More from this issue:

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

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, May 1, 2026
• Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, May 1, 2026
• 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
• Oklahoma Supreme Court: Jail Trust Cannot Withhold Requested Records under Law Enforcement Exemption of ORA, May 1, 2026
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026
• Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Parole Board May Delegate Final Revocation Hearings to Administrative Law Judges but Holds Due Process Requires Parolees Be Permitted to File Exceptions to ALJ Findings Before Board Renders a Final Revocation Decision, April 1, 2026
• New York Court of Appeals Holds Generic Physical Description Insufficient to Justify Pursuit in Mistaken Identity Case, and Suspect’s Flight Cannot Support Reasonable Suspicion Absent Evidence He Knew He Was Fleeing Law Enforcement, April 1, 2026
• Montana Supreme Court Holds Defendant’s Sentence Must Be Vacated Where District Court Premised Sentence on Defendant’s Exercise of Constitutional Rights to Jury Trial, Silence, and Against Self-Incrimination, April 1, 2026
• Fifth Circuit Holds Texas Sexual Assault of a Child Statute Sweeps More Broadly Than Federal SORNA Tier Offenses, March 1, 2026
• Delaware Supreme Court Announces Four-Part Plain Error Framework, Aligning Prejudice Standard With Federal Approach Requiring Reasonable Probability of Different Outcome, March 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• Indiana DOC Found in Violation of State Public Records Act for Withholding Execution Drug Cost Information, May 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, First Amendment, Public Records Act, Interlocutory Appeals, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
• 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.
• Idaho Struggles to Respond to Devasting Report of Widespread Prisoner Sex Abuse, April 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation, Public Records Act.
• Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
• Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Infections, Environmental Law, Water, Public Records Act.
• Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
• Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Access to Media, Public Records Act.
• Fourth Circuit to BOP Prisoner: Any “Disqualifying Offense” Means Zero FSA Credits, April 1, 2026. First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
• Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Damages, Public Records, Public Records Act.
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.