New this week from Solitary Watch:

This month’s edition of “The Word from Solitary Watch,” a series of dispatches from Solitary Watch staff and contributors, is a collaboration between Kwaneta Harris, a senior writer and editor with Solitary Watch, and Valerie Kiebala, Solitary Watch’s managing editor. The piece describes their first in-person visit, which occurred in December 2025. As Val describes arriving at the remote prison plantation complex in Texas where Kwaneta is incarcerated: “Once you see something, you can’t unsee it. You can delude yourself that it wasn’t really what you saw, or you can lie to yourself and pretend you can forget. But your body, your heart, and your being remember.” Solitary Watch

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

Suicidal detainees are regularly placed in solitary confinement in the Adelanto ICE detention centers in California, including those with preexisting mental health conditions. “You can’t wait for humanity here,” said 33-year-old Sergo Gambaria, who attempted to end his life in a solitary confinement cell in July. Over a six-month period in late 2025 and early 2026, 911 audio files record six suicide attempts in the facility. Those incidents highlight the inadequate care endured by tens of thousands of people under the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign. Experts warn that when individuals have little control over their environment, solitary confinement becomes increasingly harmful, contributing to heightened anxiety, agitation, and deterioration. Immigration attorney Kim Luu-Ng said that many of his clients inside Adelanto have expressed suicidal thoughts, and that their detention experience reminds them of past torture and prosecution. Gambaria, an asylum seeker from Russia currently detained in Adelanto, explained: “I fled from arrest and from the poor conditions in Russia here, and so that I could receive help here, (and) be granted asylum …. I feel like I’ve fallen into a trap. The Sun 

Zahkuan Bailey-Sweeting, 25, was one of six men who died by suicide in Massachusetts’ maximum-secuitry prision in 2025. A series of breakdowns lead to his death: Staff did not review Bailey-Sweeting’s mental health history as required, placed him in an isolated cell for 17 hours, did not ensure he took his psychiatric medication, and failed to conduct a required security round. Incarcerated witnesses reported Bailey-Sweeting threatened suicide and requested mental health care, but was ignored by correction officers. The circumstances of his death reveal a system in crisis, along with a culture of minimizing and dismissing mental health concerns for those placed in solitary confinement. “I cannot get that out of my head,” his mother said. “He wanted to speak to somebody. Even if it wasn’t me, it was somebody he wanted to call.” Mass Live 

Democratic State Senator Stephanie Chang introduced Michigan Senate Bills 1192-1193, which would serve as guardrails, placing limits on when solitary confinement can be used and for how long. Danielle Dunn, who attended the bill’s introduction, recounted the story of her brother, Jonathan Lancaster, who died of dehydration while strapped to a table in solitary confinement in 2019. Hakim Crampton spoke about his own experience in solitary, noting that it creates profound isolation and deprives people of the sensory and social interactions that allow them to feel human. In 2020, it was estimated that 3,200 people were in solitary in Michigan prisons. Chang’s bills would replace these confined environments with therapeutic deescalation spaces. The Michigan Department of Corrections maintains its stance on solitary, referring to it as “well-regulated and effective,” but said it will remain in conversations with lawmakers. News Channel 3 

This summer, 35-year-old Marcos Alcaraz burned to death inside his prison cell at Eastern Correctional Facility in New York. “I’m on fire,” he shouted, yet the officers on duty responded too slowly. Five incarcerated witnesses recalled the bright orange flames, the heat of the floor, the putrid smell of burning flesh, and the negligence of staff the night the fire broke out. Alcaraz suffered third-degree burns over nearly 100 percent of his body. Regardless of the smell, sounds, and signs of a fire, the witnesses did not report hearing a fire alarm. New York officials have not disclosed the cause of the fire, and the incident remains under investigation. In the days that followed, 42-year-old Theodore Johnson, one of the witnesses, said that several incarcerated people experienced respiratory issues but were denied adequate medical attention. Johnson was accused of misbehaving and was sent to solitary confinement. He denies the allegations and believes his punishment is retaliation for speaking out. New York Times 

Federal Judge Scott Skavdahl ruled that Blaise Chivers-King, one of six former residents who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Wyoming Boys’ School, presented enough evidence to send his case to trial. Blaise was 15 years old when he first arrived at the school, and during his two stays, served 75 days in isolation. A jury will decide whether the solitary confinement and physical force Chivers-King experienced at the hands of school staff members violated his constitutional rights. The Boy’s School has denied using solitary confinement as punishment. Judge Skavdahl said that even if the school does not use the term, its placement of people on detention status “bear the hallmarks of isolation.” Cowboy State Daily

Dante Martin can’t walk on his own, is legally blind and hard of hearing, and has epilepsy. He is one of the many people with disabilities in New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) who are struggling to receive the support, medical care, and accommodations they need to assist with daily functions. DOCCS faces an ongoing class action lawsuit for placing people with disabilities in solitary confinement. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Martin is entitled to the services he’s requested, and prison officials agreed to provide them. Yet, 10 months later, he still hasn’t received 16 out of the 21 devices or services he was approved for. Without a single facility equipped to accommodate every kind of disability, people like Martin find it nearly impossible to receive the required standards of care and accessibility. Prism 

Xandan Gulley is a transgender writer incarcerated in a Texas state prison. From 2012 to 2021, he experienced prolonged solitary confinement. After fighting for his release, he was transferred to a “Restricted Housing” unit in 2025. Even with the transition, Gulley explained that nothing has changed. He is currently locked in a cell for up to 23 hours a day with no human interaction. Within the Texas state prison system, trans people have become marginalized; are often deprived of gender expression, gender affirming care, and religious freedom; and are subjected to disproportionate harm. “Anti-trans policies aim to break the soul, kill the spirit, and annihilate trans people,” he wrote. Truthout

Action Alerts:

The End of Isolation, a film co-directed by playwright and solitary survivor Sarah Shourd and filmmaker Bobby Field, will make its New York premiere at the Bushwick Film Festival on Sunday, October 11, from 2:30 to 4:15 pm. The film “traces a journey across the United States, where formerly incarcerated people are reimagining justice and building a more humane future.” Following a group of theater activists as they tour a play about solitary confinement, the film highlights the “vibrant and visionary” resistance taking place in states where “incarceration is particularly inhumane.” The screening will be followed by a conversation with the filmmakers and local activists. Bushwick Film Festival

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