New this week from Solitary Watch: 

Solitary Watch reprinted an excerpt from Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull’s powerful new book The Jailhouse Lawyer: Fighting Abuse and Forced Medication at Angola Prison. In the book, Duncan—who was wrongfully convicted at 19 years old and spent more than 28 years in Louisiana prisons—recounts his time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, the largest maximum security prison in the U.S., and how he became self-taught legal counsel to others incarcerated there. The excerpt describes how residents of the facility’s mental health units were held in solitary cells and forced to take antipsychotics, and how Duncan helped to fight for their rights. Solitary Watch 

---

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

People incarcerated at the Cheshire Correctional Institution in Connecticut have been on hunger strike since July 7. The strikers’ list of 15 demands includes better living conditions, fair wages, adequate healthcare, an end to excessive lockdowns, and enforcement of the PROTECT Act, which restricts the use of solitary confinement in Connecticut prisons. NBC Connecticut 

---

Approximately 90 men incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution have gone on hunger strike to protest the facility’s “inhumane conditions.” This marks the second mass hunger strike at the prison within the past year and a half. Several men also allege that officials still have not addressed the concerns behind a May 2024 hunger strike. During the previous hunger strike, participants protested the facility’s use of solitary confinement and human feces-covered “cages” during recreation time. Idaho Statesmen 

---

Adam Bryrant, 29, died in solitary confinement at an Indiana jail on Christmas in 2022 following days of neglect by jail officials. Bryant was placed in solitary in December, where his medical condition gradually worsened over the course of five days. Video evidence contradicts claims by staff that Bryant received his prescribed medication and protein shakes the day of his death. Solitary Watch Director Jean Casella told The Guardian that the devastating impact of solitary confinement on incarcerated people, especially those with mental illness, is “a national disgrace.” The Guardian 

---

In a recent video lesson, Dr. Terry Kupers, an expert on the psychological effects of solitary confinement, spoke about the impact of isolation on our brains and bodies. Involuntary isolation that lasts for days, weeks, or months can result in chronic stress, depression, suicidal ideation, heart palpitations, hypersensitivity, hallucinations, and other harmful effects. It can even cause the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for our reasoning and sense of judgement, to shrink. Though solitary confinement is used by countries worldwide, Dr. Kupers noted that the practice was most common in the U.S. and highlighted Norway’s practices as alternatives to our prison system. TED-Ed 

---

A new pilot program at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit allows the “best-behaved” people on Texas’s death row out of solitary confinement for a few hours of group recreation each day. These men are able to share meals, meet in a common room, and hold hands for their prayer circle. Rudy Medrano, a man incarcerated on death row, said that “all these changes have given guys hope.” Houston Chronicle  

---

According to several people in Corey Dean’s unit, the 43-year-old died after weeks of suffering and being ignored by deputies at the Vista Detention Facility in San Diego, California. Dean is the sixth person to die while being held at a San Diego County jail this year alone. The county’s jails have previously used solitary confinement against people with mental illnesses, which led to the death of 32-year-old Roselee Bartolacci in 2023. San Diego Tribune 

---

A Human Rights Watch report found that immigrants detained at three Florida Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities—Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and the Federal Detention Center—are being subjected to “inhuman conditions,” including the denial of medical care, confinement in unsanitary conditions, and more. A woman held at Krome alleged that she had been punished for seeking mental health support. “If you ask for help, they isolate you [in solitary confinement],” she said. Human Rights Watch

---

A woman detained at Florida’s Baker County Detention Facility, which is operated by ICE, filed a complaint in federal court on July 16 alleging mistreatment from facility officers and wrongful placement in solitary confinement. According to the lawsuit, the woman was placed in solitary for nearly a month because officers did not understand her repeated requests for menstrual products in Spanish. Her mental health deteriorated while in solitary and she was placed in an anti-suicide smock that didn’t properly cover her naked chest. The woman alleges in the complaint that officers “laughed at her” and ogled her for the next several hours. Miami Herald 

---

Brooklyn elected officials gathered to protest the detention of over 100 immigrants at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a facility that federal judges described as “barbaric.” Local member of Congress Dan Goldman questioned the Bureau of Prisons’ interagency agreement with ICE to house detained immigrants at the facility and demanded clarity regarding funding for the agreement. Brooklyn Eagle | Sean Chaney, who spent 15 months at MDC awaiting trial, called the facility’s conditions “beyond inhumane” and “deliberately cruel.” In an essay for Voices from Solitary, he recalled frequent lockdowns at the facility, which emulated solitary confinement. Solitary Watch | Katie Rose Quandt and Maeve Brennan, reporters for Solitary Watch, found that lockdowns at the facility have become more common since the COVID-19 pandemic. Solitary Watch 

---

Federal inspectors have uncovered a long list of violations at the GEO Group-operated Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia, including refusing Catholic and Muslim detainees their right to a chaplain and placing hunger strikers in solitary confinement. Folkston, which began holding detained immigrants in 2017, has consistently received poor grades from ICE inspectors in areas such as safety, care for detainees, security, and more. The GEO Group received a $47 million contract from ICE to consolidate the center with another facility, which would make it the largest immigrant detention center in the U.S. upon completion. The Current

---

A judge granted Sadie J. King bail after she shared testimony of sexual abuse at the hands of former Portland jail Deputy Edwin Diaz. King said that Diaz began writing her letters and granting her favors, including extended out-of-cell time, while she was in administrative segregation at the Multnomah County Detention Center. Diaz is facing 25 charges, including first-degree custodial sexual misconduct for assaulting King while she was cleaning the cell block, and is on unpaid administrative leave. Oregon Live  

---

Action Alerts

Solitary Watch is looking for fall interns to help with the organization’s projects, research reporting, and outreach efforts. The application deadline is August 15. To learn more about the position and how to join our team, please see the “Internships and Volunteer Opportunities” page under the “About” tab on our website. Solitary Watch. 

---

Get this weekly roundup in your mail every Wednesday, covering the past seven days of solitary confinement news and commentary. Subscribe today.

The work we do is made possible by your support. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation—large or small—today.