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Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail

Loaded on Feb. 1, 2026 by Chuck Sharman published in Prison Legal News February, 2026, page 1
Filed under: Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance. Location: United States of America.

by Chuck Sharman

In just over seven years, changes in prison mail policies proliferating across the country have severely restricted mail privileges at lockups holding the majority of America’s nearly 1.2 million prisoners. According to research conducted by PLN in January 2026, at least 78% of these prisoners …

 

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More from this issue:

  1. Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, by Chuck Sharman
  2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  3. Barbaric and Deadly Conditions Continue to Plague Los Angeles County Jails, by Douglas Ankney
  4. New Hampshire Prison System Struggles to Hire Guards
  5. Washington County Pays $300,000 to Jail Detainee Denied Treatment for Kidney Stone, by Chuck Sharman
  6. Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
  7. Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, by Matthew Clarke
  8. Report: Incarcerated Population in Rural Jails and Prisons At Risk of Losing Hospital Access, by Michael Thompson
  9. Three Prisoners Killed in Fight at Georgia Prison
  10. $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, by Chuck Sharman
  11. North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, by Chuck Sharman
  12. Escape from Georgia Jail Ends in Florida after Lyft Hijacking, by Jo Ellen Nott
  13. FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, by Michael Thompson
  14. Half of South Dakota’s Prison Population Returns to Prison
  15. D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, by Matthew Clarke
  16. $2 Million Settlement Reached for 12-Year-Old’s Gang Rape in Detroit Juvenile Detention Center, by Chuck Sharman
  17. The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, by Ivy Scott
  18. Virginia Prisoners Stuck Waiting for Education Programs, by Anthony Accurso
  19. Killings Inside Mississippi’s Prisons Continue Unabated But Report Prompts DOC to Reopen Investigations, by Douglas Ankney
  20. California Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Ripped Off Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
  21. Alaska Deaths in Custody Tie Record High
  22. Los Angeles County Restricts Opioid Treatment, by Michael Thompson
  23. Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, by Michael Thompson
  24. Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
  25. Cuyahoga County Receives Over $846,000 Refund from Securus Technologies
  26. HRDC Sues Minnesota DOC Over Censorship Policy, by Robert Haughn
  27. Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, by Matthew Clarke
  28. Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, by Douglas Ankney
  29. Alabama and Wexford Health Pay Undisclosed Settlement for Delays Costing Prisoner Partial Foot Amputation, by Chuck Sharman
  30. Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, by Matthew Clarke
  31. Punished for Bleeding: How Periods in Prison Become a Trap, by Candace Norwood
  32. Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, by Matthew Clarke
  33. Ninth Circuit: Notice of Appeal of Order Denying Qualified Immunity Must Be Filed Within 30 Days of Entry, by Douglas Ankney
  34. Two Mississippi Prisons Lose Power During Winter Storm
  35. Delaware Settles Suit Over Depriving Young Prisoners of Special Education, by Chuck Sharman
  36. Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, by Matthew Clarke
  37. Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, by Jo Ellen Nott
  38. New York State Prisons Turning Away Visitors with Tampons After Scan
  39. Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, by Chuck Sharman
  40. Oklahoma Prisoner Who Escaped Through Hole Killed by Sheriff
  41. Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, by Matthew Clarke
  42. After Exposing Prison Horrors, Incarcerated Whistleblowers Are Moved to Solitary, by Katie Rose Quandt
  43. Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves, by Beth Schwartzapfel
  44. County Jail in Oklahoma Accused of Coercing Detainees to Convert to Christianity
  45. Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, by Chuck Sharman
  46. Arkansas Bans Outside Reading Material Sent to Prisons, by Jo Ellen Nott
  47. The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, by Michael Thompson
  48. “Critical Labor Shortage” Declared at Two Rural Prisons in Nevada
  49. Pennsylvania County Renews $8 Million Contract with PrimeCare Despite Settlements
  50. Report on Baltimore Jail Reveals Human Waste Dripped from Ceilings
  51. Idaho Prisons Are Full. Costs for Incarcerating Inmates in Jails and Out of State Are Skyrocketing, by Laura Guido
  52. California Oversight Agency Hasn’t Finished a Single Review of Jail Deaths
  53. Missouri Prisoners Forced to Shovel Snow in Subzero Temperatures
  54. New York State Moves to Dismiss Hundreds of Prison Sexual Assault Lawsuits, by Jo Ellen Nott
  55. United States Postal Service Declares Postmarks Could Be Delayed
  56. News in Brief

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