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Articles by Jo Ellen Nott

BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages

by Jo Ellen Knott

In a move to control its mounting fiscal crisis, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced on July 1, 2026, that it will shutter at least six low- and minimum-security facilities housing thousands of prisoners.

The sweeping consolidation plan targets facilities plagued by …

Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail

by Jo Ellen Knott

On the early morning of June 29, 2026, detainees at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center—a jail in rural North Carolina—staged a rebellion, gaining control of the facility and taking three guards hostage.

Detainees “assaulted on-duty guards and gained control of portions of the …

Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail

by Jo Ellen Knott

A

 death-in-custody crisis continues to unfold at the Tarrant County Jail (TCJ) in Fort Worth, where three prisoners perished within a single four-day span in June 2026. According to a report by KERA News in …

Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing

by Jo Ellen Knott

The Nevada Department of Corrections (DOC) is facing a severe medical healthcare crisis characterized by chronic understaffing, systemic neglect, and delayed treatments. Last year, Nevada correctional facilities saw a record 76 deaths, with over half stemming from unaddressed medical issues.

A recent investigation …

The Exceptionally High Murder Rate Inside Maryland’s Prisons

by Jo Ellen Knott

Maryland’s state prisons are facing a deadly surge in violence, with nearly half the 46 prisoner homicides since 2015, occurring between 2024 and 2025. In the last three years, more prisoners have been killed in Maryland prisons than in all four neighboring states combined. …

Airconditioning Failure at Troubled ICE Detention Center in New Jersey

by Jo Ellen Knott

The Jersey Vindicator reported thatthe GEO Group-operated Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark, New Jersey, is facing severe infrastructure failures and exposing detainees to dangerous conditions.

In early July 2026, as the worst heat wave in New Jersey …

New York Closes Rikers Infirmary as Broader Jail Shutdown Plan Stalls

by Jo Ellen Knott

The administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) announced the permanent closure of the North Infirmary Command (NIC) on Rikers Island on June 29, 2026. The Department of Correction handed the building over to city managers, who plan to turn the old …

Ohio Jail Leaders Knew Cameras Were Broken for Four Years Before Fixing Them

by Jo Ellen Knott

For four years, broken ceiling-mounted cameras at the Cuyahoga County Jail (CCJ) in Cleveland failed to record many significant events, including at least three deaths, according to reporting by The Marshall Project.

The more than 100 cameras present at the jail were incompatible …

Rikers Island Captain Nicknamed “Terror of the Tombs” Indicted for Extortion, Wage Theft

by Jo Ellen Knott

A New York City Department of Correction (DOC) guard captain, infamous for her tyrannical management, was indicted on June 11, 2026, for running a brazen shakedown scheme against her own staff. Latanya Brown, 51, nicknamed the “Terror of the Tombs,” faces federal extortion and …

Multiple Detainees Escape from Dilapidated North Carolina Jail

by Jo Ellen Knott

On June 3, 2026, two detainees escaped from the Vance County Jail, a dilapidated facility in a rural area about 45 miles north of Raleigh. As detainees Michael Miles Jr., 33, and LiShawn Knott, 21, fled out of the jail, they were captured on …