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Solitary Confinement Subject of Unprecedented Congressional Hearing
by Alex Friedmann1
It’s an awful thing, solitary. It crushes your spirit and weakens your resistance more effectively than any other form of mistreatment.
— U.S. Senator John McCain, on his treatment as a P.O.W.2
On June 19, 2012, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the …
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More from this issue:
- Solitary Confinement Subject of Unprecedented Congressional Hearing, by Alex Friedmann
- Solitary Confinement: Bad for Chimps, Okay for Humans?, by Lance Tapley
- California Female Prisoners Eligible for Early Release, but Disqualified Due to Lack of Local Rehabilitative Services
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ninth Circuit Judge Who Co-Authored “Torture Memos” Discloses Receipt of $3.4 Million in Legal and Consulting Help
- The Price to Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization in the Prison Phone Industry, by Drew Kukorowski
- Ninth Circuit Holds CAFRA Attorney Fees Should be Paid to Claimant, not Attorney
- Fifth Circuit Holds Louisiana Prisons Can’t Ban Nation of Islam Newspaper
- New York Court Upholds Law Requiring Census Count to Use Prisoners’ Pre-Incarceration Address
- Texas Abolishes Last Meals for Death Row Prisoners, Reduces Weekend Meals, by Matthew Clarke
- Manhattan Prosecutor Who Moonlights as Dominatrix Suspended, Resigns, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Cites Rising Violence, Other Problems at Illinois Maximum-Security Prison, by David Reutter
- Private Prison Monopolies, by Christopher Petrella
- 46 California Prisoners Injured in Disturbance at CCA-run Oklahoma Facility
- Washington State Post-Judgment Interest Award Required when Judgment Increased by Appellate Court in Records Case
- Violence in Tennessee Prisons up 20 Percent Under New Commissioner, by Alex Friedmann
- Mug Shot Websites Based on Extortion Business Model, by David Reutter
- Advanced Criminal Procedure in a Nutshell, 2nd Ed., by Mark E. Cammack and Norman M. Garland (Thomson West, 2006). 505 pages, $38.00, by John Dannenberg
- Florida: Two Men Sentenced in Prison Canteen Kickback Scheme
- California Federal Judge Denies Habeas Petitions after Sitting on Them for Years
- California’s Experiment with Community Correctional Facilities Coming to an End?
- UTMB Challenges Texas State Audit, while Legislature Imposes $100 Prisoner Health Care Co-Pay, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Adopts 5% Prison Trust Fund Account “Service Fee”
- North Dakota Farmers Help Flush Out Escaped Florida Sex Offender
- New Hampshire Court Invalidates City’s Sex Offender Residency Ordinance
- Texas Compensates Exonerees Unequally, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Upholds North Carolina Sheriff’s Bribery Conviction
- Criminal Law in a Nutshell, 5th Ed., by Arnold H. Loewy (West Law School, 2009). 387 pages, $38.00, by John Dannenberg
- Former Delaware Prisoner Settles Sexual Assault Suit for $287,500 and Policy Changes, by Derek Gilna
- Eight Puerto Rican Prisoners Drown in Flooded Van
- Oregon Passes Legislation to Move Juveniles Out of Adult Jails
- Oregon Guard Shoots, Wounds Prisoner; Unreported Earlier Prisoner Murder Exposed
- News in Brief
More from Alex Friedmann:
- A Primer on Prisoners’ Constitutional Rights, Nov. 14, 2016
- Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons, Oct. 3, 2016
- Securus Faces Lawsuit Over Recorded Attorney Calls, Aug. 2, 2016
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Jail in Knoxville, TN, Oct. 26, 2015
- Who Owns Private Prison Stock?, July 31, 2015
- 32 Deaths at CCA-operated Immigration Detention Facilities Include at Least 7 Suicides, July 7, 2015
- How the Courts View ACA Accreditation, Oct. 10, 2014
- Recidivism Performance Measures for Private Halfway Houses in Pennsylvania, Sept. 19, 2014
- Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication, April 15, 2014
- Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever!, Nov. 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Failure to Train/Supervise, Deliberate Indifference.
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Telephones.
- New York to Become First State to Require Judges to Visit Prisons, July 1, 2026. Classification, Conditions of Confinement, Staffing, Prisoner Privileges.
- California Gave Every Student in Prison a Laptop. How Community Colleges Are Using Them, July 1, 2026. Education, Computers, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Access to Computers.
- North Texas Prison Evacuated After Carbon Monoxide Leak, July 1, 2026. Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Cold, Water, Exposure to Heat.
- SCOTUS Refuses to Allow Damages Under RLUIPA for Rastafarian Former Prisoner Shaved Bald by Louisiana Prison Officials, July 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Religious Practices, Damages - Compensatory, Adequacy of Remedy, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Detainee Deaths Went Unreported at Dallas County Jail, July 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Public Records.
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Wisconsin State Prison Population Approaches Record High, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Overcrowding, Staffing, Pardons/Clemency, Reduction of Prison Population.

