by Chuck Sharman
A February 2026 review by PLN of mail policies at 250 of the largest U.S. jail systems, which together hold over half the country’s detainees, reveals that almost 62% have instituted policies banning physical mail, except for legal mail. The findings indicate that jails are …
by Chuck Sharman
On January 6, 2026, federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials were lambasted by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the BOP’s parent agency, the federal Department of Justice, in a report cataloguing a cascade of bumbling failures that cost prisoner Frederick Mervin Bardell …
by Chuck Sharman
The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota granted preliminary approval on December 3, 2025, to a settlement resolving a putative class-action challenge to Pennington County’s policy of diverting defendants to its 24-7 Sobriety Program and then jailing them when they can’t afford …
by Chuck Sharman
In an amended complaint filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on December 17, 2025, state prisoner Nersius Adonliel Artisani, also known as Roger Joseph Hoffert, Jr., accused officials with the state Department of Corrections …
by Chuck Sharman
On January 16, 2025, a grand jury in Georgia’s Richmond County reported that its inspection of the County jail revealed serious overcrowding, with mattresses on the floor pressing many cells into double-occupancy. As if to underscore the problem’s seriousness, a detainee was violently assaulted and …
by Chuck Sharman
On December 23, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana granted class certification to a suit challenging the constitutionality of the “farm line” work program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) at Angola. The ruling allows claims from the seven named …
by Chuck Sharman
The Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) ruled on February 6, 2026, that federal prisoners seeking habeas corpus relief are not bound by the statute that limits state prisoners to one shot at their claims. The result seems only fair for federal prisoner Michael Bowe, …
by Chuck Sharman
Analyzing population data at the overcrowded Fulton County Jail (FCJ) in Atlanta, a report from the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on January 27, 2026, found that detainees endure “a crisis with a cascade of public health and safety problems.” An …
by Chuck Sharman
Under terms of a settlement reached in September 2025, Washington agreed to pay $6 million to the surviving daughter of a state prisoner who accused the state Department of Corrections (DOC) of failing to treat his liver cancer, allowing it to progress and kill him …
by Chuck Sharman
In a ruling on September 30, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found not one but two errors in a lower court’s dismissal of a Michigan prisoner’s excessive force claim against two guards who tackled him after an altercation with a …
