The following roundup features noteworthy news, reports and opinions on solitary confinement from the past week that have not been covered in other Solitary Watch posts. • Gawker published a letter from Ray Jasper, who is scheduled to be put to death by the state of Texas on March 19. With regards to solitary confinement he […]
On Friday, February 22nd, the Montana House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 536, entitled the “Montana Solitary Confinement Act,” sponsored by legislator Franke Wilmer. The bill, which the National Religious Campaign Against Torture calls a “critical opportunity to lead the way nationally in increasing access to rehabilitation and reducing harm,” would place […]
A reader alerted us to an excellent article that appeared in March in the Missoula Independent under the headline “For the Mentally Ill Behind Bars in Montana, Life Goes from Bad to Worse.” This long article tracks the stories of several young men who landed in prison–and ultimately, in the hole–due to their erratic and […]
A teenager in solitary confinement at Montana State Prison has been subject to such brutal treatment that the American Civil Liberties Union today called upon a U.N. expert on torture to intervene on his behalf. “The conditions of Robert’s confinement are so appalling that they flout universally recognized human rights standards, including his absolute right to be free […]
This story out of Montana tells an all too common story: A boy who suffered extensive abuse in childhood, and was diagnosed with depression and PTSD, landed in a state juvenile facility; when he fought with corrections officers there, he was sentenced to 5 years and sent to an adult prison; once there, he was deemed a discipline […]