New this week from Solitary Watch: 

“The High Cost of Solitary” is the eleventh in Solitary Watch’s series of fact sheets that offer information, analysis, and resources on a variety of topics related to solitary confinement. Depending on the facility, solitary units cost between tens and hundreds of millions of dollars per year—approximately three times as much as other forms of incarceration. Written by Jack Warshal, this fact sheet breaks down the literal costs associated with solitary confinement and the immeasurable costs borne by those forced to live in isolation. Solitary Watch 

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In funding news, all donations to Solitary Watch through the end of the year are doubled, thanks to NewsMatch—the annual matching funds program for nonprofit newsrooms. This is the only time of year we explicitly reach out to readers for support, and with every dollar doubled (up to $1,000 per donor), this is the best time to show your support as we wrap up the year. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting the work we’ve done—from the expansion of our Lifelines to Solitary pen pal program, to the incredible stories by incarcerated journalists, and more.

If you haven’t given to Solitary Watch—this year or ever—a donation now will work twice as hard, thanks to NewsMatch. If you’ve supported Solitary Watch this year, please consider another gift—of any size—so we can take full advantage of the money NewsMatch has earmarked for us. As ever, your support allows us to keep our promise: so long as there is solitary, there will be Solitary Watch. Make a doubled donation today.

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

Immigrants detained at California City Correctional Facility (CCCF) are being “unnecessarily” housed in solitary confinement. A new report from Disability Rights California (DRC) offers a rare third-party account of conditions inside CCCF. While it is unknown how many immigrants have been placed in solitary confinement or for how long, interviews from the oversight nonprofit’s inspection of the facility detail accounts from people held in solitary as recently as last month. “The conditions at California City add to mounting evidence that the current system of detention is dangerous and inadequate for all people, especially those with disabilities,” wrote DRC. Fresno Bee

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In New York’s prisons and jails, access to mental health services is often determined by paperwork. No matter how much a person is visibly struggling, care is only given to those with a documentation showing they previously received a mental health diagnosis or treatment from a psychiatric professional. “When someone begins to break down, their behavior is treated as a disciplinary issue rather than a crisis,” wrote Devin Giordano, an incarcerated writer and student in the Bard Prison Initiative. As a result, many people suffering from serious mental illness or psychiatric distress are sent to solitary instead of receiving treatment. Truthout 

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Ernastiaze Moore received his first threat from guards at Sullivan Correctional Institution in New York just eleven days into his sentence. Soon after, video shows staff using pepper spray to violently extract Moore from his solitary confinement cell. Moore was then taken to a “frisk-room” where guards slammed his face against a wall before forcibly searching his rectum. Despite Moore filing a sexual assault report and the encounter being recorded by staff, the Department of Corrections has denied Moore’s claims and he has since been sexually assaulted again by guards while showering. New York Times 

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At South Central Correctional Facility (SCCF) in Tennessee, three times a day men compete in a 50-yard sprint to the dining hall with the hope of getting a meal. Trinity Services Group, the company contracted to supply food to the prison, prepares approximately 100 trays of food per meal for each 128-person unit. The already insufficient food supply is exacerbated by the large gang presence at SCCF, which often prevents unaffiliated incarcerated people from accessing commissary. Some have resorted to requesting protective custody placements—housing solitary confinement—just for the opportunity to eat. Filter 

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Hours after Matthew O’Dell sent a letter to the media and Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, staff at the Federal Medical Center placed him in solitary confinement. In the letter, O’Dell detailed how staff forcibly strip-searched approximately 30 men after they had laughed at the prison’s warden through a security fence. Another 280 men at the facility were subjected to collective punishment for the incident, including restricted access to communication and commissary. O’Dell later publicly released his disciplinary records to support his claim that he was placed in solitary as retaliation. Post Bulletin 

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The Allegheny County (PA) Council declined, in a 12-2 vote, to reverse a ban on the use of leg shackles at the county’s jail. The original ban was part of a broader 2021 initiative that also prohibited the use of solitary confinement, pepper spray, and restraint chairs. Earlier this year, jail staff used a citizen’s initiative process to bring the issue before the council, claiming that eliminating leg shackles led to 14 escape attempts between May 2024 and September 2025. TribLive

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In a recent piece described as his “prison diary,” former U.S. Representative George Santos doubled-down on how his experience in solitary confinement reshaped him and his life’s purpose. “Solitary confinement stripped me bare,” wrote Santos. “Now I want to turn my pain into purpose.” Beyond thanking President Trump for commuting his sentence, Santos writes that the media attention following his release is “therapy” and he hopes to redeem himself by working to prevent the use of solitary and youth incarceration. Spectator 

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Inside, The Valley Sings, an animated documentary exploring the lives of people in solitary confinement, has qualified for an Oscar. Combining personal testimonies with hand-drawn animation, the film explores how people construct vivid inner landscapes to cope with extreme isolation. Although the film has yet to be officially nominated, it is being considered for the 98th Academy Awards “as both a cinematic achievement and a work of activism.” Skywigly 

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Last month, the nonprofit Amend led a group of philanthropy leaders, prison officers and staff, journalists, and advocates on a tour of Norway’s prisons. The organization, which works to reduce the mental and physical harm caused to incarcerated people by staff, uses the trip to exemplify a alternatives to the U.S. system. Among other policies, the Norwegian system requires people in solitary to have several hours out-of-cell time per day that include meaningful interaction with other people. Just Impact 

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