New this week from Solitary Watch:

In an op-ed originally published in the Los Angeles Times, Solitary Watch contributor Edwin E. Chavzs, describes the dilemma he faces as an incarcerated immigrant: apply for parole and face deportation or remain incarcerated. Currently held at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center,  Chavez previously spent many years in solitary confinement, but writes that would rather stay even in those conditions, because what awaits him after release would be far worse. If released, Chavez, who was born in El Salvador, would be immediately deported and likely sentenced to life in the infamous Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), something he calls “a virtual death sentence.” His brother was sent to CECOT in September 2024 and has been unable to make phone calls, receive visitors, or write to family. “Trapped between California’s normalization model and CECOT’s black hole, I find myself between the cement walls of two distinct prison worlds,” Chavez notes. Los Angeles Times/Solitary Watch

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In the most recent edition of Voices from Solitary, Shaykh Ali recounts the more than two decades he spent in solitary confinement. He describes the terrible conditions, including cells so dirty he was bitten by large bugs and attacked by mice and rats. “I witnessed suicides and the deterioration of young and old men alike,” writes Ali. He also writes about the difficulties of reentry after 67 years of incarceration and isolation. Since his release in 2023, Ali has supported advocacy efforts for all men and women in prison and helped pass Delaware Senate Bill 10, which aims to improve reentry. Solitary Watch

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

In February 2021, eight Muslim men in a Missouri prison were “handcuffed, pepper-sprayed and placed in solitary confinement” after praying outside of the chapel, which was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The men were recently awarded $667,000 in damages by a federal judge after a jury ruled that the officers had used excessive force, violated their constitutional rights to practice religion, and ignored serious medical needs. “Being a Muslim in America should not lead to one being subjected to excessive force or religious persecution,” commented Nadia Bayado, an attorney for the plaintiffs. US News & World Report

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In the first year of the second Trump administration, the number of people in immigration detention has risen to more than 70,000 people as of January 2026—a 75% increase from prior years. The use of solitary confinement within detention centers has more than doubled over the same period. Authors Rini Chakraborty of the Four Freedoms Fund and Scott Moyer of the Jacob & Valeria Langeloth Foundation (a Solitary Watch funder) argue that advocates and philanthropists should no longer view immigration and solitary confinement as separate issues, in what experts are now calling the “crimigration” system. Inside Philanthropy

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Oscar-nominated documentary The Alabama Solution sheds light on the Alabama Department of Corrections, where overcrowding, violence, medical neglect, and suspicious deaths are common. The film was made possible by three incarcerated men—Raoul Poole, Robert Earl Council, and Melvin Ray—who used contraband cell phones to record the abuses happening inside prisons across Alabama. Now, they face retaliation from prison officials. All three men spent time in solitary confinement this year, with Poule and Council still being kept in isolation. Inquest | Solitary Watch Senior Writer Katie Rose Quandt broke the story of the three men’s intensive isolation in January. Solitary Watch  

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In a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other state legislators, advocates called attention to ongoing staff violence within the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) and continuous violations of state law on solitary confinement. The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, enacted in 2022, limits isolation to no more than 17 hours a day for 15 days. The advocates’ letter states that DOCCS has failed to provide the required out-of-cell time to people currently in solitary confinement. News 10 | The letter also draws attention to three recent deaths in New York prisons, including two deaths by beating and one by waterboarding. “New York’s prisons are killing, torturing, and brutalizing people,” advocates wrote to Governor Hochul. Advocates held an “End Mass Incarceration” advocacy day on Monday, March 16, to demand that the state government address their concerns and implement necessary reforms. My Twin Tiers

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At Logan Correctional Center in Illinois, corrections officer Richard Macleod threatened to take away Andrea Nielson’s ability to speak with her child and put her in solitary confinement if she refused to have continuous, unprotected sexual intercourse with him. When Nielson’s roommate reported the abuse to another officer, instead of immediately investigating, he delayed a formal investigation and instead tried to catch Nielson and Macleod in the act. The plan failed, and Macleod assaulted Nielson again. After filing a lawsuit, Nielson was awarded $19.3 million in damages for violations of her Eighth Amendment rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. Wonkette 

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At three o’clock in the morning, incarcerated author MarQui Clardy was awakened by his cellmate pacing and mumbling to himself. When Clardy asked what was wrong, it became apparent that his cellmate was having a psychiatric crisis. Despite Clardy and other men’s efforts to alert officers of the urgent needs for help, Clardy’s cellmate was not given any help. Instead, officers placed him in solitary confinement, where he has since attempted suicide multiple times. “That’s where we put [people] who are under psychiatric observation,” an officer told Clardy. Prison Writers 

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Reports have circulated that deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was heard shouting throughout the night from his cell, where he is being held for more than 23 hours a day. Maduro, who is a high-profile detainee, was placed in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a federal jail in Brooklyn, and is expected to remain there as he awaits trial. Hoka News | Maduro’s  cell measures no larger than six-by-nine feet and includes a metal bed, a toilet, a sink, and a narrow window with limited natural light. Maduro can only leave his cell three times a week for one-hour increments, handcuffed and accompanied by two guards. ABC Media | Solitary Watch reported last year on conditions at MDC, which tend to gain attention only when high-profile people are held there. Solitary Watch

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Action Alert:

After drafting a North Carolina Solitary Confinement Reform Act, advocates in the state are exploring next steps to advance dialogue and reform. One proposal is to request informational meetings the deputy secretary of Juvenile Justice and secretary of the Department of Adult Correction to discuss isolation and restrictive housing practices. North Carolina advocacy groups and allies are invited to help shape the questions and priorities raised in these discussions. For more information or to get involved, contact Craig Waleed by email or phone: craig.waleed@disabilityrightsnc.org | 919-856-2195. 

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