More from this issue:

1. Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail, by Douglas Ankney
2. Alabama Guards Still Harming Prisoners, Overcrowding Set to Increase as Governor Slashes “Good Time”, by Chuck Sharman, Jo Ellen Nott
3. Prolonged COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions Net Georgia Jails Over $1.5 Million in Telecom Kickbacks, by Jordan Arizmendi
4. Atlanta Federal Prison Gets Another Reboot, by Chuck Sharman
5. Protest Damages Massachusetts Jail that Sheriff Wants to Update, by Jo Ellen Nott
6. Third Circuit Revives Forced-Labor Claims of Jailed Pennsylvania Child Support Debtors, by Matthew Clarke
7. Biden Commutes 31 Federal Drug Sentences, by Jordan Arizmendi
8. BOP Closes Deadliest Unit, by Chuck Sharman
9. Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to DOC Policy Restricting His Religious Headwear, by Douglas Ankney
10. Ohio Governor Reprieves Three Condemned Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
11. Connecticut GOP Lawmakers Force Governor to Replace Pardon Board Chair, Stopping All Commutation Hearings, by Jordan Arizmendi
12. Flooding Causes Evacuation of 1,075 Detainees from California Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
13. California College Offers Housing, Services to Formally Incarcerated Students, by Keith Sanders
14. SCOTUS Orders Last-Minute Stay of Execution for Oklahoma Death Row Prisoner Richard Glossip
15. Prison Looks Different for Two Celebrity Women, by Jordan Arizmendi
16. Alabama Prisoner’s Family Sues Over Allegedly Botched Execution, by Chuck Sharman
17. Vermont Sheriff Locked Out of National Crime Database, Facing Impeachment, by Chuck Sharman
18. Arizona Prisoner Released from Death Row, by Chuck Sharman
19. Executive Inaction: States and Federal Government Fail to Use Commutations as a Release Mechanism, by Katie Rose Quandt, Naila Awan
20. Senators Spank DOJ for Failure to Implement Death-in-Custody Reporting Act
21. Former Prisoner Uses “Look Back” Window to Sue for Sexual Abuse at Shuttered New York Prison, by David Reutter
22. Corizon Executes “Texas Two-Step,” Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners, by Matthew Clarke
23. Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records, by David Reutter
24. Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, by Matthew Clarke
25. Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
26. Cuyahoga County Sheriff Stripped of Jail Commissary Control After $500,000 in Inventory Goes Missing, by David Reutter
27. Washington State Initiative to Expand Jail Ballot Access Faces Local Pushback, by David Reutter
28. Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, by Kevin Bliss
29. Corizon Bankruptcy Stalls Suit By Alleged Rape Victims of Rikers Island Guard, by Chuck Sharman
30. Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, by Kevin Bliss
31. DOJ Finds Louisiana ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ to Prisoners Incarcerated Long Past Their Release Dates, by Matthew Clarke
32. Seventh Circuit: Cook County Jail Grievance Procedure An “Incomprehensible Trap”, by Douglas Ankney
33. Prisoner Health Update: HIV, by Eike Blohm, MD
34. Ninth Circuit Affirms Expanded Relief for Disabled California Prisoners in Long-Running Class Action, by David Reutter
35. Idaho Revives Firing Squads, by Kevin Bliss
36. $82 Million For Detainee Death in Oklahoma Jail is “Largest Civil Rights Death Claim in U.S. History”, by Matthew Clarke
37. SCOTUS Overrules Arizona Supreme Court, Allows Death Row Prisoner to Proceed With State Habeas Action, by Matthew Clarke
38. $30,000 Paid by Michigan to Prisoner Wrongfully Classified as Sex Offender, by David Reutter
39. Fifth Circuit Kills Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Whose Release Dates Were Incorrectly Calculated, by David M. Reutter
40. New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, by Keith Sanders
41. Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Benjamin Tschirhart
42. Fourth Circuit: Federal Prisoner in North Carolina Making Rehabilitation Act Claim Must Exhaust Both BOP Grievance Process and Justice Department’s EEO Complaint Process, by David Reutter
43. Missouri Prisoner Illegally Condemned by Illiterate Juror Executed Anyway, by Chuck Sharman
44. Ohio Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner Another $1,000 for Denied Records, by Keith Sanders
45. Four Month Prison Term for BOP Compliance Monitor in Miami Who Sexually Abused Prisoner on His Case Load, by Jo Ellen Nott
46. Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violations After Stonewalling in Prisoner Lawsuits, by Douglas Ankney
47. Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to N.Y. Prison Official Who Imposed Post-Release Supervision on Prisoner – But Reverses Damages Award, by David Reutter
48. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, Feb. 15, 2025
• Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, Feb. 15, 2025
• Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, Feb. 15, 2025
• Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, Feb. 15, 2025
• California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements, Feb. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed, Feb. 15, 2025
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing, Feb. 15, 2025
• Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims, Feb. 1, 2025
• NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem, Jan. 15, 2025
• Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, Jan. 15, 2025

More from these topics:

• Lawsuits by Michigan Prisoner Yield $57,750 in Settlements, Plus Policy Changes, Jan. 15, 2025. Settlements, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices.
• Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, Aug. 15, 2023. State Law Claims, Religious Practices.
• Fourth Circuit: Religious Headwear Policy Violated Virginia Prisoner’s Rights, April 1, 2023. Religious Grooming, Religious Practices.
• Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim He Was Wrongfully Fired From Prison Commissary for Attending Religious Service, March 1, 2023. Religious Discrimination, Commissary, Religious Practices.
• Seventh Circuit Sides With Muslim Prisoner, Bars Strip Search by Transgender Wisconsin Guard, March 1, 2023. Strip Searches, Religious Practices, Discrimination (Transgender).
• Fourth Circuit Says Virginia May Require Muslim Prisoner to Purchase Prayer Oil From Vendor Also Selling Pork and “Idols”, Sept. 1, 2022. Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Practices.
• U.S. Supreme Court Grants Texas Prisoner Religious Touch and Audible Prayer During Execution, Sept. 1, 2022. Death Penalty/Death Row, Religious Practices.
• Tenth Circuit Reinstates Federal Prisoner’s Claim Against BOP Over Denial of Muslim Group Prayer Five Times a Day, Aug. 1, 2022. Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices.
• “One of the Most Egregious Violations of Church-State Separation” Prisons Welcome Fundamentalist Christian Education Programs Despite Conflicts with the Constitution, July 15, 2022. Religious Freedom, Religious Practices.
• Sixth Circuit: Michigan DOC’s Years-Long Delay in Access to Religious Services and Items Constitutes Constructive Denial of Religious Exercise, June 1, 2022. Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices.