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The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity

Loaded on Feb. 1, 2026 by Michael Thompson published in Prison Legal News February, 2026, page 56
Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death). Location: New York.

by Michael Thompson

According to Daniel F. Martuscello III, commissioner of New York state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), “Individuals are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment, and there is an expectation of safety and opportunities for rehabilitation.” The guards within New York’s prison …

 

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  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
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  38. New York State Prisons Turning Away Visitors with Tampons After Scan
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  48. Report on Baltimore Jail Reveals Human Waste Dripped from Ceilings
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  52. California Oversight Agency Hasn’t Finished a Single Review of Jail Deaths
  53. Missouri Prisoners Forced to Shovel Snow in Subzero Temperatures
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  56. News in Brief

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