Solitary Watch’s James Ridgeway was interviewed yesterday on WBUR radio’s “Here and Now” program on the release of Jamie and Gladys Scott. You can listen to the interview here: http://www.hereandnow.org/2010/12/30/mississippi-sister-robbery. Our original story on the Scott sisters–one of the first to appear–can be found here: http://solitarywatch.com/about/for-jamie-scott-an-11-robbery-in-mississippi-may-carry-a-death-sentence/. Our thoughts on the reasons why Haley Barbour might […]
Month: December 2010
After 16 Years Behind Bars for an $11 Robbery, the Scott Sisters Will Be Free at Last
The following announcement was issued today by Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi, regarding Jamie and Gladys Scott. We were among the first non-local media sources to write about the Scott sisters case, back in March. The full story of their arrest and incarceration, and Jamie Scott’s struggle to stay alive in prison, can be found here and here, […]
Santa Was in Prison and Jesus Got the Death Penalty
As Christmas is celebrated in Incarceration Nation, it’s worth remembering certain things about the two figures who dominate this holiday. As more than 3,000 Americans sit on death row, we revere the birth of a godly man who was arrested, “tried,” sentenced, and put to death by the state. The Passion is the story of an […]
Wilbert Rideau on Solitary Confinement: "The Zenith in Human Cruelty"
The American Constitution Society has run a new piece by Wilbert Rideau, describing his time in solitary confinement. As the ACS’s introduction describes him, “Wilbert Rideau is author of In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance, a memoir that recounts his 44 years in prison, where he became a journalist and won several […]
The Brutality of Supermax Confinement
Not to be missed by Solitary Watchers is a new article on supermax confinement published in the Boston Review. The piece is by Lance Tapley, known for his investigative reporting on the subject from Maine in the Portland Phoenix. This comprehensive piece, which deserves to be read in full, makes a strong case for identifying solitary confinement–and the […]
Georgia Prisoners' Strike: "We locked ourselves down."
In a protest that appears to be spreading through Georgia’s prison system, inmates are striking for better conditions. One interesting facet of this rare prison strike, which reaches across multiple facilities and across racial and factional lines, is the participants’ use of self-imposed lockdown to serve their own goals. Lockdown, in which prisoners are confined to their cells for up […]
WikiLeakers Held in Solitary Confinement
Both of the men at the center of the WikiLeaks case are now in some form of solitary confinement, though the differences in their conditions of confinement are significant. As the Guardian reported yesterday, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange has been transferred to the segregation unit at Wandsworth Prison, the Victorian rock in southwest London. Assange was remanded […]
ACLU and Experts Slam Findings of Colorado DOC Report On Solitary Confinement
This press release, issued by the ACLU of Colorado this week under the headline used for this post, speaks for itself. The ACLU of Colorado and leading forensic psychology experts are questioning the findings of a report released by the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) on the psychological effects of solitary confinement. The report, titled “One […]