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Colorado Ordered to Stop Tossing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work
Loaded on July 1, 2026
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
July, 2026, page 43
Filed under:
Prison Labor,
Injunctions,
Good Time,
Constitution, state,
Administrative Detention/Segregation.
Location:
Colorado.
by Chuck Sharman
In a massive legal victory for Colorado prisoners, a state court found that the Department of Corrections (DOC) violated a 2018 constitutional amendment when it issued its most severe punishment—solitary confinement— to prisoners who refused to work. But in the injunction that she issued from …
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More from this issue:
- He Died in a Florida Jail. The Company in Charge Should Have Sent Him to the Hospital, Experts Say., by Nichole Manna
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $3.25 Million Verdict in New York Against Jail Medical Profiteer Armor Health, by Chuck Sharman
- Louisiana Republicans Eliminate Elected Office Won by Exonerated Ex-Prisoner
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, by Douglas Ankney
- Detainee Deaths Went Unreported at Dallas County Jail
- Eighth Circuit Rules Plaintiff Must Cover Expert Costs, by Michael Thompson
- Wisconsin State Prison Population Approaches Record High
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, by Douglas Ankney
- Wisconsin Bans Recording of Prison Phone Calls with Journalists
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Continues to Hack Away At First Step Act, by Chuck Sharman
- California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, by Chuck Sharman
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, by Matthew Clarke
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, by Chuck Sharman
- North Texas Prison Evacuated After Carbon Monoxide Leak
- ICE Stops Reporting Deaths of Recently Released Detainees
- Oregon Supreme Court: Jail Credit Statute Focuses Upon Legal Custody Not Physical Custody Location, by David M. Reutter
- Missouri Bill Increases Mandatory Minimums, Expands Prosecutors’ Role in Juvenile Court, by Michael Thompson
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, by Matthew Clarke
- New York Governor Appoints Ex-Prisoner to State Oversight Role
- Ohio Jail Leaders Knew Cameras Were Broken for Four Years Before Fixing Them, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, by Chuck Sharman
- Rikers Island Captain Nicknamed “Terror of the Tombs” Indicted for Extortion, Wage Theft, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, by Douglas Ankney
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, by Matthew Clarke
- Idaho Will Recruit Law Enforcement Volunteers for Firing Squad Executions
- Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, by Douglas Ankney
- Corrections Board Seeks to Join California Justice Department Juvenile Halls Lawsuit, by Michael Thompson
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, by Matthew Clarke
- New York to Become First State to Require Judges to Visit Prisons
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
- $25,000 Paid to Former New York Jail Detainee Subjected to Delayed Healthcare and Denied Mental Healthcare— Despite Seven Suicide Attempts, by Chuck Sharman
- BOP Ordered to Restart Gender Affirming Care for Trans Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- BOP Supervisor in Colorado Indicted for Smuggling Over 400 Vapes
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Multiple Detainees Escape from Dilapidated North Carolina Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Colorado Ordered to Stop Tossing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work, by Chuck Sharman
- Arizona Lawmakers Refuse to Fully Fund Prison Healthcare Staffing Ordered by Federal Court, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma Jail Closes After $2.55 Million Payout for Retaliatory Strip Search, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Refuses to Allow Damages Under RLUIPA for Rastafarian Former Prisoner Shaved Bald by Louisiana Prison Officials, by Chuck Sharman
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, by Chuck Sharman
- Environmental Groups Say the Fight to Shut Down “Alligator Alcatraz” Isn’t Over, by Alexandra Martinez
- Tennessee Calls Off Execution After Botched Lethal Injection
- Video Shows Guards Watched as Oklahoma Detainee Died in Cell, by Michael Thompson
- $130,030 Jury Verdict for Connecticut Prisoner Subjected to Inhumane Conditions, by Chuck Sharman
- Three Women Died at a Michigan Prison in Less than a Month, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Eighth Circuit Revives Prisoner Lawsuit over Conditions of Confinement, by Michael Thompson
- Colorado Prison Wardens Participated in Longstanding Racist, Homophobic Group Chat
- Pennsylvania Bungles Management at George W. Hill Prison after Taking Back Control from GEO Group, by Michael Thompson
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, by Matthew Clarke
- Execution Stayed for South Carolina Prisoner with Immortality Belief, by Michael Thompson
- Tainted Chicken Leads to Widespread Salmonella Outbreak at New York Jail
- Federal Conviction, Guilty Pleas for Jail Guards Responsible for Oklahoma Detainee’s Death
- California Gave Every Student in Prison a Laptop. How Community Colleges Are Using Them, by Ella Carter-Klauschie
- Colorado DOC Freezes Visitations After Two Prisoner Deaths
- San Diego Guard Who Fatally Shot Fleeing Detainee Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison, by Jo Ellen Nott
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- $3.25 Million Verdict in New York Against Jail Medical Profiteer Armor Health, July 1, 2026
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, July 1, 2026
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Continues to Hack Away At First Step Act, July 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026
- Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026
- $25,000 Paid to Former New York Jail Detainee Subjected to Delayed Healthcare and Denied Mental Healthcare— Despite Seven Suicide Attempts, July 1, 2026
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Environmental Groups Say the Fight to Shut Down “Alligator Alcatraz” Isn’t Over, July 1, 2026. Environmental Law, Injunctions, National Environmental Policy Act, Immigration Detention.
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Labor, Sovereign Immunity, Interlocutory Appeals, Immigration Detention.
- $130,030 Jury Verdict for Connecticut Prisoner Subjected to Inhumane Conditions, July 1, 2026. Retaliation, Conditions of Confinement, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
- Eighth Circuit Revives Prisoner Lawsuit over Conditions of Confinement, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Due Process, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Prisoners' Rights, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Arizona Lawmakers Refuse to Fully Fund Prison Healthcare Staffing Ordered by Federal Court, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Contempt (Civil Procedure).
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, June 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Federal Court Partially Enjoins Enforcement of Georgia’s S.B. 185 Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Health Care in DOC, June 1, 2026. Medication, Failure to Treat, Injunctions, Transgender Medical Procedures, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Prison Profiteer The GEO Group Accused of Refusing Health Inspections at Detention Facility Despite Court Ruling, June 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Food, Water, Injunctions, Immigration Detention.

