by Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent
August 22, 2025

For six years, Honesty Jade Bishop was held in solitary confinement in a Missouri prison after she was sexually assaulted by her cellmate.

The Department of Corrections deemed that Bishop, a transgender woman who was living with HIV, was sexually active and needed to be isolated. And from 2015 to 2021, she was in administrative segregation at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, a prison that houses men.

A federal lawsuit filed on Bishop’s behalf in 2023 after her parole says her prolonged time in solitary confinement caused “depression, hopelessness, severe anxiety and feeling as if she were going insane and reaching a mental breaking point.” It also, the lawsuit says, drove her to “physically self-harm including attempts to take her own life.”

On Wednesday, the department agreed to a settlement, setting new policies and training requirements. But Bishop died before the settlement could be reached, taking her own life in October 2024.

“My sister, Honesty, was a fighter who never gave up,” Latasha Monroe, Bishop’s sister, said in a news release from the MacArthur Justice Center Thursday. “She endured years of cruel treatment because of her HIV status, but she never stopped believing that things could change. This settlement honors her memory and ensures that others won’t have to suffer what Honesty went through. Her courage in speaking out has created lasting changes.”

Monroe continued the lawsuit on behalf of her sister’s estate. There was a monetary award in addition to the policy and training changes, but the amount has not been released.

Lambda Legal and law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon also participated with MacArthur Justice Center in representing Bishop.

Shubra Ohri, senior counsel at the MacArthur Justice Center, said she first met Bishop soon after she was released from isolation and got to know well after her parole.

“She was a bright person who had to cope with a really torturous experience, basically,” Ohri said. “And you know, despite being bright and despite being hopeful and really productive, I could tell she was struggling with things.”

Bishop was in prison after being sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2014, according to a report on the settlement prepared by Midwest Newsroom and The Marshall Project. During a scuffle with police as they tried to arrest her in 2011 for a misdemeanor stealing charge, Bishop bit an officer and was charged with assaulting an officer and recklessly risking an HIV infection.

Bishop began transitioning after arriving at Jefferson City Correctional Center. During her time in isolation, Ohri said, “she was denied, like a lot of things, that would help affirm her identity as a transgender woman, which really had an amplified impact on her mental health.”

At the time of the assault, and until the settlement, the department policy was to place anyone with HIV into isolation if they were deemed sexually active, Ohri said in an interview Thursday with The Independent.

“It was very, very obviously an unconstitutional policy,” she said.

The Midwest Newsroom/Marshall Project report states that, as of January 2025, there were 218 people with HIV incarcerated in Missouri.

Karen Pojmann, spokeswoman for the state department of corrections, did not respond to a request for comment on the settlement. 

Going forward, any incarcerated person with a communicable disease will be evaluated individually to determine if they need to be in administrative segregation to prevent the infection from spreading, according to the settlement

“This settlement represents a critical victory in our ongoing fight against HIV criminalization and discrimination,” Jose Abrigo, Lambda Legal HIV Project director, said in the news release. “For too long, correctional systems across the country have subjected people living with HIV to punitive and medically unjustified isolation based on outdated stigma rather than modern science.”

HIV can be controlled with medication to the point that the virus is not transmissible. Part of the settlement mandates new training for corrections officers on HIV transmissibility, as well as the law on disability-based discrimination, Ohri said.

“The hope is that combined, the policy change and the training,” Ohri said, “would really drive home that what happened to Honesty, putting someone in segregation who may have HIV, but was on medication, that there’s no reason for it.”

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

The post Missouri settles lawsuit over prison isolation policies for people with HIV appeared first on missouriindependent.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This content highlights issues related to the treatment of marginalized groups, such as transgender individuals and people living with HIV, within the prison system. It emphasizes systemic injustices, advocates for policy reform, and supports civil rights organizations involved in legal advocacy. The focus on social justice, healthcare rights, and institutional accountability aligns with center-left perspectives that prioritize equity and reform within existing structures.

SUMMARY: Shannon County Coroner Allen Ford fears arrest due to ongoing conflicts with Sheriff Steven Hogan, who accuses Ford of interfering in investigations and harassment. Hogan announced felony charges against Ford, though the prosecutor has not received them. Ford, serving since January and with EMS experience since 2010, denies wrongdoing and cites state law granting coroners authority over death investigations. He claims Hogan’s alleged bullying and interference have caused stress and hindered his work. The dispute has created tension in the small county of 7,275 residents, with Ford expressing concern over his safety and the sheriff’s office’s impact on the county’s reputation.

Read the full article

The post ‘He has overreached his authority’; Shannon County Coroner speaks out against Sheriff’s allegations appeared first on www.ozarksfirst.com

by Jonathan Shorman, Missouri Independent
August 21, 2025

Election officials turned over at the highest rate in at least a quarter century during the last presidential election, according to new research from the Bipartisan Policy Center.

An analysis of shifts in election officials published Tuesday found nearly 41% of election officials administering the 2024 election were different than those in 2020. Turnover has accelerated over the past two decades, rising from about 28% in 2004 to 40.9% last year.

The growing percentage of departing election officials comes after years of challenges. They navigated the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as harassment and false conspiracy theories surrounding stolen elections that persist today.

The analysis released by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based group that seeks to foster policy cooperation across party lines, represents an updated version of a report that previously examined turnover from 2004 to 2022. The new research, which extends the data through 2024, shows the turnover rate continued to climb.

The change means that, over time, election officials have less experience. The research found that the share of chief local election officials with six or more years in their role has dropped from 60% in 2006 to 47% in 2024.

But last year, 60% of election officials had previously overseen the administration of a presidential election in their jurisdiction.

“Despite increasing turnover and loss of experience, the majority of chief election officials still have experience running at least one presidential election cycle,” the analysis said. “This is important because presidential elections typically see the highest turnout and are the most visible elections administered.”

The analysis found that over the long term, election official turnover rates have been rising gradually in small jurisdictions, defined as areas with fewer than 100,000 voting-age residents. But large jurisdictions have experienced a more sudden jump in turnover.

Small jurisdictions had a 27% turnover rate in 2004 that had risen to 40% in 2024. But large jurisdictions enjoyed a turnover rate as low as 31% in 2018 before climbing rapidly to nearly 46% last year.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

The post Turnover among election officials reaches new high, report finds appeared first on missouriindependent.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This content presents factual information based on research from the Bipartisan Policy Center, an organization known for promoting cooperation across party lines. The article maintains a neutral tone by focusing on election worker turnover data without editorializing or pushing a partisan agenda. It provides context on challenges election officials have faced while avoiding politically charged language, reflecting a balanced and nonpartisan approach.