News in Brief by Alabama: A Barbour County Sheriff’s deputy arrested two men for attempting to smuggle contraband into Ventress Correctional Facility on March 18, 2026—after they called 911 to report that they were “cold and their ride had left them” outside the state Department of Corrections (DOC) lockup. WSFA …
News in Brief by Alabama: On February 13, 2026, Jarvis Moore, a former guard at the Morgan County Jail, turned himself in to face seven counts of felony extortion lodged against him following an August 2025 investigation. According to WAFF in Huntsville, Sheriff Ron Puckett accused Moore of threatening prisoners …
Southern Poverty Law Center Report Shows Culture of Abuse at Florida Prison by Michael Thompson by Michael Thompson The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has released a new report describing a two-year investigation into the endemic culture of violence and abuse in Florida prisons, especially that of the Gulf Correctional …
News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: The Alabama Reflector reported that state lawmakers authorized $800,000 in contracts on February 5, 2026, to defend the state Department of Corrections (DOC) against civil rights lawsuits accusing guards of brutalizing prisoners. $200,000 each will be paid to Capell & Howard in …
SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman The Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) ruled on February 6, 2026, that federal prisoners seeking habeas corpus relief are not bound by the statute that limits state prisoners to one shot at their claims. …
Florida Sheriff Received $50,000 Donation from Jail Medical Contractor by Armor Health, the company that held a $24 million contract to provide healthcare at the Lee County Jail, gave local Sheriff Carmine Marceno a $50,000 donation four months before the medical contract was terminated, according to the The News-Press in …
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. …
