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Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing
by Matt Clarke
On April 15, 2026, Nebraska State Penitentiary (NSP) Warden Barb Lewien issued a memo stating that “NSP will resume the Native American religious land use schedule in effect prior to the suspension period.” This cut short a 60-day suspension that effectively prevented many followers of …
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More from this issue:
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- California Pays $15,000 to State Prisoner Who Claimed He Was Targeted by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Revives Detainee’s Suit Alleging Monell and 14th Amendment Deliberate Indifference Claims, by Douglas Ankney
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, by Matthew Clarke
- Alabama Prison Warden Reportedly Arrested and Walked Off Job, by Chuck Sharman
- FTC Substantiates Allegations Against ViaPath Related to Data Breach and Orders Remedial Action, by Douglas Ankney
- Number of Prisoners Awaiting Transfer from Jail Surging in Indiana
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, by Chuck Sharman
- Jury Awards Over $24.4 Million to Kentucky Prisoner Exonerated After 22 Years, Bringing Total Payout for Him and Co-Defendant to Almost $45 Million, by Chuck Sharman
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Finds Stark Racial Disparities in Wisconsin Prisons
- $5 Million Paid by Colorado County for Jail Detainee’s “Gruesome” Death from Untreated Ulcer; Claims Proceeding Against Southern Health Partners, by Chuck Sharman
- Kansas DOC Replaces Centurion with Another Prison Healthcare Contractor
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $10 Million Wrongful Conviction Verdict for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules that Sheriff Did Not Violate Open Records Act and Declines to Award Damages to Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
- Spate of Deaths at Tulsa Jail Highlights Medical Neglect, by Michael Thompson
- $250,000 Paid by Maine to Former Prisoner Held in Solitary Confinement—Which the State DOC Says Doesn’t Exist, by Chuck Sharman
- Arkansas Supreme Court Bows to Governor’s Board of Correction Takeover, by Chuck Sharman
- Former Maine Prison Official Will Serve 5 Years in Prison for $2.4 Million Bribe
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
- Ambulance Calls at Boston Jail Have Tripled Since 2010
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, by Chuck Sharman
- Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida Federal Court Excoriates BOP for Health Care Failures, Grants Prisoner Early Release to Seek Treatment for Possible Breast Cancer, by Matthew Clarke
- New York Prisoner, Paroled After 25 Years, Exonerated of Crime, by Chuck Sharman
- North Carolina Prison Closing Due to Short Staffing
- Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Georgia Prison Warden Indicted for Role in Smuggling Scheme
- NaphCare Pulls Out of Washington Jails After Lawsuit Payouts, by Michael Thompson
- Federal Court Partially Enjoins Enforcement of Georgia’s S.B. 185 Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Health Care in DOC, by Matthew Clarke
- $75,000 for Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Against Jail Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Prison Profiteer The GEO Group Accused of Refusing Health Inspections at Detention Facility Despite Court Ruling
- New York City Reaches Settlements Totaling Nearly $5.2 Million with Estates of Two Fatal Methadone Overdose Victims Detained on Rikers Island, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Jury Awards $2,500 to Male Wisconsin Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Female Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, by Chuck Sharman
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Washington State Supreme Court Ruling Supports Broad Immunity in Overdose Cases, by Michael Thompson
- Pepper Spraying Incident Prompts Policy Change at Washington Women’s Prison, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Nevada Ex-Warden Ordered to Counseling After Ear-Biting Incident
- They Thought They Were Leaving Prison Early. Then They Weren’t., by Phillip Luna
- New Orleans Sheriff Indicted on 30 Charges Related to Malfeasance and Fraud
- Ghislaine Maxwell Reportedly Receiving Preferential Treatment at Texas Prison Camp, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Prosecutors Had a Drugs-for-Votes Scheme “Locked Up.” Under Trump, They Were Told Not to Pursue Charges., by Raquel Rutledge
- Oklahoma Governor Pressured DOC to Grant Preferential Treatment to Friend, by Jo Ellen Nott
- In Wake of Murders of Prisoners by Guards, New York Passes Legislation to Enhance Safety, Accountability and Training, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Wisconsin Governor Issues Executive Order to Restore Commutations, by Michael Thompson
- Auditor Demands Private Prison Company Pay $7.4 Million to Mississippi
- Our Money Is Disappearing Inside ViaPath’s Prison Tablets, by Christopher Santiago
- Ombuds Report Doesn’t Rule Out Racism or Retaliation at Red Onion State Prison, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado DOC Allows Some Prisoners Convicted of Sex Crimes to be Released While Delaying Parole Consideration for Others, by Douglas Ankney
- Murder Convictions Tossed for Three Pennsylvania Prisoners After 28 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison, by Mike Ludwig
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- 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, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, Aug. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Overdetention, Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026. Sovereign Immunity, Religious Practices, Religious Property, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Wisconsin Bans Recording of Prison Phone Calls with Journalists, July 1, 2026. Access to Media, Censorship, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights, Recorded Calls.
- SCOTUS Refuses to Allow Damages Under RLUIPA for Rastafarian Former Prisoner Shaved Bald by Louisiana Prison Officials, July 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Religious Practices, Damages - Compensatory, Adequacy of Remedy, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Illinois Jail Reprimanded for Denying Detainees Mail Based on Media Content, P.O. Box Return Address, Settles Detainees’ Suit with $111,825 Payment of Legal Fees, May 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- ICE Jails Denied Muslim Detainees’ Right to Celebrate Ramadan, April 1, 2026. Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Religious Property, Immigration Detention, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, April 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Religious Practices, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- ICE Settles Suit Over Opening Detainees’ Legal Mail, April 1, 2026. Legal Mail, Attorney Visits, First Amendment, rights, Immigration Detention, Attorney/Client.

