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. Trump Wants $152 Million to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison
36. Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, by Chuck Sharman
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 Robert Haughn:

• HRDC Sues Colorado Jail for Prohibiting Dozens of Magazines and Books, May 1, 2026
• Federal Jury Awards $307.6 Million to Former Michigan Prisoner After Corizon Refused Surgery, Forcing Him to Wear Colostomy Bag for Two Years, May 1, 2026
• HRDC Sues Minnesota DOC Over Censorship Policy, Feb. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• 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).
• Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, HRDC Litigation.
• Arkansas Board of Corrections Settles Sunshine Law Charges, Caving to Governor’s Power Grab, May 1, 2026. Retaliation for Litigating, State Legislation, Public Records Act, Constitution, state, Community Confinement/Home Detention.
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Mandatory Life Without Parole for Felony Murder Unconstitutional Under State Constitution, Holding Article I, Section 13 Provides Broader Protections Than Eighth Amendment, April 1, 2026. Life without Parole (LWOP), Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Resentencing, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Amending Indictment to Change Subsections of Aggravated Child Rape Statute Constitutes an Impermissible Substantive Amendment, April 1, 2026. Double jeopardy, Constitution, state, Criminal Sexual Abuse, Essential Elements of Crime, Amendment/Variance.
• Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, March 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail, Censorship, Digital Devices, Private Phone Contractors.
• Hawaii Supreme Court Announces State Constitution Requires Law Enforcement to Record All Custodial Interrogations, Overruling Three-Decade-Old Precedent and Recognizing New Due Process Right, March 1, 2026. Constitution, state, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Self-Incrimination Clause, Custodial Interrogations, Video Recordings.
• Oregon Supreme Court Announces Bright-Line Rule Requiring Dismissal Without Prejudice When State Fails to Appoint Counsel for Eligible Criminal Defendant Within 60 Days in Misdemeanor Cases or 90 Days in Felony Cases Post-Arraignment, March 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders, Indigent Defense, Constitution, state, Counsel - Right to.
• Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.
• HRDC Sues Minnesota DOC Over Censorship Policy, Feb. 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment, HRDC Litigation.