×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
The DOJ Orders Prison Inspectors to Drop LGBTQ+ Protections
Loaded on Jan. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2026, page 11
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is moving to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ prisoners from sexual violence. An internal memo, dated to December 2, 2025, stated that “effective immediately” prisons and jails will no longer face penalties for violating LGBTQ+-centered regulations in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
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 these topics:
- Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliatory Segregation, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Idaho Struggles to Respond to Devasting Report of Widespread Prisoner Sex Abuse, April 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation, Public Records Act.
- Leaked Video Footage Shows California Prison Guards Engaged in Retaliatory Assault, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- Punished for Bleeding: How Periods in Prison Become a Trap, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Strip Searches, Hygiene Supplies, Discrimination (Transgender).
- Cuyahoga County Receives Over $846,000 Refund from Securus Technologies, Feb. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Securus.
- California Oversight Agency Hasn’t Finished a Single Review of Jail Deaths, Feb. 1, 2026. Corrections Audits, Medical Records, Disclosure of Records, State Legislation.
- Report Slams South Carolina Jail for Violating State Rules, Jan. 1, 2026. Corrections Audits, Totality of Conditions, Staffing, Jail Specific, Security Systems.
- $95,000 Settlement for Trans BOP Prisoner Assaulted by Cellmate in Arizona Lockup, Dec. 1, 2025. Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Physical Injury Rule, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Transgender Medical Procedures, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender).
- New Jersey Breaks Ground on New $330 Million Women’s Prison After Raid at Old Facility, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Prison Rape Elimination Act.