News in Brief by California: In a ruling that highlights the complexities of holding corrupt staff financially accountable, the California Court of Appeal recently restored the pension of former San Francisco jail guard April Myres, 61, on December 26, 2025. Bloomberg Law reported that federal prosecutors charged Myres in 2017 …
Amnesty International Report Claims Torture and Enforced Disappearances at “Alligator Alcatraz” by A recently released report from the humanitarian group Amnesty International found that conditions at two migrant detention centers in Florida amounted to “cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment,” with some practices rising to the level of torture. In September …
2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars by With the number of executions nearly doubling from 2024 to 2025, this year was especially deadly for military veterans on death row, according to a new report published by the Death Penalty Information Center. Throughout 2025, ten veterans were executed, …
Over $222,000 in Legal Costs and Fees Awarded to HRDC in Florida Records Suit Against Centurion by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman After securing an order for the release of settlement records from Centurion of Florida in a state prisoner’s death, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), nonprofit publisher of …
News in Brief by Alabama: A former Blount County Jail guard received a decade behind bars on October 21, 2025, for a brutal assault that was captured on security video, according to WVTM in Birmingham. Joseph Ray Snow, 45, was sentenced for assaulting detainee Jonathan Calloway in 2022. Calloway, who …
Prisoners and Detainees in the Gulf Coast Are Particularly at Risk from Natural Disasters by The Gulf Coast of the United States stretches across five states in the Southeast. Within that region, more than 270,000 people are incarcerated in jails, prisons, and other detention facilities. For the prisoners and detainees …
Centurion of Florida LLC v. HRDC, FL, Order and Final Judgment Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs, Counterclaim-Public Records Request, 2025 Filing # 236344305 E-Filed 11/21/2025 01:53:06 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR PUTNAM COUNTY, FLORIDA CENTURION OF FLORIDA LLC PLAINTIFF/COUNTER-DEFENDANT CASE NO.: DIVISION: …
Centurion of Florida LLC v. HRDC, FL, Order and Final Judgment Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs, Counterclaim-Public Records Request, 2025 Filing # 236344305 E-Filed 11/21/2025 01:53:06 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR PUTNAM COUNTY, FLORIDA CENTURION OF FLORIDA LLC PLAINTIFF/COUNTER-DEFENDANT CASE NO.: DIVISION: …
Wilson v. Dixon, FL, Second Declaration of Stefano Schiavon, Conditions of Confinement, 2025 Case 1:24-cv-24253-KMW Document 82-2 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/02/2025 Page 1 of 92 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA MIAMI DIVISION CASE NO. 1:24-cv-24253 DWAYNE WILSON, TYRONE HARRIS, and GARY WHEELER, individually and on behalf …
News in Brief by Alabama: A civil rights lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Alabama by Paulette Tennison on August 29, 2025, blamed Morgan County jailers for the death of her son, John Scott Jr., on April 22, 2025, just one week after he was arrested by Priceville Police …
$150,000 Paid by Jacksonville for Mother of Five’s Jail Suicide by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman Under an agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on April 10, 2025, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters agreed to pay $150,000 to the Estate of Esther Truax, a …
Florida Sheriff Fires Five Guards for Two Cases of Detainee Abuse by Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced on October 29, 2025, that he fired five high-ranking guards, following two separate instances of abuse toward detainees locked up at the county jail. According to Gualtieri, one incident involved a woman …
Florida Appeals Court Finds Rationale for “Sexual Predator” Label on Former Prisoner’s Drivers License by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman Prisoners released from terms for violent sexual offenses may find that Florida is not “the free state” that it claims to be. In an en banc ruling on August 15, …
Friends of Everglades v. Kristi Noem, Omnibus Order, Mass Migrant Detention, 2025 Case 1:25-cv-22896-KMW Document 131 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/21/2025 Page 1 of 82 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 25-22896-CV-WILLIAMS FRIENDS OF THE EVERGLADES, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. KRISTI NOEM, et al., Defendants. …
PLN Publisher Wins Settlement Records from Centurion in Florida Prisoner’s Wrongful Death by Chuck Sharman On June 24, 2025, Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit Court for Putnam County ruled that Centurion of Florida, LLC was acting as the functional equivalent of a state agency when it contracted with the state Department …
News in Brief by Alabama: On Sunday, June 15, 2025, state Department of Corrections (DOC) guard Airika Dorsey was arrested for allegedly smuggling food to a prisoner at St. Clair Correctional Facility, according to WABM in Birmingham. The DOC confirmed that Dorsey was caught in the act and subsequently booked …
DOJ Inspects BOP Food Service Operations, Finds Troubling Issues at Multiple Facilities by Anthony Accurso In the first week of June 2024, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted surprise inspection at six Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Food Service Departments, finding deficiencies at the facilities which …
Shady Firm Awarded $78 Million Contract for Services at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” by An obscure consulting firm in Jacksonville, Florida was awarded a $78 million contract in early July 2025 to provide a range of critical services at a hastily built immigrant detention center in the Everglades, dubbed by state …
Guaranteed Basic Income Programs for Prisoners Reduce Food Insecurity and Homelessness by Anthony Accurso The cities of Gainesville, Florida, and Durham, North Carolina, experimented with providing guaranteed basic income (GBI) to prisoners who were reentering the community, and have released information about the outcomes created by the program. Both programs …
Florida Sheriff Charged in Connection with Massive $21 Million Gambling Ring by A central Florida sheriff was arrested and charged in June 2025 in connection with a money laundering and illegal gambling operation that allegedly generated more than $20 million in profits. According to the office of Florida Attorney General …
