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Articles by Douglas Ankney

The Dramatic Increase in the Elderly Prison Population Is Fiscally and Morally Irresponsible

by Douglas Ankney

"When [our] extra bedding is taken, it does no good to grieve it. Any way they want to punish [us] is backed up by coworkers,” Mindy, a 71-year-old prisoner, told The Appeal.

In the United States, a 50-year-old individual is generally not considered elderly. …

Tenth Circuit Vacates Award of Costs to Prison Officials, Revives Prisoner’s Claim Alleging Denial of Access to Functioning Toilets and Exposure to Other Prisoners’ Feces

by Douglas Ankney

On April 21, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit consolidated two appeals of prisoner plaintiff Joseph Z. Womble, vacated the district court’s award of costs to prison officials Jerry Chrisman and Tommy Sharp (“Defendants”), and reversed the district court’s grant of …

BOP Denies Providing Substandard Dialysis Treatment Despite Prisoners’ Deaths, Court Filings, Understaffing and Lack of Oversight

by Douglas Ankney

"When mom told staff something was wrong, they said to her ‘you’re fine, you’re fine’ even though there was fluid literally coming out of her belly button,” said Evangelina Perez, describing her incarcerated mother’s condition after missing another dialysis treatment. Evangelina Perez lost count of …

Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny

by Douglas Ankney

Seeking to make the killing of incarcerated persons easier, the 2026 Regular Session of the Idaho Legislature has passed House Bill No. 803 (“HB 803”) that, inter alia, exempts from judicial review the procedures used in executions.

Idaho, like most of the remaining states …

Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, on February 27, 2026, upheld a consultants’ finding and decision that Oklahoma is not honoring its obligations under a consent decree to provide mental health treatment to persons adjudged incompetent to stand trial.

On …

New Jersey Court Rules That Denial of Transgender Prisoner’s Transfer Request Violates Neither Discrimination Law nor Equal Protection Clause

by Douglas Ankney

A three-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey (“Court”) has ruled that the New Jersey Department of Corrections’ (DOC) denial of a civilly committed transgender female’s request for transfer to a women’s prison violated neither the Law Against Discrimination …

Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment

by Douglas Ankney

Corizon Health, Inc. (“Corizon”) was a private profiteer that, in 2019, contracted with 149 prisons to provide medical care to incarcerated persons. While Corizon’s business shrank to serving just 52 prisons by May 2022, its decadence expanded from cheating prisoners and their families out of …

Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted

by Douglas Ankney

"I bled every day for five years until I finally had a hysterectomy,” said Lisa Rae Wright, describing her injuries after her husband had repeatedly punched her in the stomach during her pregnancy with their son.

In 2024, the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act (OSA) was …

Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System

by Douglas Ankney

A Procedural Report (“Report”) issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor on February 4, 2026, detailing the findings of an audit of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC), revealed that the DPSC continues to fail to adequately review changes to prisoners’ time computations; …

California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules

by Douglas Ankney

The California Court of Appeal (CCA), First Appellate District, ruled that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) amendments to the California Code of Regulations (“CDCR Regs.”) § 3043 (“Rule 3043”) narrowing the application of credits to advance the Youth Parole Eligibility Date (“YPED”) …