A year in review is rarely pretty, and 2015 was no exception. Here’s a brief list of the some of the biggest stories that made it a year to remember, and soon leave behind.

Inmates are dying, jail guards are breaking laws and sending racist texts, and worse, some may even be raping the men and women behind bars.

Correctional officers at Santa Clara County's Main Jail are apparently more likely to use force against inmates during the night shift.

A new class action lawsuit brought by two inmates claims Santa Clara County’s use of solitary confinement is inhumane and unconstitutional.

A 51-year-old inmate died Friday after jailors found him passed out in his cell at Elmwood, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

An oversight board tasked with examining Santa Clara County jails decided against disbanding, despite concerns that a parallel probe would undermine its work.

A commission assigned to investigate local jails meets Saturday. Its first order of business: deciding whether to call the whole thing off.

San Jose's retired civilian police auditor, LaDoris Cordell, will lead a task force assigned to investigate Santa Clara County's jails.

Santa Clara County is trying to hire more psychiatrists after years of leaving the jails understaffed.

Santa Clara County is accepting applications for a commission that will examine local jails in response to the fatal beating of a mentally ill inmate.

Officials investigating the death of a Santa Clara County inmate found no evidence of foul play, though they did not determine a definitive cause of death.

A month after an inmate’s fatal beating at Santa Clara County’s Main Jail, another inmate has been found dead.

Following the beating death of a mentally ill inmate, Santa Clara County leaders have called for a top-to-bottom investigation of local jails.

Three correctional officers arrested last week on suspicion of beating to death an inmate have been officially charged with murder.

Three Santa Clara County correctional officers were placed on leave after an inmate’s death, raising concern about excessive use of force behind bars.