Newspaper, Magazine, and Web Articles

 

For more recent articles, please see Solitary Watch’s weekly “Seven Days in Solitary” posts.

 

Andrew Cohen (2013). “Enough Is Enough—Time for the Feds to Investigate Prison Abuse.” The Atlantic, March 20: www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/03/enough-is-enough-time-for-the-feds-to-investigate-prison-abuse/274091/.

Natasha Lennard (2013). “Bureau Of Prisons Agrees To Solitary Confinement Review.” Salon, February 5: www.salon.com/2013/02/05/bureau_of_prisons_agrees_to_solitary_confinement_review/

Alana Horowitz (2013). “Mental Illness Soars In Prisons, Jails While Inmates Suffer.” Huffington Post, February 4: www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/mental-illness-prisons-jails-inmates_n_2610062.html

Paige St. John (2013). “California Starts Emptying Solitary Confinement Cells.” Los Angeles Times, January 4: latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2013/01/california-starts-emptying-solitary-confinement-cells.html

Monica Gokey (2012). “In The Hole.” Missoula Independent, December 6: missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/in-the-hole/Content?oid=1696002

George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer (2012). “Tamms Guards Are Paid $425,000 In Overtime For Year.” Belleville News-Democrat, December 1: www.bnd.com/2012/12/01/2413741/despite-high-staff-level-tamms.html

Shane Bauer (2012). “Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America’s Prisons.” Mother Jones, November/December 2012 issue: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/solitary-confinement-shane-bauer

Ruth Marcus (2012). “Why Are We Subjecting Our Youths To Solitary Confinement?” Washington Post, October 16: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-why-are-we-subjecting-our-youths-to-solitary-confinement/2012/10/16/76a7bc50-17b6-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html

Terri Judd (2012). “UN Advisor Says Sending Muslim Cleric Abu Hamza To US Would Equal Torture.” The Independent, October 3: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/un-advisor-says-sending-muslim-cleric-abu-hamza-to-us-would-equal-torture-8194857.html

Mosi Secret (2012). “Prisoners’ Letters Offer A Window Into Lives Spent Alone in Tiny Cells.” New York Times, October 1: www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/nyregion/prisoner-letters-offer-glimpses-of-life-in-solitary-confinement.html?_r=0

Sadhbh Walshe (2012). “US ‘Supermax’ Prison Is Condemned Internationally For Its Abusive Regime.” The Guardian, September 18: www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/18/us-supermax-prison-international-opprobrium

Ry Rivard (2012). “Juvenile Facility Changes Protocol For Corrections Facilities.” Charleston Daily Mail, September 18: http://www.dailymail.com/policebrfs/201209170238

Statesman Editorial Board (2012). “Solitary Confinement Reform Needed.” The Austin American-Statesman, September 5: www.statesman.com/news/news/opinion/solitary-confinement-reform-needed/nR7tm/

Maurice Chammah (2012). “Lawmakers, Advocates Revisit State’s Approach to Solitary Confinement.” The Texas Tribune, September 5: http://www.texastribune.org/2012/09/05/lawmakers-address-reentry-after-solitary-confineme/

Mike Ward (2012). “Senators Push For Rehab Programs For State’s Most Violent Prisoners.” The Austin American-Statesman, September 4: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/senators-push-for-rehab-programs-for-states-most-v/nR7sn/

Larry Neumeister (2012). “Lawyer Seeks To Ease Conditions For ’93 WTC Bomber.” Associated Press, August 22: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/lawyer-seeks-ease-conditions-93-wtc-bomber

Andrew Cohen (2012). “Prison Chief’s Unnerving Suicide-Prevention Memo: ‘I Want You To Succeed.'” The Atlantic, August 3: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/prison-chiefs-unnerving-suicide-prevention-memo-i-want-you-to-succeed/260644/

Benjamin Weiser (2012). “Pondering Solitary Future for Gangster Held in Isolation for Years.” New York Times, July 8: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/nyregion/concerns-keep-the-gang-leader-peter-rollock-isolated-in-supermax-prison.html

Baltimore Sun Editorial (2012). “Torture By Another Name.” The Baltimore Sun, July 8: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-07-08/news/bs-ed-solitary-confinement-20120708_1_solitary-confinement-disciplinary-segregation-inmates

Colin Dayan (2012). “Destroying The Soul.” Washington Post, July 5: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-07-05/opinions/35489456_1_solitary-confinement-prisoners-supermax

Patrick Yeagle (2012). “Quinn Still Plans To Close Tamms Supermax.” Illinois Times, June 21: http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-10161-quinn-still-plans-to-close-tamms-supermax.html

Erica Goode (2012). “Senators Start a Review of Solitary Confinement.” New York Times, June 19: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/us/senators-start-a-review-of-solitary-confinement.html?_r=0

James Ridgeway, Jean Casella, and Sal Rodriguez (2012). “Senators Finally Ponder The Question: Is Solitary Confinement Wrong?” Mother Jones, June 19: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/congress-looks-solitary-confinement

Andrew Cohen (2012). “An American Gulag: Descending into Madness at Supermax.” The Atlantic, June 18: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/an-american-gulag-descending-into-madness-at-supermax/258323/

Bob Ortega (2012). “Critics: ‘Maximum Security’ A Factor In Prison Suicide Rate.” The Republic, June 2: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/06/02/20120602arizona-prison-suicide-rate.html

Ryan Devereaux (2012). “Prisoners Challenge Legality Of Solitary Confinement Lasting More Than A Decade.” The Guardian, May 31: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/may/31/california-prison-lawsuit-solitary-confinement

Anita Kumar (2012). “Virginia Inmates Embark On Hunger Strike to Protest Prison Conditions.” The Washington Post, May 22: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-05-22/local/35455214_1_solitary-confinement-hunger-strike-virginia-inmates

Rema Rahman (2012). “Mentally Ill Inmates Sue To Get Out Of Solitary.” Associated Press, May 17: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mentally-ill-inmates-sue-get-out-solitary

George Pawlaczyk (2012). “Tamm’s Future Is On The Line: Will Panel Recommend Closing Supermax Prison?” Belleville News-Democrat, April 28: http://www.bnd.com/2012/04/28/2158196/cruel-punishment-or-safety-measure.html

Ry Rivard (2012). “State Youth Corrections Facility Faces Lawsuit.” Charleston Daily Mail, April 26: http://www.dailymail.com/policebrfs/201204250368

Matt Stroud (2012). “Why Are Prisoners Committing Suicide in Pennsylvania?” The Nation, April 18: http://www.thenation.com/article/167459/why-are-prisoners-committing-suicide-pennsylvania.

James Ridgeway and Jean Casella (2012). “Torturous Milestone: 40 Years in Solitary Confinement.” MotherJones.com, April 17: http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/angola-prison-3-herman-wallace-albert-woodfox-40-years-solitary-confinement.

Denver Post Editorial (2012). “Editorial: Supermax ruling opens door to justice for terrorists.” Denver Post, April 15: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_20384767/editorial-supermax-ruling-opens-door-justice-terrorists

New York Times Editorial Board (2012). “The Abuse of Solitary Confinement.” New York Times, March 15: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/opinion/the-abuse-of-solitary-confinement.html?_r=1.

Erica Goode (2012). “Prisons Rethink Isolation, Saving Money, Lives, and Sanity.” New York Times, March 10: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/us/rethinking-solitary-confinement.html?gwh=AD337EC8FC4FABAA3C9629CB294E28F0.

Jeff Gerritt (2012). “Mentally Ill Get Punishment Instead of Treatment.” Detroit Free Press, February 5: http://www.freep.com/article/20120205/OPINION02/202050442/PUNISHMENT-INSTEAD-OF-TREATMENT-Hundreds-of-Michigan-s-mentally-ill-inmates-languish-in-solitary-confinement-lost-in-a-prison-system-ill-equipped-to-treat-them.

Susan Greene (2012). “The Gray Box: An Investigative Look at Solitary Confinement.” Dart Society Reports, January 24: http://www.dartsocietyreports.org/cms/2012/01/the-gray-box-an-original-investigation/.

Anita Kumar (2012). “Virginia Prisons’ Use of Solitary Confinement Is Scrutinized.” Washington Post, January 7: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/va-prisons-use-of-solitary-confinement-is-scrutinized/2011/11/28/gIQAkKHuhP_story.html.

Sarah Shourd (2011). “Tortured by Solitude” (op-ed). New York Times, November 5: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/opinion/sunday/in-an-iranian-prison-tortured-by-solitude.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y.

George Pawlaczyk and Buth Hundsdorfer (2011). “Inmate Wants Out of Tamms; Attorney Says Years of Solitary Confinement Have Harmed His Mental Health.” Belleville News-Democrat, August 28: http://www.bnd.com/2011/08/28/1837463/inmate-wants-opportunity-to-get.html.

Washington Post Editorial Board (2011). “Solitary Confinement Should Be a Last Resort.” Washington Post, August 21: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/solitary-confinement-should-be-a-last-resort/2011/08/11/gIQAxys6UJ_story.html.

Helen Redmond (2011). “Supermax Prisons: 21st Century Asylums.” Al Jazeera English, August 5: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/08/201185145425908206.html.

New York Times Editorial Board (2011) “Cruel Isolation.” New York Times, August 1: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/opinion/cruel-isolation-of-prisoners.html.

James Ridgeway and Jean Casella (2011). “A Hunger for Justice in Pelican Bay.” The Guardian, July 25: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jul/25/pelican-bay-prison-hunger-strike.

Colin Dayan (2011). “Barbarous Confinement” (op-ed). New York Times, July 17: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/opinion/18dayan.html.

Angola 3 News (2011). “Confronting Torture in U.S. Prisons: A Q & A with Solitary Watch.” Alternet, June 17: https://solitarywatch.org/2011/06/17/confronting-torture-in-u-s-prisons-a-qa-with-solitary-watch/.

Lance Tapley (2011). “Reform Comes to the Supermax.” Portland Phoenix, May 25: http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/121171-reform-comes-to-the-supermax/?page=1#TOPCONTENT.

James Ridgeway and Jean Casella (2011). “Cruel and Usual: U.S. Solitary Confinement.” Al Jazeera English, March 19: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/03/201137125936219469.html.

Karen Franklin (2011). “Supermax Prisons: Hell on earth or…not so bad after all?” Psychology Today, January 6: www.psychologytoday.com/blog/witness/201101/supermax-prisons-hell-earth-or-not-so-bad-after-all

Lance Tapley (2010). “The Worst of the Worst: Supermax Torture in America.” Boston Review, November/December: http://www.bostonreview.net/BR35.6/tapley.php.

Dave Mann (2010). “Solitary Men.” Texas Observer, November 10: http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/solitary-men.

Chase Madar (2010). “All American Gitmos.” TomDispatch, November 4: http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175316/.

Anne-Marie Cusac. “Torture Is American.” Huffington Post, October 6: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annemarie-cusac/torture-is-american_b_733428.html.

Ken Strutin (2010). “Solitary Confinement.” LLRX.com, August 10, 2010: http://www.llrx.com/features/solitaryconfinement.htm.

Matt Stroud (2010). “A Death in Solitary.” Philadelphia CityPaper, August 4: http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2010/08/05/matthew-bullock-solitary-confinement-suicide.

Charles Piller (2010). “Due Process for Prisoner Proceedings Allegedly Violated” and “Charges, Grievances Create Huge Workload.” Sacramento Bee, August 1: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/01/2928417/rights-of-prisoners-under-siege.html#ixzz0vUiNmiQu and http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/01/2928272/charges-grievances-create-huge.html.

Daniel Redman (2010). “‘I Was Scared to Sleep’: LGBT Youth Face Violence Behind Bars.” The Nation, June 21: http://www.thenation.com/article/36488/i-was-scared-sleep-lgbt-youth-face-violence-behind-bars.

Chris Vogel (2010). “For Their Own Good.” Houston Press, May 27: http://www.houstonpress.com/2009-05-28/news/for-their-own-good/6/.

Charles Piller (2010). “Guards Accused of Cruelty, Racism” and “California Prison Behavior Units Aim to Control Troublesome Inmates.” Sacramento Bee, May 9 and 10: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/05/09/2737459/the-public-eye-guards-accused.html and http://www.sacbee.com/2010/05/10/2738782/california-prison-behavior-units.html.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer (2010). “Prison Suicide Rates Rise; Solitary Confinement Adds to Risk.” Poughkeepsie Journal, April 11: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20101017/NEWS01/112030002/SPECIAL-REPORT-Prison-suicide-rates-rise-solitary-confinement-adds-risk.

Lance Tapley (2010). “Screams from Solitary” and “The Cost of Torture.” Portland Phoenix, February 17 & 25: http://portland.thephoenix.com/news/97371-screams-from-solitary/ and http://portland.thephoenix.com/news/97747-cost-of-torture/.

James Ridgeway and Jean Casella (2010). “Locking Down the Mentally Ill: Solitary Confinement Cells Have Become America’s New Asylums.” Crime Report, February 17: http://thecrimereport.org/2010/02/17/locking-down-the-mentally-ill/.

Beau Hodai (2009). “Voices from the Hellmouth: For Convict Journalists Freedom of the Press Is Not So Black and White.” Extra! (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), December: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3959.

Chris Hedges (2009). “One Day We’ll All Be Terrorists.” Truthdig, December 28: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/one_day_well_all_be_terrorists_20091228/.

Gerald L. Shargel (2009). “A Fate Worse Than Gitmo.” Daily Beast, December 22: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-22/a-fate-worse-than-gitmo/

Eric Bland (2009). “Even Bacteria Get Lonely.” Discovery News, December 18: http://news.discovery.com/animals/bacteria-solitary-confinement-infection.html

Tom Barry (2009). “A Death in Texas: Profits, Poverty, and Immigration Converge.” Boston Review, November/December: http://bostonreview.net/BR34.6/barry.php.

Stephen S. Eisenman (2009). “The Resistable Rise and Predictable Fall of the U.S. Supermax.” Monthly Review, November: http://www.monthlyreview.org/091116eisenman.php.

Washington Post Editorial Board (2009). “Solitary Disgrace: Prisons Should Abolish Long-Term Solitary Confinement.” Washington Post, November 28: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/27/AR2009112702912.html.

Daphne Eviatar (2009). “U.S. Prison Conditions Far Worse Than Guantanamo’s.” Washington Independent, October 5: http://washingtonindependent.com/62313/u-s-prison-conditions-far-worse-than-guantanamos.

Eli Braun (2009). “Trapped: Solitary Confinement.” Streetvibes, September 1: streetvibes.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/trapped-solitary-confinement/.

Beth Hundsdorfer and George Pawlaczyk (2009). “Trapped in Tamms” (series on Illinois supermax). Belleville News-Democrat, August: http://www.bnd.com/600.

ScienceDaily Staff (2009). “Cruel And Inhuman Treatment Causes More Mental Damage Than Physical Torture, Study Suggests.” ScienceDaily, June 2: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602101258.htm.

Brandon Keim (2009). “Solitary Confinement: The Invisible Torture” (interview with psychologist Craig Haney). Wired, April 29: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/solitaryconfinement/.

Alexander Cockburn (2009). “A Fate Worse Than Death.” First Post, April 9: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/46967,news-comment,news-politics,life-without-parole-a-fate-worse-than-the-death-penalty.

Atul Gawande (2009). “Hellhole: Is Long-Term Solitary Confinement Torture?” The New Yorker, March 30: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande.

Jeffrey Felshman (2008). “Hell in a Cell: Tamms Supermax.” Chicago Reader, April 24: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/hell-in-a-cell/Content?oid=1109858.

Jessica Pupovac (2008). “Torture in Our Own Backyards: The Fight Against Supermax Prisons.” Alternet, March 24: http://www.alternet.org/story/80440/torture_in_our_own_backyards%3A_the_fight_against_supermax_prisons/.

Boston Globe Spotlight Team (2007). “Breakdown: The Prison Suicide Crisis” (multimedia series). Boston Globe, December 7-11: http://www.boston.com/news/specials/prisons/.

Stephen Soldz (2007). “Isolation Torture Routine at Guatánamo.” Counterpunch, November 21: http://www.counterpunch.org/soldz11212007.html.

Jeffrey Kluger (2007). “Are Prisons Driving Prisoners Mad?” Time, January 26: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1582304,00.html.

Kevin Johnson (2006). “Inmate Suicides Linked to Solitary.” USA Today, December 27: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-12-27-inmate-suicides_x.htm.

Meg Laughlin (2006). “Does Separation Equal Suffering?” St. Petersburg Times, December 17: http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/17/State/Does_separation_equal.shtml.

Sol Wachtler (2006). “A Cell of One’s Own.” New York Times, September 24: http://www.correctionalassociation.org/press/download/pvp/2006-09-24_NY_Times_SHU.pdf.

H. Bruce Franklin (2006). “The American Prison and the Normalization of Torture.” Torture, American Style ( Historians Against the War), May: http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/resources/torture/brucefranklin.html.

Edna Fernandes (2006). “Supermax Prison, the Alcatraz of the Rockies.” Sunday Times (UK), May 4: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article713240.ece.

By Ken Picard (2006). “Cruel and Unusual? Dying in Solitary in a New York Prison.” Seven Days, January 25: http://www.7dvt.com/2006/cruel-and-unusual

Lance Tapley (2005). “Torture in Maine’s Prison” (series on Maine supermax), Portland Phoenix, November 11-17: http://www.portlandphoenix.com/features/top/ts_multi/documents/05081722.asp.

Michael B. Mushlin (2005). “Breeding Psychotics.” New York Times, March 27.

Joan Dayan (2004). “Cruel and Unusual: The End of the Eighth Amendment.” Boston Review, October/November: http://bostonreview.net/BR29.5/dayan.php.

Leah Caldwell (2004). “From Supermax to Abu Ghraib: The Masterminds of Torture, Humiliation and Abuse.” Counterpunch, October 15: http://www.counterpunch.org/caldwell10152004.html.

Alan Elsner (2004). “Supermax Prisons: A Growing Human Rights Issue.” Champion Magazine (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), August: http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/0/3b31897bcc67d0e385256f17006bc604?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,supermax.

Vince Beiser (2003). “A Necessary Evil?” Los Angeles Times, October 19: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/oct/19/magazine/tm-pelican42

Daniel Brook (2003). “A History of Hard Time: Solitary Confinement Then and Now.” Legal Affairs, January/February: http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2003/review_brook_janfeb2003.msp.

Kevin Johnson (2002). “From Extreme Isolation, Waves of Felons Are Freed.” USA Today, December 11: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-11-prison-cover-usat_x.htm?loc=interstitialskip.

Sasha Abramsky (2002). “Return of the Madhouse: Supermax Prisons Are Becoming the High-tech Equivalent of the Nineteenth-Century Snake Pit.” American Prospect, February 11: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1386365/Return-of-the-madhouse-supermax.html.

Sasha Abramsky (2002). “Return of the Madhouse.” The American Prospect, January 23: prospect.org/article/return-madhouse.

Julian Borger (2002). “America’s Most Unwanted Turn to the Law.” The Guardian, January 12: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0112-02.htm.

Claire Schaeffer-Duffy (2000). “Long-term Lockdowns.” National Catholic Reporter, December 8: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_7_37/ai_68364208/.

Sasha Abramsky (1999). “When They Get Out.” The Atlantic, June: www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/99jun/9906prisoners.htm.

J.E. Relly (1999). “Supermax: Inside, No One Can Hear You Scream.” Tucson Weekly, April 29: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/04-29-99/feat.htm.

Craig Timberg (1999). “At Virginia’s Toughest Prison, Tight Controls.” Washington Post, April 18: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/april99/supermax18.htm.

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