by Michael Thompson
President Donald Trump (R) signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025. The tax spending bill was passed along party lines and is so massive, that it is likely only a few lawmakers read it through before voting. Resting within the bill were …
by Michael Thompson
As reported in PLN, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had postponed a 2024 rule poised to reduce the financial burden for incarcerated people throughout the country. [See: PLN, Aug. 2025, p. 19] The June 30, 2025 pause was followed …
by Michael Thompson
Jin Woo Park was a prisoner of the State of California at the Corcoran State Prison when he hired Michael L. Guisti to file his petition of habeas corpus in both state and, if necessary, federal courts. Despite accepting the $35,000 contract, Guisti failed to …
by Michael Thompson
Amid a lawsuit from the California Attorney General’s office over inhumane conditions, including preventable deaths such as opioid overdoses, Los Angeles County has modified its policy and is scaling back access to opioid treatment. The announcement of the reduction in treatment came just a week …
by Michael Thompson
One of former Democratic President Joe Biden’s parting actions was to commute the death sentences of 37 of the 40 federal prisoners on death row. In doing so, he stopped President Donald Trump (R) from initiating another execution spree as he had during his first …
by Michael Thompson
According to Daniel F. Martuscello III, commissioner of New York state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), “Individuals are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment, and there is an expectation of safety and opportunities for rehabilitation.” The guards within New York’s prison …
by Michael Thompson
Damon Landor is a devout Rastafarian who grew his hair for decades without cutting it as part of his “Nazarite Vow.” Accordingly, his hair had grown long enough to reach nearly to his knees by the time he was incarcerated in the Louisiana Department of …
by Michael Thompson
James Clubb was incarcerated in the Marinette County Jail on September 13, 2018, when he bit down on something hard and broke a tooth. At the time, for-profit provisions company Aramark held “the exclusive right to provide food service” to “the County’s inmates, staff and …
by Michael Thompson
Jails within Washington state are finding it increasingly difficult to arrange medical providers. In one example, when Kitsap County recently put out a request for a medical provider, only their current provider responded, Everhealth LLC, a subsidiary of Alabama-based NaphCare. As a result, Kitsap County …
by Michael Thompson
Cordell Sanders spent eight years in segregation housing at the Pontiac Center in Indiana after committing multiple disciplinary offenses. While being held apart from others, he suffered from severe mental health issues, harmed himself, attempted multiple times to take his own life, and was found …
