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 …
Five Prisoners in Georgia Injured in Fight, Two Months After Three Prisoners Were Killed by On March 23, 2026, five prisoners at Georgia’s Dooly State Prison in Unadilla required medical attention after a fight broke out at one of the prison’s dormitories. The Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) has so …
Two Detainees Captured After Escape from Southwest Georgia Jail by On February 8, 2026, two detainees facing charges including murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery escaped from the Sumter County Jail. Detainees Rickey Martin, 20, and Kentravious Holmes, 21, reportedly fled through a faulty maintenance door on the jail’s ceiling …
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 …
Georgia Grand Jury Scolds Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On January 16, 2025, a grand jury in Georgia’s Richmond County reported that its inspection of the County jail revealed serious overcrowding, with mattresses on the floor pressing many cells into …
Report Finds Persistent Overcrowding Drives Cascade of Problems at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman Analyzing population data at the overcrowded Fulton County Jail (FCJ) in Atlanta, a report from the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on January 27, 2026, found that …
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 …
Escape from Georgia Jail Ends in Florida after Lyft Hijacking by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Knott In escape from Georgia’s DeKalb County Jail concluded in Florida on December 23, 2025, following a multi-state manhunt, according to The Guardian. Stevenson Charles, 24, Yusuf Minor, 31, and Naod …
Three Prisoners Killed in Fight at Georgia Prison by On January 12, 2026, three prisoners were killed after a fight broke out at the Washington State Prison, a medium-security facility in Davisboro, Georgia, which is around 135 miles south of Atlanta. A guard and 12 other prisoners were also injured …
Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman On January 16, 2025, a grand jury in Georgia’s Richmond County reported that its inspection of the County jail revealed serious overcrowding, with mattresses on the floor pressing many cells into …
Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On December 1, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that jailers could not be held liable for the death of a …
Georgia Bristles at Federal Law that Prohibits Drone Interceptions by The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) prisons are buckling under a 15-­year high incarceration rate, now exceeding 50,000, and projected to climb past 55,000 by 2030 due to tougher sentencing. Simultaneously, guard staffing …
$600,000 Awarded So Far in Disgraced Georgia Sheriff’s Trial for Abusing Detainee in Restraint Chair by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia awarded $600,000 in compensatory damages on December 4, 2025, to a former pretrial detainee at the …
News in Brief by California: A suit filed in state Superior Court for San Francisco County on December 1, 2025, accuses the New York Post and Los Angeles Times of defaming Nima Momeni, 41, while he was detained in the County’s San Bruno jail before his December 2024 murder trial. …
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 …
USA v. Fulton County, GA, Monitor's First Report, Jail Conditions, 2025 Case 1:25-cv-00024-LMM Document 15-1 Filed 08/21/25 Page 1 of 40 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. FULTON COUNTY AND SHERIFF PATRICK LABAT, IN HIS OFFICIAL …
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 …
News in Brief by Alabama: Elmore County Jail guard Lita Williams, 57, was arrested and charged with first-degree promoting prison contraband on May 21, 2025, the Wetumpka Herald reported. Her arrest followed discovery of a cellphone in a jail cell during a routine search two weeks prior. Data from the …
Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds by Douglas Ankney On December 23, 2024, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, affirmed the grant of qualified immunity (QI) to defendant officials with the Georgia Department of …
Auburn University’s Prison Education Program ‘Indefinitely Suspended’ by Charlotte West Longstanding prison education programs at two major public research universities in the South face an uncertain future by Charlotte West Just a few months after Georgia State University announced last spring that it would end its college program for incarcerated …
