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. …
by Paul Wright
Criminologist Elliott Currie wrote over 30 years ago that mass incarceration was the most thoroughly implemented social experiment in American history. When I founded Prison Legal News in 1990, there were around a million people locked up in state, local and federal prisons and jails. …
by Chuck Sharman
On June 1, 2026, Wisconsin officials gave the final sign-off to an agreement paying $3.75 million to the mother of a state prisoner who died of dehydration at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) in 2024. The death of Donald Maier, 62, who was being held in …
by Matt Clarke
On July 7, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated a summary judgment favoring prison officials based on a lack of genuine dispute as to whether the plaintiff faced “a substantial risk of serious harm.”
Alabama prisoner Mitchell Marbury …
by Chuck Sharman
Few aspects of prison life are not subject to restriction by administrators. But when Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) officials extended their purview to the content of a prisoner’s literary journal submission, he filed suit. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington …
by Jo Ellen Knott
A survey by the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability (DPA) published on August 24, 2026, reveals severe, widespread deficiencies within the city and county jail system and exposes a culture of physical violence, severe neglect and ongoing barriers to basic legal rights.
…
by Douglas Ankney
On March 19, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity (QI) to Vermont prison guard Jason Scott but clarified that pretrial detainee John Russell’s claim that Scott sexually abused him was to be reviewed …
by Chuck Sharman
The jail system in California’s San Francisco City and County, which held 1,330 detainees as recently as March 9, 2026, hasn’t held more than 1,200 since May 27, and not more than 1,100 since August 24. The total dropped below 1,000 on September 4, a …
by Matt Clarke
On June 24, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the vast majority of the relief granted in a lawsuit challenging the unconstitutionally inadequate provision of mental health care in prisons operated by the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC).
…
by David M. Reutter
On June 29, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington certified a class consisting of any person who from May 2, 2020, to present was “held in any cell blocks at Pierce County Jail (PCJ) having unremedied plumbing defects leading …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
On May 28, 2026, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District concluded that a trial court’s reliance on an old Board of Parole finding in denying James Brinston’s request for compassionate release was an abuse of discretion.
James Brinston was convicted …
by Chuck Sharman
The West Virginia Circuit Court for Kanawha County gave its approval on September 1, 2026, to a $700,000 settlement reached five days earlier between the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) and Lisa Huffman, personnel representative of the Estate of Nathan James Kennedy, a …
by Jo Ellen Knott
Corporate influence-peddling is alive and well in the Trump brand of politics. Private prison titan The GEO Group handed over $1.4 million to President Donald Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., just days after securing federal detention contracts worth $165 million annually.
Campaign finance …
by Chuck Sharman
In a torturously reasoned opinion issued on June 16, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama slammed the door on a federal prisoner’s claims that U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials violated her civil rights with a decade-long delay in treatment …
by Jo Ellen Knott
The sale of Minnesota’s shuttered Prairie Correctional Facility to the federal government has left the small city of Appleton (1,300 residents) facing tax revenue loss, infrastructure strain, and unenforceable corporate promises from private prison giant CoreCivic.
After CoreCivic sold the 1,600-bed facility to …
by Chuck Sharman
The state of Washington will pay $5 million for a series of errors by the state Department of Corrections (DOC) that put a mentally ill prisoner in a Seattle re-entry center, from which he walked away and tried to rob and rape a woman at …
by Chuck Sharman
On July 14, 2026, the Nevada Board of Examiners approved a $250,000 payment to Alfred Lajes, 75, a former state prisoner who threatened to sue over the lack of treatment he received while incarcerated by the state Department of Corrections (DOC). The payout meant that …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) recently signed into law HB 1871, which allows people convicted of certain nonviolent crimes to be eligible to vote while on parole. The new law took effect on August 28, 2026. According to estimates provided by The Sentencing Project, …
by Michael Dean Thompson
When ProPublica and WPLN Public Radio of Nashville looked into Wayne Halfway House (WHH), a private company that runs juvenile prisons across Tennessee, they found the company failed to follow the law and report the abuse occurring within their facilities. Employee interviews revealed that …
by Chuck Sharman
In April 2026, just a month after a former guard came forward with allegations of staff mistreatment at Indiana’s Miami Correctional Facility (MCF), the state Department of Correction (DOC) agreed to pay $1.2 million to 31 prisoners who alleged that they were held in depraved …
by Matt Clarke
On July 2, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court’s denial of qualified immunity to two supervisors at the Aiken County Detention Center (ACDC) in South Carolina.
While Cassiopeia Rhoads was a pretrial detainee at ACDC, …
by Chuck Sharman
A decision by the Supreme Court of Ohio on September 1, 2026, highlights the evolving landscape for state prisoners mounting mandamus actions to challenge public records requests that have been denied by the state Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (DRC).
As PLN has reported, …
by Chuck Sharman
On September 2, 2026, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved without discussion a settlement of two lawsuits accusing state Department of Corrections and Public Safety (DCPS) officials of withholding key records in a prisoner’s dehydration death at Western Correctional Institution in July 2023. The …
by Michael Dean Thompson
When the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) surveyed state, federal and DC prison policies to understand how incarcerated women are treated for menopause, they found an astonishing lack of data. Yet, as of 2023, 18% of women incarcerated in state and federal prisons were 50 …
by Jo Ellen Knott
Graphic footage documenting the deaths of two men undergoing mental health crises in Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) custody has exposed pervasive failures by law enforcement to humanely handle arrestees following established guidelines and training.
On July 15, 2026, LAPD officers arrested Jose …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Colorado’s prisons are experiencing overcrowding and have been for some time. In August 2025, the number of free beds fell below 3% for more than 30 days and has largely remained there.
Governor Jared Polis (D) would like to see two new prisons …
by David M. Reutter
The South Carolina Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari on July 22, 2026, which reversed class action status alleging prison officials were negligent in the rape of adult and juvenile prisoners. The Court found that the action failed to satisfy the commonality test, …
by Chuck Sharman
On August 20, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling declining to stay an injunction preventing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from subjecting migrant detainees to unconstitutional conditions of confinement at its Adelanto Processing Center in …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
On August 21, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion in dismissing John J. Wilson, Jr.’s pro se complaint without leave to amend because it improperly ignored facts he alleged in his written …
by David M. Reutter
On August 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the Eighth Amendment, not the Fourteenth Amendment, is applicable when a person finally adjudicated as a parole violator brings a lawsuit for excessive force.
Danny Farrington in March …
by Michael Dean Thompson
A history of incarceration of any kind has a significant impact on both life expectancy and the health and wellbeing of older adults, according to two studies reviewed by the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI). The studies add to the growing body of evidence that …
by Chuck Sharman
On September 3, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana entered judgment for $763,000 against state Department of Correction (DOC) healthcare contractor Centurion Health of Indiana, after a jury found its personnel liable for failing to provide adequate treatment to state …
by David M. Reutter
On August 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the denial of qualified immunity (QI) to a guard who delayed treatment by eight minutes to a Michigan prisoner who complained of chest pain and subsequently suffered a heart attack. …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Jon Ponder, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Hope for Prisoners (HFP), was himself a former felon who served time for three bank robberies. He has since been pardoned by both the state of Nevada and President Donald Trump (R) in 2020. When a …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
On May 5, 2026, the Iowa State Appeal Board approved a settlement agreement between the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) and three Iowa prisoners who challenged their disciplinary violations. This settlement will impact all prisoners and institutions across the DOC.
Prisoners Amanda Wright, Monica …
Loaded on
Oct. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2026, page 43
On September 2, 2026, fumes from a chemical adhesive used during roof construction at the Newtown Correctional Facility in Jasper County sent at least 15 Iowa prisoners and staff to the hospital. Emergency responders were called in after reports of individuals becoming sick, with hazmat protocols initiated as more …
by David M. Reutter
The advent of identification theft and residency questions brought due to heightened scrutiny of citizenship status mandates one possess documents to prove who they are and their eligibility to work legally. A February 2026 report by the Reason Foundation evidences that most state prison …
by Matt Clarke
On August 6, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of some defendants’ motion to dismiss some claims against them from a lawsuit over a Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) prisoner’s suicide. The dismissed claims were …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, forcing government institutions, via Title II, to accommodate people with disabilities. While it was not until 1998 that the United States Supreme Court clarified the law applied to prisons in PA DOC v. Yeskey,118 …
by David M. Reutter
On July 23, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed an order granting judgment on the pleadings that refused to expand a Bivens claim to include an Eighth Amendment claim alleging prison officials denied Hepatitis C treatment to a prisoner. …
by Chuck Sharman
The Board of Commissioners of Oklahoma’s Cleveland County approved a $20 million settlement on September 8, 2026, resolving claims filed on behalf of Shannon Hanchett, 38, a “floridly psychotic” detainee who died of dehydration in the County Detention Center in 2022, according to the complaint …
by Michael Dean Thompson
Detainees in the Baltimore jail filed a lawsuit in 1976 over conditions of their confinement and medical care, and the case runs on. Five years later, the lawsuit was brought into a class action that resulted in a decree. The case continued to be …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
On March 18, 2026, the Supreme Court of South Dakota held that prisoner Kelly Warfield’s challenges to his conviction for simple assault of a prison guard and intentional destruction of property were without merit and affirmed said convictions.
In January 2021, Warfield’s cell at …
by Michael Dean Thompson
For people incarcerated in the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC), communications with the outside world have been getting more difficult. Prisons within Kentucky have been restricting or eliminating tablet use, citing ongoing security concerns due to staffing shortages.
There is no single overriding …
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in a prisoner’s action alleging CDCR violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to reasonably …
by David M. Reutter
A July 2026 report issued by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) found that the age of persons dying in prison increased and those prisoners more often died from natural causes. The report made recommendations to reduce the number of deaths.
…
Loaded on
Oct. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2026, page 55
In 2023, the Wyoming Department of Corrections (DOC) sent dozens of state prisoners to the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (“Tallahatchie”) in Tutwiler, Mississippi due to understaffing. At the time, roughly 25% of the DOC’s uniformed staff positions were vacant, largely due to low pay and an inability to attract …
by Matt Clarke
On August 11, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the sheriff and county of a Nebraska jail where a guard sexually assaulted a female prisoner were entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity.
Anna Chernyy was …
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 …
by Matt Clarke
On July 7, 2026, District Judge David Ezra of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin issued a permanent injunction ordering Stephanie Muth, the Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to admit incompetent defendants …
Loaded on
Oct. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2026, page 60
The number of Illinois prisoners who want to take college-level courses is outpacing the state’s capacity to ensure access to them. According to data from the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC), the waitlist for college classes has gone up by 80% since 2025. Of the 30,000 prisoners in Illinois, …
Loaded on
Oct. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2026, page 62
Alabama: According to the Birmingham News, former state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard Mario Grant, 35, was sentenced to four years in prison on August 17, 2026, for smuggling contraband into the Kilby Correctional Facility (CF). An August 2023 K-9 search turned up methamphetamine, marijuana and a cell …
Loaded on
Oct. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2026, page 62
Idaho prisons are significantly overcrowded. The state currently incarcerates a total of 10,000 people, but only has enough space for 8,200. As a result, the Idaho Department of Correction (DOC) is requesting $45.3 million to open three new facilities within the next year. While state lawmakers had previously approved …
