More from this issue:

1. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
2. Colorado Governor Tells Lawmakers to Open New Prison
3. $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, by Chuck Sharman
4. Virginia Jail Suicide Results in $950,000 Settlement, Claims Against Wellpath still Pending, by Chuck Sharman
5. Former Maine Prison Official Stole $2.4 Million Through Fraudulent Supply Orders
6. The Cells Inside ‘One of the Most Archaic Prisons in the United States’, by Shakeil Price
7. Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, by Chuck Sharman
8. “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, by Jo Ellen Knott
9. In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, by Matthew Clarke
10. $1 Million Paid by Cuyahoga County for Detainee’s Preventable Suicide in Cleveland Jail, by Chuck Sharman
11. Class Certification Granted to Suit Challenging Suspension of HALT Act in New York Prisons, by Chuck Sharman
12. More Measles Cases Detected at Jails in New Mexico and Texas, by Jo Ellen Knott
13. ICE Jails Denied Muslim Detainees’ Right to Celebrate Ramadan
14. California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, by Victoria Law
15. Idaho Struggles to Respond to Devasting Report of Widespread Prisoner Sex Abuse, by Chuck Sharman
16. Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups
17. $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
18. Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, by Chuck Sharman
19. Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, by Matthew Clarke
20. $1.5 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached in Texas Jail Over-Detention Case, by Chuck Sharman
21. Missouri Prisons Called Out for Incomplete Death Records, Hellish Solitary Heat, by Chuck Sharman
22. D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, by Matthew Clarke
23. Oklahoma County Officials Move to Dissolve Jail Trust Created for Oversight
24. Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, by Matthew Clarke
25. Almost $1 Million in Settlements Paid to Three Nevada Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
26. Two Texas Women Charged for Using Plastic Crows in Smuggling Scheme
27. Fourth Circuit to BOP Prisoner: Any “Disqualifying Offense” Means Zero FSA Credits, by Chuck Sharman
28. California County Hires New Healthcare Company After Jail Deaths Under Wellpath
29. New Illinois State Law Requires Prisons to Submit Annual Hospice Reports, by Michael Thompson
30. At This Prison, Staffing Fluctuations Land Hardest on Lifers, by Jeffrey Shockley
31. Internal Assessment Contradicts Public Claims About Women’s Prisons, by Michael Thompson
32. Five Prisoners in Georgia Injured in Fight, Two Months After Three Prisoners Were Killed
33. Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, by Matthew Clarke
34. Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, by Chuck Sharman
35. Montana Switches to Sending Prisoners to a Private Prison in Mississippi
36. Faults Found with Centurion in Kansas Four Years Ago Are Still Not Fixed, by Michael Thompson
37. Death of Washington Jail Standards Bill Risks Repeat of $2.5 Million Settlement That Closed One County’s Jail, by Chuck Sharman
38. $950,000 Settlement Reached for Pennsylvania Jail Detainee Repeatedly Pepper-Sprayed During Mental Health Episodes, by Chuck Sharman
39. Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, by Matthew Clarke
40. First Circuit Revives Federal Prisoner’s Claim Against Rhode Island Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
41. The Same Company that Built Guantanamo Bay Is Building Kansas City’s World Cup Jail
42. $10.3 Million Paid for Teen’s Death at Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility, by Chuck Sharman
43. ICE Settles Suit Over Opening Detainees’ Legal Mail, by Chuck Sharman
44. Survey of Arkansas Jails Reveals Strained, Costly Health Care System, by Abbey Kim
45. Federal Jury Awards $1,670,000 for Diabetic Detainee’s Preventable Death in Philadelphia Jail, YesCare Reaches Separate Confidential Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
46. Mississippi DOC Retains Law Firm to Monitor VitalCore Contract, by Michael Thompson
47. Idaho DOC Transfers Prisoners to Arizona Facility Run by CoreCivic
48. Digital Tablet Shift Brings Added Cost, Lost Data to Prisoners in California
49. Wisconsin’s Incarcerated Population Has More Access to Opioid Treatment, But Still Missing in Eight County Jails
50. ICE Taps New Contractor to Run Deadly Detention Center in Texas
51. More Than 40k 311 Calls From Rikers Go Into a Black Hole Every Year, by Reuven Blau, Kennedy Sessions
52. Prisoners in Oklahoma Can Now Buy Vapes, Pouches from Commissary
53. Watchdog Report Finds More than 1,500 Waiting for Specialty Care at Connecticut Prisons
54. Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths
55. Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison
56. Judge Orders Rikers Manager Must Fix Jail in Seven Years Or Less
57. News in Brief
58. Private Company Investigating Rapes at California ICE Detention Center Instead of Sheriff
59. Officials in Kansas Allow CoreCivic to Reopen Leavenworth Prison

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:

• Oklahoma Supreme Court: Jail Trust Cannot Withhold Requested Records under Law Enforcement Exemption of ORA, May 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Public Records Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Trump Wants $152 Million to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Federal Legislation, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
• Two Texas Women Charged for Using Plastic Crows in Smuggling Scheme, April 1, 2026. Cell Phone Access, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Methamphetamine, Simple Possession/Personal Use versus Distribution.
• D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Fifth Amendment, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Prison Classification.
• Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
• Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026. De Novo Resentencing, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Grounds For Withdrawal, Validity of.
• Six Years of the First Step Act: Federal Prison Data Reveal Treatment Gains, Persistent Disparities, and Unanswered Questions, April 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Systemic Medical Neglect, First Step Act, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
• Indiana Supreme Court Clarifies “Single Statutory Offense” for Substantive Double Jeopardy Analysis, Holding Powell Test Governs Multiple Convictions Under Elevated Forms of Common Base Offense, April 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Statement of Reasons, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts.
• SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.