This new fact sheet collects data from a number of states to show that prisons using solitary confinement on a large scale pay a high price in dollars, as well as in safety and humanity. FACT SHEET — The High Cost of Solitary Confinement We hoped to also include data from the federal system, but apparently the federal […]
Month: January 2012
"The Gray Box": Must-Read Article (Plus Video) on Solitary Confinement in America
The Dart Society, which supports journalism “covering trauma, conflict and human rights,” has published an essential new article and accompanying video on solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. The story, called “The Gray Box,” is by Susan Greene, who as a columnist at the Denver Post often wrote about the widespread use of solitary in Colorado’s prisons and at the […]
83-Year-Old Activist Priest Held in Solitary Confinement in Federal Prison
Jesuit priest and peace activist Father Bill Bichsel is reportedly being held in solitary confinement at SeaTac Federal Detention Center south of Seattle. According to friends, Bichsel has not eaten solid food since January 10 in protest of his treatment. Fr. Bichsel, known to friends and colleagues as “Bix,” is a member of the Disarm Now Plowshares […]
Solitary Confinement in Great Britain: Still Harsh, But Rare
While this type of segregation is administered on a case-by-case basis and is officially non-punitive, there are some concerns that confinement orders may constitute punishment, sometimes arbitrarily. The G.O.O.D. rule is fairly open to abuse, as staff may place a prisoner in confinement merely if they believe that he may be a breach to security. Examples of […]
NYCLU to Host Meeting on Solitary Confinement in New York State
Tomorrow, the New York Civil Liberties Union will host a meeting of advocates on the issue of solitary confinement in New York State prisons. According to a report by the Correctional Association, New York State has the highest rate of disciplinary segregation in the country, and one of the highest rates of isolated segregation in general. […]
Voices from Solitary: Prison Transfer
Editors’ Note: Tewhan Butler, a leader of the Bloods in New Jersey, is five years into a 30-year in federal prison sentence. His writing appears, along with that of other former gang members now serving time, on the website Live from LockDown, a project of Raise UP! Media. On Live from Lockdown, he describes his situation this way: “Having […]
Mumia Abu-Jamal Moved Off Death Row--and into Solitary Confinement
According to his attorneys and advocates, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been moved from Pennsylvania’s Death Row to a solitary confinement cell at the State Correctional Institute at Mahanoy, in rural Frackville. After 30 years on death row, his death sentence was overturned by the federal courts. A statement and call to action being circulated by Prison Radio and the […]
The Guantánamos Next Door
LA County Jail The U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay turns 10 today, and activists are marking the anniversary with protests and petitions, reports and retrospectives. A decade after its founding, Guantánamo remains a dark stain on the national soul. Even today, while the worst instances of torture may have ceased under the Obama Administration, prisoners are […]
California Considers New Rules for Solitary Confinement in State Prisons
The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition today reports on the content of a meeting held in late December with an undersecretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), regarding the future of the state’s Security Housing Units (SHUs). Prisoners in the SHUs at Pelican Bay, Corcoran, and elsewhere are held in round-the-clock solitary […]
Solitary Confinement in Virginia's Prisons
For anyone who missed it, this front page article in Sunday’s Washington Post gives excellent coverage to the widespread use of solitary confinement in Virginia’s state prisons. It begins with a glance at one of the nation’s most notorious supermax prisons, Red Onion, and then goes on to discuss efforts to limit the use of solitary in Virginia–which […]
California Bill Would Increase Media Access to Prisoners
The nation’s supermax prisons and solitary confinement units are virtual black sites, off-limits and therefore invisible to both the public and the press. While laws vary from state to state, the media are for the most part barred from touring these facilities, and forbidden to conduct in-person interviews with prisoners being held in solitary confinement. These rules are made […]
New Report Shows Juvenile Lifers Suffering in Solitary Confinement
The United States is the only national in the world that doles out life sentences for crimes committed while the offender was below the age of 18. According to a report released yesterday by Human Rights Watch, “approximately 2,570 youth offenders serving life without parole sentences in adult US prisons,” and as inmates they “experience conditions that […]