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As California Limits Water Use, People in Prison Face Punishment for Showering
Loaded on Jan. 1, 2026
by Steve Brooks, Olivia Hefferman
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2026, page 57
Filed under:
Overcrowding,
Eighth Amendment,
Environmental Law,
Water,
Sanitation.
Location:
California.
by Steve Brooks and Olivia Hefferman, Truthout
This story was originally published by Truthout.
As droughts, extreme heat, and other climate disasters increasingly plague California, people throughout the state have been subject to water restrictions. For many Californians, this means emergency regulations like limitations …
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More from this issue:
- Shadow Prisons: How Civil Commitment Leads to Longer Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ninth Circuit Hands Partial Victory to NaphCare, Remanding Much of $27 Million Jury Verdict in Washington Jail Death Case, by Chuck Sharman
- The DOJ Orders Prison Inspectors to Drop LGBTQ+ Protections
- Class Certified in Challenge to Mailed Book Ban at Indianapolis Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $450,000 Paid by Missouri County for Jail Detainee’s Death After 11 Days Without Medical Attention, by Chuck Sharman
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, by Chuck Sharman
- HRDC Sues New Mexico County for Violating 10-Year-Old Settlement of Censorship Suit, by Chuck Sharman
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars
- Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, by Douglas Ankney
- Massive $112 Million Jury Verdict for Detainees Held in New York Jail Past Release Date on ICE Detainers, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Mayor’s Order Opening Rikers Island to ICE Declared Illegal, by Chuck Sharman
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, by Chuck Sharman
- Slender Man Stabber’s Escape Prompts “Serious Questions” for Wisconsin DOC
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, by Douglas Ankney
- Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans
- HRDC Sues Washington Jail for Rejecting PLN and Other Publications, by Chuck Sharman
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $28.3 Million Awarded from NaphCare for Washington Jail Detainee Who Lost Leg to Untreated Gangrene, by Chuck Sharman
- Last of 16 Sentenced in California Prison Aryan Brotherhood Case, As Lawyer Learns He Was Targeted in Murder Plot, by Chuck Sharman
- New York City Jails Face Mounting Death Toll Ahead of Likely Receivership
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Death of “Floridly Psychotic” Detainee Left Untreated in Jail for Months, by Chuck Sharman
- New Jail in Oklahoma Is Costing More than Triple the Amount Voters Approved
- $200,000 for Detainee Thrown in “Rollover” Solitary Without Food or Water at Minnesota Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, by Douglas Ankney
- $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma DOC Refuses to Publicly Release Body Camera Footage
- Georgia Bristles at Federal Law that Prohibits Drone Interceptions
- BOP Announces New Conditional Placement Date Calculation, by Chuck Sharman
- Arkansas Guards Can Now Work as Immigration Enforcers
- Chicago Pays Exonerated Prisoners $7.5 Million, Bringing Total to $33.75 Million for Wrongful Convictions, by Chuck Sharman
- Pennsylvania County and Wellpath Pay Over $1.4 Million to Settle Claims of Four Former Jail Detainees, Including Three Who Died by Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Guards in Los Angeles County Now Wearing Body Cameras
- Third Circuit Rules Awarding BOP Prisoners 54 Days of Good Time Per Year Is Pro-Rated, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Shows How Prison Gerrymanders Distort Democracy Across U.S., by Chuck Sharman
- $3.3 Million Verdict for Detainee’s Fatal Fentanyl Overdose in Southern California Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Slams South Carolina Jail for Violating State Rules
- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, by Anthony Accurso
- SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Rastafarian Hair-Cutting Case, by Michael Thompson
- Wisconsin DOC Is Not Tracking Work Release Data
- $4 Million Paid to Former Rikers Island Detainee Whose Reports of Repeated Rapes Were Ignored, by Chuck Sharman
- U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, by Douglas Ankney
- Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Detainee’s Jail Food Lawsuit, by Michael Thompson
- Amnesty International Report Claims Torture and Enforced Disappearances at “Alligator Alcatraz”
- California Funds $38 Million Pilot Program to Investigate Methods for Cooling Three Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- “We’re Broken”: As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE, by Keri Blakinger
- Labor Coalition in Minnesota Demands Disney Contractor Pay Prisoners Minimum Wage
- As California Limits Water Use, People in Prison Face Punishment for Showering, by Steve Brooks, Olivia Hefferman
- $600,000 Awarded So Far in Disgraced Georgia Sheriff’s Trial for Abusing Detainee in Restraint Chair, by Chuck Sharman
- Soaring Medical Costs in Washington Jails, by Michael Thompson
- How I Learned to Transcribe Braille in Prison, by Nathan Gray
- News in Brief
More from Steve Brooks:
More from Olivia Hefferman:
More from these topics:
- Airconditioning Failure at Troubled ICE Detention Center in New Jersey, Aug. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Food, Water, Sanitation, Exposure to Heat.
- Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Rebellion, Overcrowding, Staffing, Security Systems, Assaults on Staff.
- Oklahoma County Jail Fails 12th Health Inspection, Aug. 1, 2026. Corrections Audits, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Sanitation, Bedding.
- Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, Aug. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Overdetention, State Legislation, Credits, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Exercise, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity.
- Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing, Aug. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.
- New York Closes Rikers Infirmary as Broader Jail Shutdown Plan Stalls, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Inadequate Health Care Facilities, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Failure to Train/Supervise, Deliberate Indifference.
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.