen Who Nodded Off While Watching in Court
- Four Escapes in Eight Months from Oklahoma Jail
- Virginia Parole Board Skirts New Transparency Rules, Governor Walks Back Expanded Sentence Credits—Again
- Ninth Circuit Remands Transgender Idaho Prisoner’s $2.63 Million Attorney Fee Award for Recalculation— Against Bankrupt Corizon Health Successor
- $25.75 Million for Exonerated North Carolina Prisoner’s 44 Stolen Years
- Former Vermont Sheriff Takes Plea Deal in Sexual Assault Case
- Not Just Another Shared House: North Carolina Farm Eases Re-entry for Released Prisoners
- Illinois Lawmaker Asks State Prison Guards to Report Immigrant Prisoners Nearing Release—to Her
- Former California Guard Convicted On 64 Counts of Sexually Abusing Prisoners
- “Lady al-Qaeda” Sues BOP for Guards’ Sexual Assaults
- Deal to Release Cuban Prisoners Upended
- The Grift That Keeps on Giving: $33 Million for State Prisons Generated by Seized Native Land
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Denial of Counsel for “Low IQ” North Carolina Prisoner, by Anthony Accurso
- $100,000 Settlement Reached in New York Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Suit, After Jury for First Time Finds Practice Violates Eighth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
- “Happy Mother’s Day”: $1,353,000 Settlement Approved for Migrant Parents Separated from Minor Kids at Border, by Matthew Clarke
- Minnesota High Court Restores Voting Rights of Former Felons
- Released Palestinian Detainees Allege Abuse in Israeli Prisons
- Over 100,000 Criminal Records Sealed Under Colorado’s “Clean Slate Act”
- Ninth and Tenth Circuits Find Bivens Extension Orders Not Immediately Appealable, by Sam Rutherford
- ABA Highlights Ohio Prisoner’s Successful Transition to Lawyer
- HRDC Files Suit Over Censorship in California Jail
- Suboxone Manufacturer’s Delayed-Release Buprenorphine Injections Show Promise at Maine Jail
- DOJ Finds “Horrific and Inhumane” Conditions in Georgia Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup
- Biden Clemencies Include Imprisoned Native American Activist, “Kids for Cash” Judge
- Rhode Island Prison Chief Wrist-Slapped for Ethics Violation
- U.S. Justice Department Investigating Tennessee CoreCivic Prison After Mother of Murdered Prisoner Reaches Settlement
- Trump Tosses Toothless Biden Private Prison “Ban”
- Federal Withdrawal of Single-Drug Execution Protocol Follows Challenges in Indiana, Arizona
- Sixth West Virginia Jailer Found Guilty After Detainee Death, Estate Dismisses Claims Against PrimeCare Medical Employees
- $10.5 Million in Settlements for San Diego Jail Detainee’s Severe Brain Injury
- Settlement Bars Family Separations at U.S. Border Until 2031, Pays $6.4 Million in Legal Fees and Costs
- Trans Federal Prisoner in Massachusetts Wins Temporary Halt to Trump Order Removing Her From Women’s Lockup
- Pennsylvania County Forgives $65 Million in Jail Pay-to-Stay Fees
- Failures Brought to Light in Arizona Prison System’s COVID-19 Response
- El Salvador Offers Prison Space to Private Prison Shill Marco Rubio
- Houston Police Fire Former Jail Guard Filmed Brutalizing Detainees, Charges Against Three Other Guards Dropped
- Hawaii Supreme Court Revives Exonerated Prisoner’s Quest for First Payout From Wrongful Conviction Fund
- South Carolina Prison Guard Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Smuggling, Bribery
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $6.4 Million Jury Award Against Corizon Nurses For Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Alcohol Withdrawal, by Matthew Clarke
- En Banc Fifth Circuit Reverses Panel, Holds Mississippi Felon Disenfranchisement Does Not Violate Eighth Amendment, by Matthew Clarke
- More Unsealed PrimeCare Settlements Total $1.2 Million for Pennsylvania Jail Deaths
- Federal Charges Dropped Against Former Centurion Exec After Death of Co-Defendant Former Tennessee Prison Official
- $1.5 Million Settlement For In-Custody Injury by New York Police
- ‘Eye Opening’ Self-Harm Found in Washington DOC Solitary Confinement
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Denial of Class Certification in Suit Over Inadequate Dental Care at Chicago Jail
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Arkansas Jailers Who Ignored Detainee’s Spider Bite, by Anthony Accurso
- Washington Prisoner Sues Jail Where Assault Left Him Comatose, DOC Guard Who Then Sexually Abused Him
- Federal Court Lets BOP Withhold Mortality Reviews Under FOIA
- California Lawmakers Address CDCR’s Banned Book List
- New Mexico Settles Suit Alleging Failure To Implement Expanded Voting For Felons, by Anthony Accurso
- Could the Prison Staffing Crisis Lead to More Oversight?
- New York Guards Strike After 10 Charged in Prisoner’s Fatal Beating
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 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).
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, April 1, 2026. Voting, Advocacy, Settlements, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Three Prisoners Killed in Fight at Georgia Prison, Feb. 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Staffing.
- Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, Feb. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Restrictions, discrimination, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- California Funds $38 Million Pilot Program to Investigate Methods for Cooling Three Prisons, Jan. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Heat, Deliberate Indifference.
- As California Limits Water Use, People in Prison Face Punishment for Showering, Jan. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Environmental Law, Water, Sanitation.
- First Circuit Greenlights Rhode Island Prisoner’s Damages Suit for Disastrous 450-Day Solitary Confinement, Dec. 1, 2025. Eighth Amendment, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Deliberate Indifference.
- Former Prisoners’ Challenge to Virginia Constitution’s Felony Disenfranchisement Clause Allowed to Proceed, Nov. 1, 2025. Injunctions, Federal Statutory Law, Voting Rights Act, Sovereign Immunity, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute, Prison Regulations.
- Now Under Federal Receivership, New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Eighth Amendment.
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Sexual Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Stun Guns/Tasers.

