Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement

A devastating case against the inhumane practice of solitary confinement “These compelling reflections by people who have been entrapped within the tortures of solitary, should rekindle our abolitionist impulses at an especially critical moment in our history” Angela Y. Davis “Offers an indispensable tool to campaigns for abolition everywhere” Juan E. Méndez, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture “Powerful … These excruciating accounts from prisoners across the country shocked even me as I read them from the madhouse of Sing Sing” John J. Lennon, contributing editor at Esquire and author of The Tragedy of True Crime The injustice and cruelty of the US carceral system find their barbaric apogee in the practice of solitary confinement. Once deemed a form of torture by the US Supreme Court, “the hole” is still wrongly used as a solution to prison overcrowding and violence. But locking someone in a cell the size of a parking space for months or years causes profound psychological harm. For Christopher Blackwell, it was a harrowing ordeal that changed his life forever. Ending Isolation weaves Chris’s vivid account with other stories from solitary, alongside insights from legal and medical experts. Through these narratives and undeniable research, the book makes a powerful case for abolishing this cruel and unusual punishment. Christopher Blackwell is an award-winning journalist currently incarcerated in Washington State. Deborah Zalesne is a law professor at CUNY School of Law. Kwaneta Harris is a journalist who survived eight years in solitary in Texas. Terry Kupers is a leading medical expert on the harms of solitary confinement. 'These compelling reflections by people who have been entrapped within the tortures of solitary, should rekindle our abolitionist impulses at an especially critical moment in our history' - Angela Y. Davis The injustice, cruelty, and degradation that are so enmeshed within the US carceral system find their barbaric apogee in the practice of solitary confinement. Once judged by the US Supreme Court to be an impermissible form of torture, the use of solitary confinement has grown to become a 'solution' to the overcrowding and violence that have defined life on the inside. So what exactly does it mean to be sent to 'the hole?' What damage is inflicted on the body and the mind by being locked in a cell the size of a parking space, for months or even years? Most of us can only imagine. For Christopher Blackwell and Kwaneta Harris it was a harrowing ordeal that reshaped their lives forever. Ending Isolation weaves together Christopher's and Kwaneta's vivid, first-hand accounts of their years spent in solitary confinement, Chris in a Washington State prison and Kwaneta in Texas, with the legal expertise of Prof. Deborah Zalesne and medical expertise of Dr. Terry Kupers. The book also includes writing from many other formerly and currently incarcerated people. With chapters covering juveniles in solitary, mental illness, racial injustice, and even environmental issues, the book makes the case that the practice is an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment that must be abolished.