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Washington Appellate Court Uses Personal Restraint Petitions Mooted by Prisoners’ Transfers to Order Remedial Measures at Troubled Juvenile Lockup
by Chuck Sharman
On December 1, 2025, the Washington Court of Appeals found that conditions at the state’s toughest juvenile prison violated state law. The case was remarkable for using a habeas corpus action—known in Washington as a personal restraint petition (PRP)—to challenge a prisoner’s conditions of confinement. …
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More from this issue:
- Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Florida Sheriff Received $50,000 Donation from Jail Medical Contractor
- Watchdog Blasts BOP for Failure to Treat Prisoner’s Preventable Cancer, by Chuck Sharman
- South Dakota Sobriety Program Participants Will No Longer Be Jailed for Non-Payment of Fees, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing
- Eighth Circuit Rules Iowa Prisoner’s Adverse Summary Judgment Is Not a “Strike”, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Law Intended to Reduce Prison Population Hasn’t Improved Conditions, by Michael Thompson
- New York City Mayor Appoints Ex-Rikers Prisoner as Corrections Commissioner
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, by David Reutter
- Georgia Grand Jury Scolds Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, by Chuck Sharman
- Ninth Circuit Affirms $3.84 Million Jury Verdict in Death of San Bernardino Jail Detainee from Acute Alcohol Withdrawal, by Sam Rutherford
- Leaked Video Footage Shows California Prison Guards Engaged in Retaliatory Assault, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Holds Federal Prisoner Does Not Earn First Step Act Time Credits While in Transit Between Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Finds Persistent Overcrowding Drives Cascade of Problems at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $6 Million Settlement with Washington DOC for Delayed Treatment That Let Prisoner’s Liver Cancer Become Fatal, by Chuck Sharman
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, by Chuck Sharman
- Southern Poverty Law Center Report Shows Culture of Abuse at Florida Prison, by Michael Thompson
- Jury Awards Over $9.5 Million for Oklahoma Jail Death, by Chuck Sharman
- Washington Appellate Court Uses Personal Restraint Petitions Mooted by Prisoners’ Transfers to Order Remedial Measures at Troubled Juvenile Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Alaska Prisoner’s Discipline for Violating Invalidated Rule Tossed, by Chuck Sharman
- $300,000 Class-Action Settlement at California Jail Includes Policy Changes; Agreements with Aramark and Wellpath Reached Confidentially, by Chuck Sharman
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
- Number of Narcan Doses Raises Drug Concerns at New Jersey Prisons
- Louisiana Prisoner Sustains Claim Against Prison Doctor for Allowing Assignment to “Field Duty” Despite Known Ankle Injury, by Chuck Sharman
- Two Detainees Captured After Escape from Southwest Georgia Jail
- U.S. Jails Hold 52,000 Detainees for Nothing More than “Failure to Appear”, by Chuck Sharman
- Maryland Prisons Reel from Growing Number of Prisoner Deaths, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, by Kwaneta Harris, Leigh Goodmark
- Missouri Judge Heavily Sanctions DOC for “Deliberate Disregard for the Authority of This Court” in Suit Over Prisoner’s Suicide, by Matthew Clarke
- “Devil in the Ozarks” Gets 13 More Years for Escape
- Overcrowded State Mental Hospitals Lead to Longer Jail Time and Lack of Treatment, by Michael Thompson
- Fourth Circuit Revives Deliberate Indifference Claim for Baltimore Detainee Served Rotten Food, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment in Illinois Prisoner’s Segregation Lawsuit, by Michael Thompson
- One in 10 Prison Admissions Is Now for Technical Parole Violation, by Chuck Sharman
- Utah Pushes for Additional $130 Million to Expand Prison that Cost $1 Billion
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, by David Reutter
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, by Chuck Sharman
- Detainee Death from Kidney Infection Highlights Broken Policy in Washington State, by Michael Thompson
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, by David Reutter
- New Jersey Governor’s Order Allows People with Prior Felony Convictions to Serve on Jury Duty
- Missouri Pays $212M for Prison Health Care, But Prisoner Deaths Aren’t a Performance Measure, by Rudi Keller
- Minnesota Study Shows Disproportionate Rate of Health and Mental Problems for Recently Incarcerated, by Michael Thompson
- Eight Detainees Escape from Louisiana Jail, Captured in 24 Hours
- Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., by Emma Davis
- Oklahoma County Jail Could Lay Off Half Its Staff Due to $5.4 Million Budget Gap
- Medical Audit at New Mexico Jail Once Again Finds Poor Level of Healthcare
- New York City Begins Construction on Chinatown Jail Despite Opposition
- Alarming Conditions at Texas Family Detention Center Owned by CoreCivic
- Mail Went Digital in Alabama Prisons. Families Are Saying Their Mail Isn’t Being Delivered, by Nayanika Guha
- ICE Wants to Spend $38 Billion to Turn Warehouses into Detention Camps
- Wisconsin Hasn’t Created Prison Nursery Program, One Year After Court Order
- Alaska’s DOC Was $24 Million Over-Budget Last Year, Spent Most on Overtime
- Private Prison Firm GEO Group Reports Record $254 Million Profit After New ICE Contracts, by Brett Wilkins
- North Carolina Prisons Are Facing a “Dire” Staffing Crisis
- New York Governor Pulls Plug on Prison Watchdog Funding
- Showers at St. Louis County Jail Riddled with Mold, Report Finds
- Illinois DOC Has Failed to Improve Prison Health Care Seven Years After Order
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, Aug. 1, 2026
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, Aug. 1, 2026
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026
- 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
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- “Safe Inside” Review Paid for by DOJ Found Prisons Grew Much Deadlier in Five Year-Period, Aug. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing, Assaults on Staff.
- 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.
- $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, Aug. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages, Aug. 1, 2026. Transfers, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Staffing, Guard Unions.
- Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, Aug. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Overdetention, State Legislation, Credits, Reduction of Prison Population.
- 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.
- The Exceptionally High Murder Rate Inside Maryland’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Security Systems, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- 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.
- Tulsa Jail Shutting Down After Investigative Reporting on Detainee Deaths, Aug. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).

