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Archive: 2025

March

• News in Brief (p 61)
• Pay-for-Play Tablets: The Costly New Prison Paradigm (p 1)
• No Evacuations for Los Angeles Prisoners in Wildfire’s Path (p 9)
• Former California Guard Convicted On 64 Counts of Sexually Abusing Prisoners (p 20)
• Deal to Release Cuban Prisoners Upended (p 22)
• Minnesota High Court Restores Voting Rights of Former Felons (p 26)
• Ninth and Tenth Circuits Find Bivens Extension Orders Not Immediately Appealable by Sam Rutherford (p 28)
• ABA Highlights Ohio Prisoner’s Successful Transition to Lawyer (p 28)
• HRDC Files Suit Over Censorship in California Jail (p 31)
• Suboxone Manufacturer’s Delayed-Release Buprenorphine Injections Show Promise at Maine Jail (p 31)
• DOJ Finds “Horrific and Inhumane” Conditions in Georgia Prisons by Matthew Clarke (p 32)
• Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup (p 34)
• U.S. Justice Department Investigating Tennessee CoreCivic Prison After Mother of Murdered Prisoner Reaches Settlement (p 36)
• Federal Withdrawal of Single-Drug Execution Protocol Follows Challenges in Indiana, Arizona (p 38)
• Settlement Bars Family Separations at U.S. Border Until 2031, Pays $6.4 Million in Legal Fees and Costs (p 41)
• Pennsylvania County Forgives $65 Million in Jail Pay-to-Stay Fees (p 43)
• Failures Brought to Light in Arizona Prison System’s COVID-19 Response (p 44)
• Houston Police Fire Former Jail Guard Filmed Brutalizing Detainees, Charges Against Three Other Guards Dropped (p 46)
• Sixth Circuit Upholds $6.4 Million Jury Award Against Corizon Nurses For Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Alcohol Withdrawal by Matthew Clarke (p 48)
• En Banc Fifth Circuit Reverses Panel, Holds Mississippi Felon Disenfranchisement Does Not Violate Eighth Amendment by Matthew Clarke (p 50)
• $1.5 Million Settlement For In-Custody Injury by New York Police (p 52)
• Seventh Circuit Reverses Denial of Class Certification in Suit Over Inadequate Dental Care at Chicago Jail (p 54)
• Federal Court Lets BOP Withhold Mortality Reviews Under FOIA (p 56)

February

• New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources by Sam Rutherford (p 1)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 8)
• BOP Shutters “Rape Club” in California, Director Peters Quits (p 10)
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Presumption of Innocence Not Violated by Jail Courtroom (p 11)
• Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Sleep Deprivation Claim—Again (p 12)
• San Francisco Supervisor Calls for “Mass Arrests” and Compulsory Addiction Treatment in “Drug Jails” (p 12)
• Arizona To Resume Executions (p 13)
• Washington Spends Only Fraction of Fund to Improve Prisoner Welfare (p 14)
• Prisons Don’t Fix Rural Poverty—They Make It Worse (p 14)
• Eleventh Circuit Tells BOP Prisoner in Georgia: Bivens Is On “Endangered Species List” (p 15)
• Biometric Monitoring Comes to Washington Jail (p 16)
• Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults by Douglas Ankney (p 16)
• Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction by David Reutter (p 17)
• USDC (D. Oregon), Case No. 6:22-cv-00451 by Matthew Clarke (p 18)
• U.S. Navy Exonerates Wrongly Convicted Black WWII Sailors (p 19)
• Florida to Trans Prisoners: We’re Coming for Your Bras (p 19)
• 20 South Carolina Prisoners Sentenced So Far for Deadly 2018 Riot (p 20)
• Florida Prisoners Sue Over Deadly Heat (p 22)
• Long Wait List for Texas’ Only College-Level Re-Entry Class for Prisoners (p 22)
• $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal by Anthony Accurso (p 23)
• Seventh Circuit Offers Wisconsin Prisoner Just a Little Help in Suit Alleging He Was Held in Feces-Stained Cell Without Water (p 24)
• Legal Gaffe Prolongs Case of Former St. Louis Detainee Held Eight Months After Dismissal of Charges by Matthew Clarke (p 25)
• State Forces Minneapolis Jail to Ship Out Detainees (p 26)
• Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum by Douglas Ankney (p 26)
• Michigan Allows More Releases for Medically Frail Prisoners (p 27)
• Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts by Douglas Ankney (p 28)
• Medicare Now Available to Those on Probation and Parole (p 28)
• Among World Nations, Individual U.S. States Near Top of List for Per Capita Incarceration by Matthew Clarke (p 31)
• BOP Eases Money Grab from Federal Prisoners (p 31)
• Tennessee DOC Found in Violation of ADA With Failure to Accommodate Hearing Impaired Prisoners (p 32)
• Washington DOC Physician Assistant Surrenders Medical License in Wake of Malpractice Allegations by Sam Rutherford (p 33)
• HRDC Files Suit on Behalf of Florida Man Wrongfully Convicted and Incarcerated for 31 Years (p 34)
• Federal Prison Oversight Act Becomes Law (p 35)
• Despite Prevalence, Most ADHD Behind Bars Goes Undiagnosed and Untreated (p 36)
• $9.9 Million Paid to Washington Prisoner Whose Misdiagnosed Cancer Is Now Terminal (p 36)
• Indiana Resumes Executions (p 37)
• Cuyahoga County Judges Vowed to Reform the Bail System. Here’s What Happened. by Rachel Dissell, Ilica Mahajan (p 38)
• Philadelphia Held in Contempt of Jail Conditions Settlement, Ordered to Pay $25 Million (p 41)
• Sixth Circuit: Leaman Doctrine Did Not Bar Ohio Prisoner’s Pro Se Federal Civil Rights Suit Over Interference with Legal Mail (p 43)
• Louisiana Prisoner Charged With Running Sports Gambling Operation (p 43)
• Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed by Douglas Ankney (p 44)
• DOJ Directs BOP, U.S. Marshals to Improve Suicide Prevention (p 45)
• Minnesota Supreme Court Says Randy Guard Must Face Prisoner’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Claims (p 46)
• Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing by Douglas Ankney (p 48)
• Arkansas Moving Some State Prisoners from County Jails… to a Former County Jail (p 50)
• Oregon Pays $50,000 to Settle Retaliation Suit by PLN Contributor, Who Wins Release (p 50)
• DOJ Settles Complaints About Conditions for Disabled Detroit Jail Detainees by Matthew Clarke (p 51)
• $150,000 Settlement But No Charges After Schizophrenic Florida Detainee Killed by Jail Guards (p 52)
• Oregon Holds BLM Protestor in Solitary Confinement for 250 Days (p 53)
• California Prisoner Allegedly Ran Alaska Drug Ring from His Cell (p 53)
• New York Prison Officials Found Routinely Violating HALT Act With Overuse of Solitary Confinement by Matthew Clarke (p 54)
• Harvey Weinstein Files Notice of Claim Over Rikers Island Detention (p 55)
• Prison Profiteers Ready to Help Trump Make Good on Deportation Threats (p 55)
• Ohio Guard Killed by Prisoner in Christmas Day Attack (p 56)
• Oregon DOC Investigation Puts Top Medical Officials on Leave (p 56)
• Two Mississippi Prisoners Escape in One Month (p 56)
• Charges Dismissed Against Connecticut Guards Who Assaulted Prisoner (p 57)
• California Governor Pardons Former Prisoner Podcaster of “Ear Hustle” (p 57)
• Historic $7 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Beating by Matthew Clarke (p 58)
• New York Governor Orders Firing of 13 Guards, Nurse in Prisoner’s Fatal Beating (p 59)
• Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff (p 60)
• Nearly 800 California Prisoners Battle Huge Los Angeles Wildfires—for About $1 an Hour (p 60)
• Thousands Freed from Syrian Prison (p 61)
• Tennessee Finalizes New One-Drug Execution Protocol (p 61)
• News in Brief (p 62)

January

• Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration by Douglas Ankney (p 1)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 9)
• After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review by Kevin Bliss (p 10)
• Eighth Circuit: Evidentiary Admissibility Is a “Red Herring” At Class Certification of St. Louis Jail Conditions Challenge by Douglas Ankney (p 10)
• Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling (p 12)
• Hep-C Treatment Needed in Los Angeles County Jails to Save Lives and Money (p 12)
• With Eleventh Circuit Okay, Alabama Executes Third Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia (p 13)
• Washington Prisoners Prep for Firefighting Career After Release (p 14)
• Pennsylvania Prisoner Released from Solitary After 15 Years (p 14)
• Suits Filed Over Dehydration Deaths at Two Texas Jails by Matthew Clarke (p 15)
• Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row (p 16)
• Blood in the Water Author Wins Censorship Challenges Against Illinois, New York Prison Systems by Douglas Ankney (p 17)
• Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide (p 18)
• Two-Week Lockdown at BOP Women’s Prison in Minnesota After Nine Overdoses, Two Deaths (p 19)
• Six Set Themselves on Fire at Virginia Prison in 2024 (p 19)
• Fifth Circuit Leaves Louisiana Prisoner Waiting for Reinstated Parole by Douglas Ankney (p 20)
• Nebraska Pioneers Diversion Program to Help Arrested Veterans Avoid Jail (p 22)
• Maryland Cancels Debt Owed by 6,715 Parolees (p 22)
• California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss by David Reutter (p 23)
• Ninth Circuit Greenlights Muslim Hawaii Prisoner’s Challenge to Early-Served Ramadan Meals by Douglas Ankney (p 24)
• Texas Executioners Playing Fast and Furious to Obtain Lethal Drugs (p 24)
• Details Vague on Spending from San Diego Jail Detainee Welfare Fund (p 25)
• Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss by Matthew Clarke (p 26)
• Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated by David Reutter (p 27)
• Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison” (p 27)
• $400,000 Jury Verdict for Medical Neglect Resulting in Amputation of Alabama Prisoner’s Toes (p 29)
• Wisconsin DOC Under Fire for Hiring Censured Doctors (p 29)
• Minnesota Prisoners Getting Scanned Mail, Kept Waiting 18 Months for Tablets (p 31)
• Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy (p 31)
• Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest (p 32)
• No Charges in Alabama Prisoner’s Torture, Rape and Murder (p 33)
• Guard Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force at Indiana Jail Sued Nine Times in Two Years (p 34)
• BOP Prisoners in Alabama Strike to Protest Release Date Confusion (p 35)
• Pigeonly Flies Into Telecom Turbulence, Declares Bankruptcy (p 35)
• Pennsylvania Jail Guards Accused of Ripping Surgical Pin from Detainee’s Shoulder (p 36)
• Tenth Circuit Affirms PTS Driver’s Conviction for Torturous Detainee Transport (p 36)
• Illinois Sheriff Resigns After Deputy Fatally Shoots 911 Caller (p 37)
• Four-Month Wait for 40 Percent of South Carolina Jail Detainees Needing Psychiatric Evaluation (p 38)
• Arizona DCRR Ordered to Fill Prison Medical Staff Vacancies—Again by Matthew Clarke (p 38)
• Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires (p 39)
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Missouri Guards in Transgender Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Retaliation and Unreasonable Search by Douglas Ankney (p 40)
• 150 People Sue Over Past Abuse at New York City Juvenile Facilities (p 41)
• $1.5 Million Settlement Reached for Oregon Prisoner’s Untreated Traumatic Brain Injury (p 43)
• Former Tacoma Reentry Center Severs Washington DOC Contract (p 43)
• Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA by David Reutter (p 44)
• Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated by Anthony Accurso (p 45)
• Nearly $12 Million Paid to Mentally Disabled Indiana Prisoner Wrongly Convicted of Murder by Douglas Ankney (p 46)
• “Locked In, Priced Out”: Markups and Kickbacks in Prison Commissaries (p 48)
• With HRDC Amicus Brief, Survivor of Dead Washington Prisoner Wins Public Records Case by Sam Rutherford (p 50)
• Former Kentucky Sheriff Indicted for Murdering Judge in Chambers (p 51)
• Michigan Supreme Court Greenlights Adding Restitution At Resentencing of Former Juveniles Sentenced to LWOP (p 52)
• Second Rapper Stabbed in Atlanta Jail During Record-Long Trial (p 53)
• South Dakota DOC Locks Down Third Prison in 2024 (p 53)
• New York City Held in Contempt in Long-Running Rikers Island Class-Action (p 54)
• Lawsuits by Michigan Prisoner Yield $57,750 in Settlements, Plus Policy Changes (p 56)
• Top Doc Sacked from Maryland Psych Hospital with “Climate of Chaos” (p 57)
• Colorado Legislature’s New Jail Oversight Committee Not Weighted in Detainees’ Favor (p 58)
• 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy (p 58)
• Georgia Prisoner Accused of Running $3.5 Million “Protection” Racket (p 59)
• Securus/JPay Video Calling Service Potentially Threatened by New Rate Caps (p 59)
• First Circuit Rejects Request by Securus and Pay Tel to Stay FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps (p 59)
• GOP Michigan County Commissioner Re-elected— and Headed to Federal Prison (p 60)
• Push to Digitize Rikers Island Mail Based on Faulty Drug Tests (p 61)
• “Whoppergate” Embroils Georgia Sheriff (p 61)
• News in Brief (p 62)
• Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail (p 62)