The solitary confinement program in Virginia’s prisons is chastised in a new ACLU report for its inhumane conditions, according to the Washington Post. Disciplinary segregation, special housing and administrative segregation are also considered to be solitary confinement by the ACLU. “It simply doesn’t matter what you call it. The impact of the practice on people is exactly the same,” said Claire Gastanaga, ACLU executive director. During solitary confinement, prisoners are housed in small cells for 22 to 24 hours a day with reduced or no … [Read more...] about Virginia disputes ACLU charges of harsh solitary
Solitary Watch
Solitary Watch offers inmates photographs beyond a gray wall
The day he learned his solitary confinement would be extended, 17-year-old Benjamin Van Zandt killed himself in a New York prison. To bring awareness and bridge the gap between the public and those in isolation, an advocacy group held an art exhibit in a Unitarian church in New York, showcasing photographs requested by and produced for prisoners in segregation, reported Newsday. “Viewers are able to see not what incarcerated people see, but what they envision—the vivid and varied thoughts, objects, images that all minds produce, independently … [Read more...] about Solitary Watch offers inmates photographs beyond a gray wall
Alabama fails mentally ill inmates in solitary
Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has failed to fix its practice of housing prisoners with “serious mental illness” in solitary confinement, a practice deemed unconstitutional and in violation of a 2017 court order. Twenty-one patients with “serious mental illness” have yet to be released from solitary, and United States District Judge Myron Thompson, as part of a trial to address solitary confinement, demanded ADOC move them out of confinement or provide an explanation as to why they have not been moved, reported the Southern Poverty … [Read more...] about Alabama fails mentally ill inmates in solitary