New this week from Solitary Watch:

To mark Mother’s Day, Solitary Watch contributing writer Kwaneta Harris and her daughter Summer Knight engage in a powerful exchange about how their bond was shattered by nearly a decade of forced silence through solitary confinement. Knight opens up about the confusion, anxiety, and fear she felt when her mother first went “into the hole.” Harris follows up this narrative by sharing about the guilt and grief she experienced being on the other side of the communication barrier. Although the aftershocks of their separation are still fresh, the mother and daughter duo use each other’s resilience and love as motivation to rebuild their bond. Ms. Magazine | Solitary Watch

This week’s pick of news and commentary about solitary confinement:

Represented by the ACLU of New Mexico, three individuals currently held in the Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM) filed a class action lawsuit with the intention to end the practice of long-term solitary confinement in the state’s Predatory Behavior Management Program (PBMP). Although PBMP was established to “fix behaviors” which threaten order in the prison, the plaintiffs allege that they have spent years confined in unsanitary, tiny cells for 23 hours a day. Currently, there are approximately 200 individuals confined in the program. ACLU-NM | A Corrections Department spokesperson claimed that PBMP differs from solitary confinement because detained individuals have access to educational opportunities, medical services, behavioral health services, and meaningful contact with staff members. However, the lawsuit argues that those within the program are regularly subjected to strip searches and left in small “outdoor cages” in extreme temperatures, as well as denied access to mental health treatment, exercise, and programming. Santa Fe New Mexican

A new legal complaint filed in Massachusetts alleges that the Trump Administration is attempting to deport Asian nationals to Libya—a country widely recognized for human rights abuses. According to reports from the detainees and their immigration attorneys, these individuals are being denied essential legal protections, including the right to request a reasonable fear screening, which assesses whether a person faces a real risk of persecution or torture if deported. Detainees who refuse to sign deportation documents are reportedly being placed in solitary confinement. This lawsuit is the latest in a long series of court allegations of the Trump Administration bypassing due process for large groups of undocumented immigrants. | Raw Story

Recent inspection reports indicate that Ohio’s youth facilities—Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility and Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility—face ongoing staff shortages, increased violence, and a growing reliance on solitary confinement. Children at Indian River were held in prolonged isolation for a total of 116,000 hours last year, a drastic increase from the 35,000 hours reported in 2023. A similar trend occurred at Circleville. Experts suggest that Ohio close its three largest youth prisons and replace them with smaller, close-to-home centers.  | The Columbus Dispatch

Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections is facing another wrongful death lawsuit at Waupun state prison. The family of Donald Maier alleges prison workers were deliberately indifferent to the 62-year-old’s physical and mental health needs. Maier died in February 2024 of dehydration and malnutrition while being held in solitary confinement. Although the prison system classified Maier as someone with serious mental illness, the lawsuit states that  no one entered Maier’s cell to provide him with medical care in the nine days before his death. Despite calls from advocates and some lawmakers to close Waupun, Gov. Tony Evers (D) laid out a proposal to keep the facility open and implement additional programming. | Wisconsin Public Radio

Joel Carter, a formerly incarcerated man from Detroit, shared his experience of being placed in solitary confinement with a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Records show that the Michigan Department of Corrections’s doctors determined Carter’s disability was likely linked to mental disorders, hallucinations, obsessive behavior, and a lack of impulse control. Advocates and legal experts express concern over the impact of isolation on individuals with serious medical conditions, arguing it may worsen health issues and raise human rights concerns. The case draws attention to the treatment of incarcerated individuals with disabilities and the use of solitary confinement in Michigan’s prison system. | Detroit Free Press

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