Books and other reading materials are of special value to people held in solitary confinement. They provide an opening to the world beyond their four gray walls, a connection to the thoughts, words, ideas, feelings, experiences, and insights of other human beings that, for a time, can relieve the endless isolation and boredom of solitary. In […]
After spending nearly three decades in solitary confinement, William “Billy” Blake has learned a few things about staying sane. For Blake, who is serving a sentence of 77 years to life in conditions known to cause psychological breakdown, self-harm, and suicide, sanity is survival. He reads, he dreams, but most of the time, he writes. […]
Editors’ Note: Back in October, Solitary Watch received a request from cut-rate retail giant Costco, for a 450-word essay arguing that solitary should be eliminated. The piece was to be printed in the “Informed Debate” feature in the company’s giveaway magazine, Costco Connection, which has a readership numbering 20 million people. Pleased that such a large […]