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

President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of former Republican Representative George Santos, citing concern over Santos’s placement in solitary. Trump announced the move on Truth Social, stating: “George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY.” NBC News | Santos served just 84 days of his seven-year sentence and spent nearly half his time in solitary confinement. In an interview following his release, Santos stated that now “there is nothing more that I want to do than to focus and dedicate my entire life to prison reform.” The Washington Post | While in solitary confinement, Santos wrote a letter appealing to President Trump’s “sense of justice and humanity” and asking not for sympathy or fairness, but “for the chance to rebuild.” “Life in SHU [Special Housing Unit] is unlike anything most Americans could ever comprehend,” wrote Santos. “[N]o man, no matter his flaws, deserves to be lost in the system, forgotten and unseen, enduring punishment far beyond what justice requires.” South Shore Press | Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had lobbied both the White House and Justice Department to intervene on Santos’s behalf, publicly thanked President Trump. Greene wrote that Santos “was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!” The Guardian | While Santos’s high-profile case has brought attention to the issue of solitary confinement, it does not change the fact that over 11,000 people are currently being held in solitary confinement in the federal prison system, some with no end in sight. Federal Bureau of Prisons 

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A recent report from the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit watchdog agency, affirms findings from 2021 showing that prison officials are failing to implement solitary confinement reforms mandated under the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act and to ensure the administration of mental health services. “There is an inconsistent experience of programming within the Residential Rehabilitative Units, which were created by HALT to provide therapeutic interventions and out-of-cell programming for people who are serving disciplinary confinement sanctions,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association. WQXR | New York State Governor Kathy Hochul is negotiating with state lawmakers to change provisions of a bill intended to increase correctional oversight by tripling the size of the Commission on Correction, among other provisions. Former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, now leader of the End Prison Violence campaign, stated that the bill’s supporters are struggling “to get the governor to sign it without amending us to death.” Gothamist | At the same time, in an effort to alleviate the overreliance on solitary caused in part by overcrowding, advocates gathered outside Hochul’s office to urge clemency for “individuals who have shown genuine transformation, and whose release would pose no public safety risk.” Amsterdam News 

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New York State and City elected officials toured a care center for incarcerated people at Bellevue Community Hospital in New York. The tour was scheduled after months of inquiries into the unopened unit and a transparency letter from elected officials to City Hall. The 100-bed unit, funded with over $200 million taxpayer dollars, is intended to serve severely ill incarcerated people and is part of the City’s commitment to close Rikers Island by 2027. “Every day this unit stays closed is another day a New Yorker sits in solitary confinement or suffers at Rikers without care,” said State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. NY Senate

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In a recent op-ed, Dr. Terry Kupers, a forensic psychiatrist who testifies as an expert witness about the harm of solitary, and Deborah Zalesne, a law professor who studies the human rights of incarcerated people, wrote about the urgent need to abolish solitary confinement in ICE detention centers. The authors call attention to the fact that approximately one-sixth of detained immigrants are held in solitary confinement and express concern over the consequences for individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions. “The expansion of ICE policing and detention during the Trump Presidency together with ICE’s over-reliance on solitary confinement have dreadful negative effects on public mental health,” wrote Kupers and Zalense. Orange County Register

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John, a pseudonym for a survivor of solitary confinement at an ICE detention facility in South Texas, spoke about the psychological toll of his experience. He stated that, although he was isolated for developing an unidentifiable rash, he was denied medical care while in solitary. John “ended up losing [his] mind” in the cell and still has nightmares about the experience. “Sometimes, when I lie down, I close my eyes, and then I remember solitary confinement or the detention itself. I will feel physically in that place,” said John. France 24 

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A meta-analysis from researchers in Canada revealed that placement in disciplinary confinement can lead to negative outcomes, and that the impacts of solitary may be worse for those with serious mental health issues. Science Direct | Studies show that solitary confinement provides little to no deterrent effect and can lead to incarcerated people becoming more withdrawn or hostile. In fact, the meta-analysis revealed that solitary increases the likelihood of recidivism by 53 percent overall and increases the likelihood of post-solitary misconduct by 54 percent among individuals with pre-existing mental illness. Forbes

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Joshua Lee Benz, who is incarcerated at Blair County Prison in Pennsylvania, is seeking a court-ordered injunction to allow him at least one hour out of his cell each day. His lawsuit is the ninth federal petition filed in the past two months seeking better living conditions for the 300+ incarcerated people in the county prison. Other lawsuits have cited violence within the institution, crowded conditions, poor food, and an infestation of rodents as violations of the Eighth Amendment. Altoona Mirror

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Action Alerts: 

This week, the Journey to Justice (JTJ) Bus Tour is traveling to New York. The stop at Mt. Kisco Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, will include a tour of the bus followed by a community conversation led by directly impacted people. The tour will also include a press conference with directly impacted leaders, community advocates, and elected officials on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem. Journey to Justice Tour | The Journey to Justice Tour highlights and exposes the harms of solitary confinement, designed with the intent to inform communities and share survivors’ voices as part of the movement for ending the use of solitary confinement. WLNS

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A staged reading of “Like an Animal in a Cage: Voices from Solitary” will take place at 7pm on Friday, November 14 at First Presbyterian Church in Racine, Wisconsin. This performance will feature stories written and performed by people who have experienced solitary confinement and incarceration in Wisconsin and will be followed by an opportunity to speak to contributors about incarceration, rehabilitation, and justice reform. Racine County Eye

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