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
On September 17, 2025, the Hawai’i State Supreme Court affirmed a ruling allowing a warden who was fired in 2014 over a litany of accusations, including sexual harassment, to be reinstated. The warden’s reversal of fortune became quite literal as the state is now …
by Michael Thompson
On December 16, 2016, James Breyley, a prisoner at the New Lisbon Correctional Institute in Juneau County, was punched in the face “ten times, severely fracturing his nose.” A doctor subsequently instructed him to see a specialist within a week to check its progress. Medical …
by Michael Thompson
Jose Montanez was incarcerated in Pennsylvania on August 28, 2021 when he suddenly collapsed in his cell. His body was numb from the chest down and he was unable to move his legs and, he soon discovered, he became incontinent.
He alerted a guard …
by Michael Thompson
In August of 2016, Jerry Lee King was involved in an altercation with guards at the Kern Valley State Prison in California. According to King, he was attacked by the guards while in restraints. He was then placed in Administrative Segregation and found guilty …
