New this week from Solitary Watch:

In the most recent entry in The Word from Solitary Watch, published on World Press Freedom Day, Director Jean Casella and Editor-in-Chief Juan Moreno Haines discuss the decline of freedom of the press within the United States, and what we can learn from incarcerated journalists about how to resist censorship. Over the last decade the U.S. has fallen from 41st to 64th in Reporters Without Borders’s free press index. While much of this decline can be traced to the Trump administration’s “all-out war on press freedom and journalism,” American journalists might look to their incarcerated counterparts as examples of the resilience and courage needed to continue reporting from the darkest and most restricted parts of the country. Solitary Watch

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Two Solitary Watch contributors have won a Stillwater Award for their work covering solitary confinement. Senior Writer/Editor Kwaneta Harris placed second in the Best Collaboration category for her work written with her daughter, titled “‘Mama’s in the Hole’: How Solitary Confinement Tries to Break Family Bonds,” co-published by Solitary Watch and Ms. Magazine. “Harris puts herself on the line in this piece,” notes a judge of the contest. Rejon Taylor won first place in the Best Op-Ed category for his Voices from Solitary piece titled “After Biden’s Clemency, Trump Has Condemned Us to a Life Worse Than Death.” Judges of the piece called Taylor’s piece “smart and timely,” a “clever analysis,” and one that “tackles big issues.” Kwaneta Harris’s piece on the neglect of incarcarated LGBTQ+ Americans during Pride month, “Beyond the Rainbow: Remembering Our Most Forgotten,” won second place in the Op-Ed category. Stillwater Awards

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

Cole Tomas Allen, who is accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, has spent days in “unprompted solitary confinement” in the DC Jail. The federal magistrate judge assigned to the case apologized to Allen for the conditions he has faced in detention. “Allen is being treated differently than anyone I’ve ever observed,” noted the judge, comparing his treatment to that of the January 6 defendants, as well as accused terrorists and gang members. Allen has been unable to have private conversations with his attorneys, being “forced to sit inside of a locked cage in full, five-point restraints” while speaking over the phone, with his counsel noting that any jail staff standing nearby could hear the conversation. Newsweek | The judge stated that while the allegations against Allen were “extremely serious,” pre-trial detention is not supposed to be punitive. According to his lawyers, Allen, was isolated for 23 hours a day in a bare, padded cell on “suicide watch,” despite showing no suicidal tendencies, and even denied a Bible. He has since been taken off suicide watch but remains in “resticted housing.” The Guardian

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Thirty-one individuals reached a settlement with the Indiana Department of Correction in a lawsuit over abusive conditions in solitary confinement. While in solitary, the plaintiffs lived in complete darkness, unable to tell day from night, and often waited days for a chance to shower or leave their cells. Prison officials were warned about the abusive conditions; in response, a warden told the men that if they missed daylight, “they could draw the sun on steel plates.” One man who participated in the lawsuit described conditions as “hopeless, like you were going to die, like you would never get out.” ACLU Indiana 

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New York City will soon begin implementing portions a law banning nearly all uses of solitary confinement on Rikers Island and in other city jails, almost two and a half years after the bill was first passed. Local Law 42 would prevent people from being held in an isolated cell for more than four hours during the day and for more than eight hours at night, and require that all detainees have a hearing before being placed in any form of long-term restrictive housing. Under a current proposal, implementation of the law will begin with several pilot programs, which may or may not eventually be extended citywide. Queens Eagle

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A man held alone in his cell at a San Diego Jail died after guards ignored his desperate pleas for help. Days before his death, Bobby Ray Patton Jr. was diagnosed with the flu and pneumonia by the Vista Detention Center’s medical clinic. “I can’t breathe,” Patton was heard saying on body-worn camera footage recently released under a new state transparency law. “I’m having chest pain so bad.” Even after Patton asked for help, the two guards responsible for monitoring his cell failed to conduct the required safety checks. One of the guards said she didn’t think there was any emergency because “inmates in East House frequently yelled.” The guards were both placed on leave without pay for less than a month. San Diego Tribune

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A man died by suicide in solitary confinement at ICE’s Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. Denny Adan Gonzalez was the fourth man to die inside the privately run detention center, and the 18th person to die in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody this year. The facility, managed by CoreCivic, has faced consistent accusations of medical misconduct and inappropriate use of solitary confinement from lawyers and investigators. “As tragedies mount at Stewart, we renew our call for this deadly prison to be shut down,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, director of the Georgia-based civil rights organization Project South. The Guardian

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Immigrants detained at North Lake Processing Center in Michigan decided to restart a major hunger strike to protest unsafe conditions, including being forced to stay in solitary confinement for unknown reasons. Advocacy groups have also cited intimidation, medical neglect, and delays in legal assistance as other issues faced by people at the facility. “I want the people outside to know, they’re treating us like animals,”  shared Ahmad Alnajdawi, an immigrant from Jordan who is detained at the facility. Axios Detroit

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The Republican governor of Louisiana recently eliminated an elected position just before an exoneree was due to take office. Calvin Duncan, who spent more than 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and went on to earn a law degree, won the election for the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court position last November with over two-thirds of the vote. Associated Press | Solitary Watch published an excerpt from Calvin Duncan’s book The Jailhouse Lawyer, recalling the time when Duncan fought for the rights of people with mental illness held in solitary confinement at Angola prison. Solitary Watch

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Action alerts:

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s (NRCAT) National Network of Solitary Survivors is hosting a writing contest to “uplift the experiences, resilience, and advocacy of individuals who have endured solitary confinement.” Formerly incarcerated people who have experienced solitary confinement are invited to submit original pieces of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. The winning pieces will be published on Solitary Watch in June, to mark Torture Awareness Month. The deadline to apply is May 31st, and complete guidelines for the contest are available on NRCAT’s website. NRCAT

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Return Strong will present the virtual webinar States of Solitary: From Policy to Practice on Thursday, May 7, examining how solitary confinement reform is being carried out in Nevada. Dr. David Cloud of Duke University will share early findings from a study on Nevada’s solitary confinement law and what the data reveals about how laws are implemented in prisons. The event will also include a panel discussion with experts, advocates, people directly impacted by incarceration, and survivors of solitary confinement. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Return Strong

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