New This Week from Solitary Watch:

In her latest article, Solitary Watch contributing writer Kwaneta Harris breaks down the relationship between suicide and the solitary-to-cemetery pipeline. Through personal narrative, she calls attention to the lack of protocols to provide support for those in solitary after these traumatic events take place. Harris also spotlights the plight of incarcerated youth who are often sent to adult solitary confinement. Denied the ability to mourn those who have passed and comfort those who continue to endure isolation, Harris boldly declares that the solution to ending suicides in solitary confinement is to end solitary confinement. Solitary Watch

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

The Department of Justice has immediately withdrawn funding for the National Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Resource Center. Previously, the Center was responsible for training prison sexual assault auditors, tracking the results of PREA investigations, and providing resources to incarcerated sexual abuse survivors, many of whom end up in solitary confinement cells. The cuts were attributed to “discretionary funds that are no longer aligned with the administration’s priorities.” Experts and advocates warn that this decision will make it even more difficult to hold prison and jail officials accountable for sexual assaults. The Appeal

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Following the Trump Administration’s anti-trans executive orders targeting incarcerated transgender people in federal facilities, six transgender women came forward to share their experiences of being trans while imprisoned during Trump’s presidency. Although prisons have never been a safe haven for trans people, the orders have escalated invasive cell searches, fortified transphobic rhetoric, and encouraged officers to abandon protections. Ridgeway Reporting Program recipient and incarcerated journalist Sara Kielly shared some of the threats she’s received from prison officials and other incarcerated individuals despite being housed in a state facility. “We are pushing back and standing our ground,” stated Kielly. The Cut

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Incarcerated people and activists continue to push back against the suspension of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, a landmark solitary reform bill in New York State. Although still feeling betrayed by Governor Kathy Hochul’s 90-day pause on the required out-of-cell programming elements of the bill, advocates are doubling down on efforts to reverse her decision. They have also predicted a spike in tensions between incarcerated people and officers once the National Guard troops are fully withdrawn. Incarcerated interviewee Robert Willams stated: “…this is a battle for the soul of corrections—if corrections can be said to have a soul.” Jewish Currents

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Black people who are incarcerated in Texas face additional hurdles due to racially biased hair policies within prisons. Incarcerated journalist and Solitary Watch contributing writer Kwaneta Harris recounts being disciplined for wearing her natural Afro, deemed an “extreme hairstyle” by prison authorities. A Black transgender man incarcerated in a women’s prison also shared experiences of being placed in solitary confinement for minor infractions, including receiving a written citation because his short hair was deemed “extreme.” While the CROWN Act—a bill that establishes protections against hair discrimination in workplaces and schools—was a major victory, it neglected to include incarcerated people. Cosmopolitan

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New podcast “Death County, PA” zeroes in on the infamous Dauphin County Prison in Pennsylvania. Known for horrific abuses that led to it reaching double the national average of prison deaths, at Dauphin torture such as 17-day electricity blackouts in solitary confinement are the norm. Investigative reporter Josh Vaughn and Lamont Jones, who was formerly incarcerated at Dauphin, have teamed up to shed light on systemic issues plaguing the prison and the power of community action in challenging these institutional failures. Wondery

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In celebration of National Poetry Month, The Chicago Reporter interviewed incarcerated poet Ray Guereca, who started writing while detained in a solitary confinement cell for two years. Having spent 23 hours a day in a tight space without fresh air and sunlight, poetry was Guereca’s lifeline. “Writing and poetry are tools I used,” Guereca said, “to help express what I personally endured in the system and how I see the world from the inside looking out.” The Chicago Reporter

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