Incarcerated Writer Held in Solitary in Texas…and Other News on Solitary Confinement This Week
Seven Days in Solitary for the Week Ending 1/22/25
New this week from Solitary Watch:
The latest entry in our Voices from Solitary series features excerpts from the new book Unit 29: Writings from Parchman Prison. Including the work of more than 30 incarcerated individuals, the volume depicts the gritty reality of life at Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as the Parchman Farm. Following a 2020 federal investigation into the prison’s conditions, the state’s governor commissioned parts of Unit 29—deemed the most brutally violent unit—to be shut down. However, 34 men still remain locked down there on death row. Portraying life in the aftermath of the deadly riots that took place on Unit 29 from December 2019 through April 2020, the collection documents the unfathomable living conditions and profound trauma of solitary confinement. The book is available for purchase in eBook, paperback, or hardcover through VOX Press or Amazon. Solitary Watch
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This week’s pick of news and commentary about solitary confinement:
Incarcerated writer Jeremy Busby claims Texas prison officials are censoring his mail, denying him phone privileges despite expired restrictions, destroying his personal property and legal paperwork, and enacting other forms of harassment while he is held in solitary confinement. Busby believes this treatment to be retaliation for his reporting about systemic issues in the state’s prison. One example of this reporting is his Ridgeway Reporting Project piece—published by Slate—on a Texas prison’s use of telephone-booth-sized holding cages to house suicidal individuals. Despite these conditions, Busby continues to write articles. In his latest op-ed, he reflects on a recent visit to the prison’s infirmary where he encountered an attack dog that was later used on a mentally ill person who had barricaded himself into his cell. The Dissenter
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Falcon Correctional and Community Services, Inc., a consulting and management firm, is set to begin on-site visits to Wisconsin prisons next week. The visits are the next step in a comprehensive six-month study into conditions at Wisconsin facilities which will result in a report with “actionable recommendations and a roadmap for addressing behavioral health, health care and correctional practices, including restrictive housing, and their impact on [incarcerated people] and staff.” Falcon’s involvement in the state’s plan to improve conditions in Wisconsin facilities comes after prison reform advocates called for additional review into solitary confinement and other issues during their testimony to Wisconsin’s 2023 Assembly Committee on Corrections. Wisconsin Examiner.
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In December 2024, Robert Brooks died hours after New York corrections officers beat him while handcuffed inside the medical unit at Marcy Correctional Facility. In response, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) ordered more than a dozen employees to be fired. Advocates argue that simply firing prison guards is not adequate enough to hold abusive administration accountable. A 2023 investigation by The Marshall Project found that of the nearly 300 cases where the state’s corrections department tried to fire guards for abusing prisoners or covering it up, the officer was successfully terminated only 10% of the time. Brooks’s case is still pending and no charges have been brought against the officers involved; however, previous reporting reveals that such actions are difficult because officers often work together to conceal violent assaults by lying to investigators and on official reports. In some cases, officers even file charges against their victims and send them to solitary confinement. The Marshall Project
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The family of Tamario Smith, who died in custody at Santa Cruz County Jail, reached a settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit. Smith, who had a documented history of mental illness including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes, was in custody for four months when he died in solitary confinement on May 10, 2020. During the two medical appointments he had while incarcerated, the facility’s psychiatrist violated jail policies by failing to order a routine blood panel or review Smith’s medical records before prescribing him psychotropic drugs. Smith later showed signs of low blood sodium and overhydration, which his family alleged are symptoms of the prescribed drugs. In an attempt to alleviate these symptoms, Smith drank dirty mop bucket water filled with toxic cleaning fluid, and later died from acute water intoxication. Although thirteen people have died in the Santa Cruz County Jail since 2012, Smith’s death finally led to the establishment of an Office of Inspector General, tasked with conducting independent oversight over the county’s jail conditions. Times Publishing Group
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Staff at South Carolina’s Juvenile Detention Center allowed a teenager with a history of suicide attempts to drink bleach before locking him in solitary confinement for days. Amaury Baker has filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s Department of Juvenile Justices, arguing that these alleged abuses were a violation of his constitutional rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Baker suffered from depression, anxiety, and PTSD, which are classified as disabilities under federal law. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that correctional staff failed to intervene and/or enabled other individuals incarcerated at the facility to beat Baker on various occasions. Baker’s attorneys are also representing other teens suing the department and its staff for sexual harassment and assault. Post and Courier
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Incarcerated poet Sabir Shabazz reflects on how he found light in solitary confinement while at the federal supermax prison, ADX, in Florence, Colorado, a facility well-documented for its inhumane conditions. Determined to make his life a little more comfortable, Shabazz warmed up cold and undercooked meals with the light fixture, built solidarity with other individuals in solitary through daily exercise, and cultivated meaningful friendships with like-minded people. “Sure, I carry the trauma of what I experienced,” said Shabazz, “but I also carry strength and wisdom from lessons forged in solitary.” Prison Journalism Project
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Action Alerts for this week:
Unlock the Box, the national campaign to end solitary confinement, is currently seeking signatures on a petition to investigate and end the abuse and torture in Virginia’s Red Onion state prison. Reportedly, at least six incarcerated individuals have burned themselves in a last-resort plea for transfer to a different facility after being abused by correctional staff. Unlock the Box
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