New this week from Solitary Watch:

In January’s edition of The Word, Solitary Watch Director Jean Casella calls for more attention to be paid to the deaths of incarcerated migrants, like Geraldo Lunas Campos, amid national outrage over the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Between January and October of 2025, 20 people died while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody—a disproportionate number of which resulted from suicide due to lack of mental health care. Casella argues that these deaths are connected to a broader, urgent epidemic of death within the U.S. carceral system and deserve national attention. Solitary Watch

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

In a new photo essay, photographer Brian L. Frank documents the stories of people who were held in Pelican Bay State Prison’s Security Housing Units (SHUs) and participated in the historic 2013 hunger strike, which lasted 60 days and involved tens of thousands of incarcerated people across California protesting the indefinite use of solitary confinement. Set against the backdrop of Alcatraz, Frank’s portraits capture some of the hunger strikers as they describe their traumatic experiences of being isolated. While the strike resulted in the prohibition of indefinite solitary confinement in California, some of the featured strike participants continue to advocate for those still held in solitary. The Marshall Project

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Incarcerated people in Missouri report being forced to shovel snow in sub-zero temperatures under the threat of being placed in solitary confinement. Spain Bady, who was exempt from labor duty due to his enrollment in educational programs, claims he was stripped naked and left in an unheated solitary cell after refusing an order to shovel snow. According to activist Dena Notz, additional reports indicate other facilities also rely on prison labor instead of utility vehicles to clear the snow, exposing incarcerated people to dangerous conditions. A spokesperson from the Missouri Department of Corrections defended these measures, stating that shoveling snow is a “paid job” and people refusing to complete their work assignment “may be issued a conduct violation.” Missouri Independent

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Migrants held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center have filed a federal lawsuit alleging inhumane and unsanitary conditions at the facility. According to the case, those detained at the complex are routinely denied medical care, outdoor access, proper nutrition, and “protection from excessive and punitive solitary confinement.” One plaintiff claims that he was only granted access to a heart monitor while in medical solitary confinement; however, the psychological toll of isolation led him to stop seeking treatment. If successful, the lawsuit will ensure all those detained receive better medical care, living conditions, and protections against the use of solitary confinement, making it potentially a highly influential case. Ventura County Star 

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An Illinois judge has ordered the Mary Davis Home to be closed on March 21, 2026. The youth detention facility has been the center of litigation over excessive use of solitary confinement and inadequate mental health care for over a year. Although a new plan proposed by officials addresses nearly every issue raised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois in previous lawsuits, it will not go into effect before the facility’s closure. The ACLU of Illinois stated that they will continue to monitor the facility to ensure the closure is permanent. In a public statement, the ACLU asserted that “while the facility is closing, the harms resulting from the conditions at Mary Davis Home will last for decades. None of us can look the other way while young people suffer the consequences of solitary confinement and other abusive practices.” KWQC

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is requesting that court-ordered restrictions limiting the use of pepper spray, restraints, and solitary confinement against incarcerated youth be lifted. The restrictions were part of a 2017 consent decree imposed by a federal judge following a class action lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Wisconsin and the Juvenile Law Center. For the first time since the restrictions were implemented nearly a decade ago, a court-appointed monitor has found the state’s youth prisons fully compliant in two consecutive reports. Now, a group of Republican lawmakers are arguing that the consent decree should be lifted so officers can better manage violent and disruptive behavior. Due to consecutive instances of demonstrated full compliance, the ACLU of Wisconsin is not opposing its removal. Post Crescent

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Three incarcerated activists, who helped organize a 2022 prison labor strike and contributed contraband cellphone footage to the Oscar-nominated documentary film The Alabama Solution, have been transferred to an isolated unit with little to no outside contact. Although the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) claims the move was for security reasons, attorneys representing the men stated their conditions of confinement “far exceed standard administrative segregation protocols.” Additionally, the ADOC’s history of retaliation and excessive use of force, including an incident where four guards nearly killed one of the activists, raise concerns over the men’s safety. Associated Press | Solitary Watch Senior Writer Katie Rose Quandt was the first to report this story in an article co-published with The Appeal and Truthout. Solitary Watch 

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Filmmaker Nathan Fagan produced a short film called Inside the Valley Sings, which illustrates the stories of three survivors of long-term solitary confinement. The subjects include a man who endured solitary confinement at 16 years old, a woman who was wrongfully convicted, and a man who was left in isolation for 22 years. Although each story is distinct, they touch on similar themes of “loneliness, agony, and elaborate mental escapes.” Together the stories advocate against solitary confinement, demonstrating its profound effects on the mind and denial of the human need for connection. Aeon

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Keith Rovere, host of the podcast The Lighter Side of True Crime, invited Dr. Terry Kupers to discuss the psychological effects of solitary confinement. The interview goes beyond the statistics of long-term isolation to discuss the impact on a person’s mental well-being, including “anxiety, depression, psychosis, and lasting trauma.” After exposing its adverse effects, Dr. Kupers explains why the U.S. carceral system continues to rely on the practice and how more humane alternatives to solitary do exist. YouTube 

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