More from this issue:

1. The Systematic Terror of Rankin County’s “Goon Squad”, by Anthony Accurso
2. ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, by Chuck Sharman
3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
4. Washington Governor Fires Independent Prison Watchdog
5. Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, by Chuck Sharman
6. Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions
7. Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration, by Chuck Sharman
8. Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, by Chuck Sharman
9. Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, by Chuck Sharman
10. Former Prison Dentist in Iowa Accused of Harassment
11. Hospital Keeps Sending Detainees Back Without Care to County Jail in Colorado
12. Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, by Douglas Ankney
13. $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, by Chuck Sharman
14. New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, by Chuck Sharman
15. Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, by Douglas Ankney
16. Prisoners in Norfolk, Virginia Left on Extended Lockdown, by Michael Thompson
17. “Like the Walking Dead”: Smuggled Drugs Fuel Chaos Inside Ohio Prisons, by Laura A. Bischoff, USA Today Network, Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project
18. NaphCare Pays $875,000 to Settle New York License Violations, Banned from State for Five Years, by Chuck Sharman
19. 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, by Douglas Ankney
20. New Hampshire Officials Halt $700 Million Prison Replacement
21. Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, by Chuck Sharman
22. $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, by Chuck Sharman
23. Oklahoma Supreme Court: Jail Trust Cannot Withhold Requested Records under Law Enforcement Exemption of ORA, by Douglas Ankney
24. Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, by Matthew Clarke
25. Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, by Matthew Clarke
26. Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, by Michael Thompson
27. Pennsylvania Closes Its Second-Oldest Prison
28. Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, by Matthew Clarke
29. Nearly 50 People Have Died in ICE Custody Since Trump’s Return to White House, by Jo Ellen Nott
30. $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, by Chuck Sharman
31. Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025
32. Arkansas Board of Corrections Settles Sunshine Law Charges, Caving to Governor’s Power Grab, by Chuck Sharman
33. Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, by Chuck Sharman
34. Watchdog Finds Barely 1 in 10 Complaints Against California Prison Staff Handled Adequately, by Chuck Sharman
35. Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, by Chuck Sharman
36. Trump Wants $152 Million to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison
37. Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions
38. Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, by Matthew Clarke
39. Nevada Non-Profit Founder Under Investigation for Misconduct
40. Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, by Michael Thompson
41. $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
42. HRDC Sues Colorado Jail for Prohibiting Dozens of Magazines and Books, by Robert Haughn
43. Connecticut Correction Ombuds Finds DOC in “Sustained Institutional Failure”, by Chuck Sharman
44. Arrests of Unhoused People Driving Albuquerque Jail Bookings, by Michael Thompson
45. Indiana DOC Found in Violation of State Public Records Act for Withholding Execution Drug Cost Information, by Chuck Sharman
46. Federal Jury Awards $307.6 Million to Former Michigan Prisoner After Corizon Refused Surgery, Forcing Him to Wear Colostomy Bag for Two Years, by Robert Haughn
47. Alabama DOC Terminates $1 Billion Contract with YesCare
48. Records Show Culture of Impunity Among Kentucky Prison Guards, by Jo Ellen Knott
49. Prisons in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula “in a Death Spiral” Due to Under-Staffing
50. Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its Mass Incarceration Report, by Michael Thompson
51. Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, by Matthew Clarke
52. Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, by Michael Thompson
53. Guaranteed Income Helps People Leaving Jail and Prison, and That Helps Everyone, by Aleks Kajstura
54. News in Brief

More from these topics:

• $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
• Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Death, Compassionate Release.
• Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
• New York Ordered to Pay Prisoner $25,000 for Failing to Protect Him from Attack, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Defenses, Damages - Compensatory, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment, Deliberate Indifference.
• Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
• $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
• Fourth Circuit Affirms Damages Class Certification in Opioid Treatment Denial, Aug. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Class Certification, Deliberate Indifference.
• Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas.
• $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Exposure to Heat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
• $100,000 Paid to New York Detainee Whose Infant Died in Syracuse Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Naphcare, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.