Solitary Watch

In Solitary on Rikers Island - Solitary Watch At a time when Rikers Island faces heightened scrutiny, Rodney Reid shares a glimpse into the realities of solitary from his time on the island.

"In Solitary on Rikers Island" solitarywatch.org/2026/03/03/i... At a time when Mayor Mamdani has committed to finally limiting solitary confinement in NYC jails, this piece by an incarcerated writer vividly illustrates what's at stake.

By sharing his time in Rikers Island's solitary confinement units, Rodney Reid pushes against the narrative that isolation is "corrective." You don't leave as a "better" person; you just leave with trauma.

Read more here: tinyurl.com/4mchns62

As #BlackHistoryMonth2026 ends, we revisit our fact sheet on racism & #solitaryconfinement.

Due to delays in receiving diagnoses, Black people already
experiencing mental illness disproportionately suffer the psychological effects of solitary.

Click the 🔗 to find out more: tinyurl.com/yc3t4z28

Co-published with @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social, Contributing writer Kwaneta Harris covers how traumatized incarcerated women operate as unpaid crisis workers. The prison "extracts her labor and her psychological well-being while offering nothing in return."

Read here: tinyurl.com/355s7tu3

Q&A: Kwaneta Harris on the Black History That Shaped Her "I am perceived as a Black woman before I am perceived as an American, before I am perceived as a journalist, before I am perceived as human."

Q&A: Kwaneta Harris on the Black History That Shaped Her — Prison Journalism Project prisonjournalismproject.org/2026/02/24/q...
"I write because these stories deserve witnesses, and I refuse to let them disappear into the silence this system counts on."

Weekly Brief: ICE is detaining, shackling, and traumatizing pregnant women. NFL player makes a statement about inhumane prison conditions at the Superbowl. Judge rules that a lawsuit over the death of jailed, disabled woman may proceed.

Read here: tinyurl.com/3mtm2tn3

What you need to know about Texas ICE detention deaths Last year was the deadliest year in ICE detention in two decades. Nearly a quarter of those deaths occurred in Texas.

Six deaths in six weeks: What to know about ICE detentions in Texas www.texastribune.org/2026/02/19/i...

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Prison-Style Free Speech Censorship Is Coming for the Rest of Us The outcome of a court case could decide whether the Trump administration can criminalize simply possessing political literature.

Prison-Style Free Speech Censorship Is Coming for the Rest of Us
theintercept.com/2026/02/16/d...

String Of 'Devastating' Suicides In Hawaiʻi Prisons Continues Corrections officials are asking for millions of dollars this year to hire dozens of health care workers to improve mental health services inside.

String Of "Devastating" Suicides In Hawaiʻi Prisons Continues www.civilbeat.org/2026/02/stri...

This Tennessee Prison Is Leaving LGBTQ People Unhoused Behind Bars The South Central Correctional Center leaves LGBTQ people defenseless, so they’re organizing to fight for their safety.

This Tennessee Prison Is Leaving LGBTQ People Unhoused Behind Bars truthout.org/articles/thi...

Cancer in Confinement PJP writers on suffering from the leading killers in behind bars — a problem of neglect, delayed care, and poor coordination

What Happens When You Get Cancer in Prison? — Prison Journalism Project prisonjournalismproject.org/2026/02/11/c...

Tell Congress: Investigate ICE's treatment of pregnant detainees Add your name to demand that Members of Congress visit ICE detention centers and investigate how pregnant women are being treated.

❌ Inadequate food and water
❌ Denied timely medical care
❌ Put in solitary confinement

We cannot sit by while pregnant women suffer and miscarry in ICE custody. Take action and tell Congress to investigate these atrocities TODAY: https://bit.ly/3MJ9pgN

ICE Is Gearing Up to Build “Mega” Jails ICE is planning on spending $38 billion on the project.

ICE Is Gearing Up to Build “Mega” Jails newrepublic.com/post/206591/... via @newrepublic.com

In 1980, experts found that incarcerated Black and white individuals are equally likely to engage in rule-breaking activity, but correctional officers are more likely to report a Black person for a rule violation. Nearly 50 years later, this issue continues to persist.

tinyurl.com/yc3t4z28

Breaking News: @theappeal and Solitary Watch's new article reveals how MDC's publicity masks inhumane conditions for hundreds. Additionally, a 73-year-old Chicano activist in Texas is in isolation despite many medical issues.

More news here: tinyurl.com/3cx6k573

Our director Jean Casella sheds light on the numerous ICE killings that have happened since Trump took office. More than 20 lives have been taken.

Read here: tinyurl.com/ypde4mwd

Lack of education is proven to be a root cause of incarceration. Yet, larger sums of taxpayer money continue to fund prisons (and #solitaryconfinement) rather than schools.

Learn more: tinyurl.com/3b7a53ks

‘Starved in jail’ is a story in every U.S. county Sarah Stillman's piece "Starved in Jail" asks why incarcerated people die of neglect when private companies are paid millions for their care.

‘Starved in jail’ is a story in every U.S. county healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/02...

Frozen Justice Through my semi-frozen window, I watch the outside workers slipping across ice-covered snow, spreading red dirt from plastic bags like confetti on a death march.

"We stand in line outside for medication dispensing and commissary purchases, our breath crystallizing in front of our faces while our feet go numb." Read Kwaneta's latest on Substack: kwanetaharris.substack.com/p/frozen-jus...

Is the State of Texas Trying to Kill This Chicano Activist? After 23 years in solitary confinement, Alvaro “Xinachtli” Hernandez’s health is failing him. So is the system.

Is the State of Texas Trying to Kill This Chicano Activist? After 23 years in solitary confinement, Alvaro “Xinachtli” Hernandez’s health is failing him. So is the system. newrepublic.com/article/2062... via @newrepublic.com

"In an interview in [The Alabama Solution], [Kinetik Justice and Melvin Ray] tell the filmmakers how the Alabama DOC responded to their activism by sending them ... to solitary confinement for about five years, and classifying them as enemies so they could not remain in the same institution."

Window Into Solitary at The BLACK Gallery PDX A photography exhibition sharing the stories of 17 people who survived solitary confinement, revealing the human cost of isolation.

Window Into Solitary is a photography exhibition that documents the lived experiences of 17 men and women who survived long-term solitary confinement.

Hosted by The BLACK Gallery PDX: Don't Shoot Portland. Saturday, Mar 14 from 5 pm to 8 pm PDT

www.eventbrite.com/e/window-int...

A measles outbreak at an ICE family detention center means not only risk of serious and very infectious disease, but also complete lockdown conditions akin to solitary confinement. Awful.

Weekly Brief: Pelican Bay's past use of indefinite isolation continues to impact thousands. Solitary confinement used to threaten incarcerated people in MO to shovel snow. Migrants in an ICE detention center file a lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions.

Read more: tinyurl.com/5w62pdw8

Of nearly 2 million incarcerated people, many are Black. They're 4x more likely to be put in #solitaryconfinement than their white counterparts. To understand why, we have to look to history and all the ways Black people are erased. #BlackHistoryMonth2026

Read more: tinyurl.com/56sv58km

The Other ICE Killings - Solitary Watch Since Trump Took Office, More Than 20 People Have Died in ICE Custody

THE OTHER ICE KILLINGS: Since Trump Took Office, More Than 20 People Have Died in ICE Custody solitarywatch.org/2026/01/30/t...

Oscar-nominated documentary reveals the Alabama Department of Corrections' use of violence to keep incarcerated people in line. The most recent suppression tactic involves the 3 incarcerated men who captured inside footage for the documentary. @truthout.org @theappeal.org

tinyurl.com/4hnzjdbh

Despite having spent almost four decades in what he describes as “Hell visited upon Earth,” Russell has not lost his tenacity. His poem and painting expose the injustices that remain unchecked in prisons within and beyond Texas.

Read our latest #VoicesfromSolitary piece here: tinyurl.com/yc33jrvd

They Collaborated on an Oscar-Nominated Film--Then Got Thrown Into Solitary Confinement solitarywatch.org/2026/01/26/t...