New this week from Solitary Watch:

In the latest, two-part installment of Voices from Solitary, incarcerated writer Jacob Barrett writes about his 30 years of incarceration, 21.5 of which he spent in solitary confinement. His piece examines how prolonged isolation combined with oppressive power structures within the prison system whittle away at people’s mental wellbeing and humanity, ultimately reducing individuals to poorly maintained state property. Barrett disagrees with the notion that solitary confinement is a living death because there is a finality to death, a release from suffering that is absent from prolonged isolation. “It is a death in which my humanity is reduced by the state as a matter of law and policy, and my uniqueness and worth are denied by those tasked with overseeing me as a part of that law and policy structure,” Barrett said. Part 1 | Part 2

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

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indefinitely detained a group of Venezuelan men at Prairieland Detention Center in Texas after a last-minute Supreme Court decision stopped their deportation to El Salvador. According to some of the men’s testimonies, ICE has isolated them in solitary confinement, where they have lost access to communication devices, clean clothes, and the ability to leave their cells. Many of the detained men now fear for their lives as ICE has appealed against their already approved bonds, leaving their futures uncertain. “We ask what’s going to happen. “I don’t know what you want to do with me,” one man told an official, “Well, do you want to disappear me?” Capital & Main

Keith LaMar, a man who has spent 30 years on death row and is fighting to stop his pending execution, spoke recently about his case, mobilization, and the reality of solitary confinement. LaMar maintains his innocence after a 1993 uprising at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, where he was imprisoned at the time, led to him being charged with nine murders. He said one of the most devastating aspects of death row is witnessing solitary confinement’s soul-crushing and sensory-depriving nature unravel the humanity of young people in real time. Keegan Stephan, LaMar’s lawyer, said he and a group of attorneys have discovered new evidence that supports LaMar’s innocence and are initiating the litigation process to liberate him. Democracy Now

Colorado passed a historic bill and became the first state to recognize prison visitation as a right instead of a privilege. The bill states that any person confined in a correctional facility has the right to visitation, whether it be contact visits, non-contact visits, family visits, or calls via phone or video. Though the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) can still set certain restrictions, it won’t be permitted to deprive people of contact visits for more than 30 days and phone calls for more than five days. The bill is a huge win for those isolated in solitary confinement, who often have limited access to visitation. Filter

A Texas mother spoke about the conditions her son, Joshua Beasley Jr., endured at various juvenile corrections facilities and adult prisons before taking his own life. According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of his parents, Beasley was incarcerated when he was 11 and spent the majority of the next five years in solitary confinement across various facilities. During this time, he was denied regular contact with his mother, the ability to leave his cell, and parole for self-harming and attempting suicide while in isolation. Beasley was eventually transferred to an adult prison where, the lawsuit states, he was further barred from contacting his mother and often kept naked in solitary confinement. He died by suicide when an officer left him for two hours after he’d been complaining about his lack of access to a phone. Austin Chronicle 

Emile Suotonye DeWeaver, a formerly incarcerated writer, reflected on his incarceration, his upbringing, and how writing eventually helped commute his prison sentence. Having received a life sentence at 19 and being placed in solitary confinement, DeWeaver questioned whether he’d ever get out of prison. While in isolation, he thought back to how his writing skills had previously helped him achieve things he’d deemed impossible and determined that he would “write [his] way out of prison.” Truthout

Edwin Rubis, a writer incarcerated for nearly three decades over a nonviolent marijuana charge, wrote from solitary confinement about the conditions he faced while isolated. When recounting how his only out-of-cell time was during the three four-minute showers he was afforded each week, Rubis stresses how prison staff constantly dehumanize those isolated. He stated that the biggest challenge of  “the hole” is psychological. “Whatever the case,” wrote Rubis, “I must endure through this place where my life choices don’t have any value, where I’m just another number without a name, where I’m just another orange animal in a prison cage. Truthout

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