More from this issue:

1. COVID-19 Injunction Lapses in Oregon, Another Fails in Massachusetts, by Mark Wilson
2. Unending ‘Crisis’ in San Diego County Jails: Hundreds Dead, Millions in Legal Payouts, by Jo Ellen Nott
3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
4. Maine Caps Price of Phone Calls in State Prisons and Jails, by Benjamin Tschirhart
5. San Diego County Pays $250,000 After Detainee Suicide in County Jail, by Jayson Hawkins
6. New Federal ‘Fresh Start’ Student Loan Policy May Help Prisoners in Default, by Matthew Clarke
7. Excessive-Force Claim by Now-Incarcerated Former Maryland Guard Survives, by Harold Hempstead
8. South Carolina Judge Halts State Executions by Electrocution and Firing Squad, by Edward Lyon, David Reutter
9. Michigan Supreme Court Says Prisoner’s Possession of Cell Phone by Itself Doesn’t Show Threat to Security, by David Reutter
10. Ohio County Pays $2.5 Million for Photographing Female Detainees’ Tattooed Private Areas, by Kevin Bliss
11. San Diego County Pays $3.488 Million After Jail Detainee Dies in Cell Extraction, by Chuck Sharman
12. Federal Judge Calls Out BOP’s ‘Plinko’ Tactics, Orders Surgeon Found for Trans Prisoner’s Gender-Confirming Procedure, by Jacob Barrett
13. San Diego County Pays $8.1 Million After Jail Guard Fatally Shot Fleeing Detainee in the Back, by Chuck Sharman
14. The Catalog of Carceral Surveillance: Tablet Advertising That Can Also Issue Discipline, by Dave Mass
15. Rifles, Tasers and Jails: How Cities and States Spent Billions of COVID-19 Relief, by Susie Cagle, Weihua Li, Anastasia Valeeva
16. North Dakota Prisoner’s Conviction for Assault on Guard Vacated Due To Erroneous Jury Instruction, by David Reutter
17. DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, by David Reutter
18. Washington DOC Fined $84,000 for Health Code Violations Found After TB Outbreak, by Jacob Barrett
19. Georgia Jail Settles Suit Filed by Mentally Ill Female Detainees With Policy Changes and $1.2 Million in Attorney Fees and Costs, by Matthew Clarke
20. Tenth Circuit Vacates Oklahoma Prisoners’ Witness Tampering Conviction, by David Reutter
21. Condemned Alabama Prisoner Now Spared Twice, by Chuck Sharman
22. Gang Violence in Texas Federal Prison Results in Two Deaths, Nationwide BOP Lockdown, by Keith Sanders
23. Hawaii Governor Finally Appoints Coordinator for State DOC Oversight Commission, by Douglas Ankney
24. $6,000 Sanction for Mississippi Federal Prosecutor Who Lied to Court About COVID-19 Vaccination Status, by David Reutter
25. Sentencing Reports Show Longer Sentences, Few Compassionate Releases, by Casey Bastian, Benjamin Tschirhart
26. Tennessee Governor Suspends Executions, Orders Investigation Into Lethal Injection Process, by Harold Hempstead
27. Nebraska Supreme Court Says Revocation of Post-Release Supervision Does Not Bar Prisoner From Earning Good Time Credit, by David Reutter
28. Seventh Circuit: Chicago Police Department’s 30-Day Claim-or-Forfeit Policy for Arrestee Property Is Constitutionally Adequate, by Casey Bastian
29. Over $386,000 Awarded to Mississippi Prisoner, Plus Hip Surgery He Was Denied, by David Reutter
30. Eighth Circuit Rules Federal Prisoner Need Only Know Item Is Prohibited To Support Conviction for Possession of Contraband, by David Reutter
31. Wisconsin Pays $8,000 To State Prisoner After Seventh Circuit Revives Retaliation Claim Against Guard Over Destroyed Legal Documents, by David Reutter
32. $215,000 Awarded to New Jersey Detainee Assaulted by Jail Guards, by Keith Sanders
33. Fifth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Texas Jailers Who Refused Medical Care to Detainee Dying of Drug Overdose, by Matthew Clarke
34. Parole Board Members Miss Work, Leaving Nebraska Prisoners Locked Up, by Benjamin Tschirhart
35. Georgia Sheriff Agrees To Provide Muslim Prisoners With Halal Meals for Ramadan, by Jacob Barrett
36. More Victims Added to Sex Abuse Indictment of Former Federal Prison Warden in California; Former Chaplain Sentenced for Role in ‘Rape Club’, by Jo Ellen Nott
37. Mississippi Attempts to Offload Prisoner Healthcare Costs Onto Medicaid, by Anthony Accurso
38. Wisconsin High Court Admits Into Evidence Secret Tape of Prisoner Made by Fellow Prisoner, by David Reutter
39. $2.1 Million Settlement for Estate of Detainee Who Committed Suicide in Scandal-Plagued Ohio Jail, by David Reutter
40. Alabama Prisoner Who Escaped With Jail Guard Lover Charged in Her Death on the Run, by Kevin Bliss
41. Experimenting on Prisoners: New California Lawsuits Reveal Old Abuses, by Eike Blohm, MD
42. Fifth Circuit Upholds Nearly $13.5 Million Restitution Order Against Federal Prisoner, by Anthony Accurso
43. Maine Settles Suit Over COVID-19 Jobless Benefits Seized From Prisoners, by Jayson Hawkins
44. News in Brief

More from David Reutter:

• Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
• ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025
• First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, Feb. 15, 2025
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025
• The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025
• California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025
• Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, Jan. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, Jan. 15, 2025
• In Failure-to-Treat Claims, Wellpath Denied Dismissal in Virginia, Settles in Pennsylvania, Dec. 15, 2024
• Trends Show Mortality Risks Increase with Higher Jail Turnover Rates, Dec. 15, 2024

More from these topics:

• Massachusetts Supreme Court Vacates Threat-Based Conviction on First Amendment Grounds Because Jury Instructions Failed to Include Mens Rea Element Mandated by Counterman for ‘True-Threat’ Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Resentencing, Threats, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
• Ohio Supreme Court Announces Self-Defense Jury Instruction Does Not Require Intent to Harm or Kill Assailant, Oct. 1, 2024. Defenses, Jury Instructions, Motive/Opportunity/Intent/Identity Evidence.
• Fourth Circuit Vacates Where Instructions Failed to Inform Jury That Mens Rea of ‘Knowingly or Intentionally’ Applies to ‘Except as Authorized’ in 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), June 15, 2024. Jury Instructions, Essential Elements of Crime, Mens Rea Element, Elements of Offense, Failure to Instruct on Scienter Requirement.
• Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury, Dec. 15, 2023. Jury Instructions, Criminal Procedure, Fair Trial, Verdicts.
• Nearly 5,000 Sexual Victimizations Counted in Three Years in U.S. Prisons and Jails, Oct. 15, 2023. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Staff Assault, Staff-Staff Assault, Databases, BOP Litigation Reports.
• California Supreme Court Vacates Second Degree Murder Conviction Where Jury Instructed on Now Invalid Felony-­Murder Theory, Oct. 1, 2023. Jury Instructions, New Trial Motions, Murder/Felony Murder.
• New York Court of Appeals Announces When an Alternate Juror Is ‘Discharged’ and no Longer ‘Available for Service’, May 15, 2023. Jury Instructions, Jurors - Alternates.
• Hawaii Supreme Court: Plain Error Not Providing ‘Incidental Restraint’ Jury Instruction Where Kidnapping Only Charge After Dismissing Abuse Charges Prior to Trial, April 15, 2023. Restraints, Jury Instructions, Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Plain/Harmless Error.
• New Jersey Supreme Court: Allowing Jury to Hear Defendant’s Invocation of Right to Counsel in Recorded Statement Together With Prosecutor Inferring Guilt Based on Request for Counsel Entitles Defendant to New Trial, March 15, 2023. Jury Instructions, New Trial Motions, Counsel - Right to, Perjury/Perjured Testimony.
• Hundreds Convicted by Split Juries Will Have New Trials After Oregon Supreme Court Decision, Jan. 12, 2023. Jury Instructions, New Trial Motions.