The following video, titled “Solitary Confinement: The Season of Sorrow,” was directed and produced by our gifted videographer and reporter Valeria Monfrini, who also shot the other original videos on Solitary Watch’s YouTube channel. Here is her brief description of the content: This short documentary explores the experience of solitary confinement through the testimonies of former inmates held in […]
Author: James Ridgeway and Jean Casella
Congress Unlocks America's Hidden Shame of Solitary Confinement
The title of this post is the title of an op-ed by us, published in the Guardian on Tuesday. An excerpt follows; click through to the Guardian site to read the full piece. Imagine a place filled with closed, windowless cells. Each cell may be so small that you can extend your arms and touch the […]
First Congressional Hearing on Solitary Confinement to Be Held June 19
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights, chaired by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, has announced that it will hold a hearing later this month on solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and jails–the first-ever Congressional hearing on this subject. The subcommittee released the following information today: Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal, […]
Solitary Watchers Named 2012 Soros Justice Fellows
We are pleased to be able to tell all of you, our readers and supporters, that we were awarded a 2012 Soros Justice Media Fellowship from the Open Society Foundations. As fellows, we will “document and report on the use and abuse of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails, and youth facilities, increasing public awareness of […]
Criminalizing Mental Illness: The Story of Adam Hall
When he was five years old, Adam Hall tried to burn down his family home outside Utica in upstate New York. Afterwards, he drew a picture of his family having a happy reunion in heaven. Adam’s mother, Carole Hall, knew the incident was a cry for help–and possibly an early suicide attempt–but she had no […]
Federal Judge Criticizes Supermax Confinement in Colorado
Last week we wrote about a trial beginning in Federal District Court in Denver, in which Troy Anderson, a prisoner with mental illness, is challenging his twelve years of solitary confinement at the Colorado State Penitentiary. The lawsuit, filed by student lawyers at the University of Denver Law School’s Civil Right Clinic, could have broad significance because it […]
Torturous Milestone: 40 Years in Solitary for the Angola 3
Today marks 40 years in solitary confinement for Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox. Our article on the Angola 3 appears today on MotherJones.com. On the world stage, Guantanamo may well stand as the epitome of American human rights abuses. But when it comes to torture on US soil, that grim distinction is held by two […]
Connecticut Votes to Replace the Death Penalty with Life in Solitary Confinement
Late yesterday, the Connecticut Assembly passed legislation to bring an end to the state’s future use of the death penalty. The governor has promised to sign the legislation, making Connecticut the 17th state to repeal capital punishment. This is, of course, a significant victory for death penalty opponents. But the legislation has two troubling components. The first is […]
"Complete Lawlessness" at Orleans Parish Prison
Check out our latest piece over at MotherJones.com, on a new lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates at New Orleans’ main jail. Here are some excerpts: As hellholes go, there are few worse places in America than the Orleans Parish Prison. New Orleans’ teeming city jail first hit the radar of most Americans following Hurricane […]
New: FAQ on Solitary Confinement--Now in a PDF to Print and Copy
After we published Sal Rodriguez’s comprehensive FAQ on solitary confinement, readers asked for a shortened version that they could easily print out, photocopy, and distribute. That version is now available as a four-page PDF. Click here to download: Solitary Confinement FAQ (short version). Or go to the FAQ tab, above, for a permanent link to the PDF.
More Suicides in Solitary Plague Massachusetts Prisons
Five years ago, the Boston Globe did a comprehensive exposé on what it called the “Prison Suicide Crisis” in Massachusetts. The Globe found that prisoners in the state were taking their own lives at a rate three times the national average–and that “most of the deaths came after careless errors and deadly decisions by Department of Correction officials […]
Leading Mental Health Experts Urge Illinois Legislators to Close Tamms Supermax
When it comes to the psychological effects of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, there are three acknowledged experts: Drs. Stuart Grassian, Craig Haney, and Terry Kupers. The three have collaborated on a joint statement on the closure of Tamms supermax prison, which was proposed last month by Illinois governor Pat Quinn. The statement is directed […]