solitary confinement

Eric S. McGill Jr., a 27-year old Pennsylvania man, has reportedly been in solitary confinement in the county jail for over a year because he refuses to cut his locks because of his religious beliefs. He has since been suffering from anxiety attacks allegedly triggered by his experience in jail, according to the lawsuit he […]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The final two months of Cachin Anderson’s life in New York’s prison system were filled with warnings he was a man in crisis. He climbed on a sink and dove headfirst at the floor, saying he “wanted to end it and go home.” He urinated on guards. He hurled a can […]

Kalief Browder, the teen who was jailed over allegations of a stolen bookbag and then retained and abused for two years at New York’s notorious Riker’s Island prison, has been awarded a $3.3M settlement, though he didn’t live to see it. Browder struggled to become whole after his ordeal, ultimately committing suicide at age 22 […]

Oprah Winfrey believes the use of solitary confinement deserves scrutiny, which is why she pitched a story about the topic for this week’s 60 Minutes broadcast. As a Special Contributor, Winfrey details how she ended up in a prison cell at the most notorious state penitentiary in America: Pelican Bay State Prison in California. The […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge brokered a last-minute deal on Monday to dismiss criminal charges against a woman for jailhouse confrontations with guards during the three years she spent awaiting trial on Rikers Island, much of it in solitary confinement, before being acquitted by a jury and freed last spring. After just half a […]

The president says juvenile solitary confinement is overused and has devastating psychological ramifications.

Experts are now questioning what levels of solitary confinement are appropriate for inmates and whether this type of punishment is constitutional.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California corrections officials said Thursday that they are handing out earplugs and telling guards to walk softly around some of the state’s most dangerous prisoners after the inmates complained about noise. The inmates say new welfare checks at Pelican Bay State Prison’s notorious security housing unit are keeping them up nights […]