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Articles by Michael Thompson

New Connecticut Law Changes PREA Standards

by Michael Dean Thompson

Connecticut has enacted a law, PA 26-10, that strengthens its standards and codifies parts of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The law took effect on July 1 of this year and requires that the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC) …

What 911 Calls Reveal About Jail Operations

by Michael Dean Thompson

The Marshall Project analyzed 911 calls in several cities in order to get a better glimpse into how people are being treated within the jails and which problems the jail employees are struggling to address. The same technique was used by Florida’s Citrus County …

Rising Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail Linked to Longer Stays

by Michael Dean Thompson

A new study by University of California, Los Angeles’s Carceral Ecologies Lab has found that deaths in Los Angeles County Jail, which refers to eight actual facilities, are tied to longer stays. These results differ significantly from federal data which suggest overdose deaths, at …

Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It

by Michael Dean Thompson

Prisoners in the Mississippi Department of Corrections (DOC) seeking help are often placed in solitary confinement, according to two new reports by The Marshall Project. Nearly 75% of the known suicides occurred among people living in restricted housing, which can include solitary confinement. Policy …

Mental Health Diversion from New York State Jails Varies Widely by County

by Michael Dean Thompson

Since the early 2000s, New York’s state court system has been installing mental health courts in its counties. These courts can divert people with mental health needs away from jails and prisons. When a person suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other mental health …

North Carolina’s “Iryna’s Law” Leads to Jail Overcrowding

by Michael Dean Thompson

I

ryna’s Law was passed in 2025 after the brutal murder of Iryna Karutska, a Ukrainian refugee, on a Charlotte, North Carolina light rail train. The law, HB 307, restricts pretrial release of violent offenders …

Report Highlights Repeated Overdoses at Florida County Jail

by Michael Dean Thompson

Investigative reports filed by the Citrus County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, which includes the City of Inverness, paint a disturbing picture of an oversized drug problem at the CoreCivic-run county jail. As of June 2026, the Sheriff’s Office identified 11 overdose-related calls, in contrast to …

Delaware’s Lack of Prison Healthcare Oversight

by Michael Dean Thompson

Centurion of Delaware, a former prison healthcare contractor for the state, is the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit that has been joined by the state’s Attorney General, Kathy Jennings (D). The lawsuit alleges that Centurion of Delaware profited from fraud as it was paid …

GAO Report on ICE Jail in Fort Bliss Finds Independent Failures

by Michael Dean Thompson

In response to one of Pres. Donald Trump’s (R) January 2025 executive orders, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) worked with U.S. Army to create America’s largest immigration detention facility to date on Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, known as Camp East Montana.

Report Highlights Shortage of Wheelchairs at Michigan Women’s Prison

by Michael Dean Thompson

Disability Rights Michigan (DRM) had alerted the Michigan Department of Corrections (DOC) many times since 2019 that conditions exist that threaten the health and safety of wheelchair users at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV). But DOC failed to act and even denied the …