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

A KQED investigation revealed a pattern of sexual abuse and retaliation against incarcerated women at the Central California Women’s Facility—one of the largest women’s prisons in the world. Hundreds of disciplinary records revealed systematic failures to investigate allegations against staff and a lack of accountability that allowed the sexual exploitation to continue. A young woman identified as Nicole Doe was kept in solitary confinement for more than six months before being transferred to another prison for reporting sexual abuse at the hands of a former corrections officer. KQED Public Radio

---

A new class action lawsuit claims that officials dismissed complaints and concerns about dead mice, cockroaches, insects and rodent droppings in food served at Washington, D.C.’s Central Detention Facility. Several incarcerated people represented in the lawsuit described being threatened with solitary confinement if they spoke out or refused to eat infested food. “People are being fed as if they are animals, as if they are not fully human,” state Leslie Soble, a carceral food expert. Washington Post

---

New Mexico legislators passed House Bill 175, increasing data collection on and restricting the use of solitary confinement in state prisons and jails. The bill prohibits incarcerated pregnant women and children from 22 or more consecutive hours of confinement, and increases limits for  people with mental illness. Although the bill was described as “noncontroversial” in the state legislature, it remains to be seen whether Governor Susana Martinez will sign the bill. New Mexico In Depth

---

The New Jersey State Senate Law and Public Safety Committee heard testimony on whether the state should ease restrictions on solitary confinement. A new proposed measure, S4595, would allow vulnerable populations to be placed in solitary, increase the number of hours a person can be held in solitary, and remove limits for those deemed “repetitively violent” or with prior time in solitary. Amidst concerns over assaults on staff, correctional unions are adamant that solitary is the only effective tool to protect officers and deter violence. Testimony from solitary survivors painted another picture, detailing the devastating psychological consequences of living in isolation. NJ.com

---

Twenty-two people have died at the St. Louis City Justice Center since 2020. Untreated medical conditions, drug use and addiction, mental health issues, and systemic failures have all played a role in the crisis. Several of the deaths occurred by suicide, while individuals were isolated in cells supposedly under near-constant supervision. Multiple wrongful death lawsuits were filed by grieving family members, seeking answers and demanding justice for their loved ones. St. Louis Public Radio and The Marshall Project

---

Experts say that officials in Shelby County, Tennessee, have no way to enforce an ordinance passed in August limiting solitary confinement at youth detention facilities. Under the ordinance, facilities are prohibited from isolating children for more than two consecutive hours or more than six hours per day, and staff must check on children in confinement every 15 minutes. However, the Countywide Juvenile Justice Consortium does not inspect facilities to ensure compliance, and the Department of Children’s Services rarely exercises its legal authority to enforce limits through civil suits. MLK50

---

Lawyers for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri say he should be declared mentally unfit to stand trial for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Aden, Yemen. Currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, al-Nashiri has been in solitary confinement for most of his 24 years in custody. Dr. Terry Kupers, a leading international expert on the effects of solitary confinement, diagnosed Al-Nashiri with severe, chronic PTSD, multiple traumatic brain injuries, a neuro-cognitive disorder, and major depressive disorder. His injures are allegedly caused by torture from CIA agents, including rape, “beatings, waterboarding, confinement in crammed spaces being kept naked, and threatened by revving a drill near his hooded head.” Just Security

---

Summaries of news and commentary on solitary confinement are written by Solitary Watch’s research and reporting interns and edited by our staff. Solitary Watch has never published, and will never publish, material created by AI.

---

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.