Correction1

By Leonard Greene New York Daily News ALBANY, N.Y. — Staff shortages, outdated training, low morale and a serious lack of accountability contributed to a dangerous culture of fear and violence responsible for the beating deaths of two NY state prison inmates, including Messiah Nantwi of Harlem, at the hands of correction officers, according to a new report.

By Jason Henry Los Angeles Daily News LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Superior Court is dumping cold water on the county’s $2.8 billion plan to reduce its jail population by enough to close decrepit Men’s Central Jail without a replacement in the next five years.

By Carol Robinson al.com ELMORE, Ala. — Two state prison employees are facing multiple drug and contraband charges. The Alabama Department of Corrections on Friday announced the arrests of Niana Longmire and Carmelo Hopkins. Their positions at Elmore Correctional Facility were not disclosed, but officials said both have resigned from ADOC.

By Josh Davis Baltimore Sun BALTIMORE — An Eastern Shore inmate was sentenced to life in prison last week for the murder of his cellmate at Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover. Prosecutors said Leslie Broadway, 27, and Virgil Robinson Jr . were incarcerated together in a locked cell in the prison’s segregation unit on Sept. 20, 2024 .

By James Mayse Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. OWENSBORO, Ky. — Zachary Eastwood-Barnes , an inmate at the Daviess County Detention Center, was one of seven inmates who received certificates of completion Tuesday from the jail’s reentry success program. The program teaches career skills to selected inmates with the goal of helping them secure stable employment after their release.

By James Queally Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — Several teens overdosed at a Los Angeles County juvenile hall last year after they drank from a water jug spiked with a “dangerous narcotic” that was passed around in a classroom, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed this month. The April 2025 incident at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey sent three teenagers to a hospital, months after a California oversight body ruled the facility was not a safe place for youths to be housed.

By Hailey Peck The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that Iowa’s ban on using public money to distribute pornographic materials in state prisons is constitutional, marking a victory for Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.

By Sofia Williams The Sacramento Bee SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a measure Monday that will expand judicial discretion over the state’s mental health diversion program. Assembly Bill 46, carried by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D- Elk Grove, removes a legal standard that restricted courts’ ability to deny diversion. Newsom’s signature on the bill will allow courts to prevent the diversion of violent criminals with greater ease.

By James Finn The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana’s Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a lower court decision overturning a Ouachita Parish man’s death sentence, ruling that the man’s conviction 28 years ago rested on discredited science that “no rational juror” would use to reach a guilty verdict today.

By Javon L. Harris The State (Columbia, S.C.) COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former South Carolina corrections officer, two inmates and four other people were arrested after investigators uncovered their participation in a massive bribery scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Carolina.