×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Under Fire, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Audits its Use of Solitary Confinement - and Buys a New Supermax Prison
by James Ridgeway and Jean Casella
Amidst growing criticism of its abundant use of solitary confinement, the federal Bureau of Prisons has quietly set in motion an “internal audit” to review its “restricted housing operations.” The audit, which has been contracted out to a Washington think tank and will be …
Amidst growing criticism of its abundant use of solitary confinement, the federal Bureau of Prisons has quietly set in motion an “internal audit” to review its “restricted housing operations.” The audit, which has been contracted out to a Washington think tank and will be …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- FCC Order Heralds Hope for Reform of Prison Phone Industry, by John Dannenberg
- Consolidated Footnotes – Charts A to D
- Prison Phone Companies Fight for Lucrative Florida DOC Contract, by David Ganim
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster, by Kent A. Russell
- BOP Compromises on Plan to Transfer Prisoners from FCI Danbury, by Derek Gilna
- Telemedicine Behind Bars
- Third Circuit Allows Prisoner's Substitution of Deceased Guard’s Estate
- Under Fire, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Audits its Use of Solitary Confinement - and Buys a New Supermax Prison, by James Ridgeway
- The Invisible Crisis of Correctional Health Care, by Cara Tabachnick
- BOP Settles Lawsuits Related to Food Poisoning at Pennsylvania Prison, by Derek Gilna
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Finding that Claim Accrues Each Time a Request for Conjugal Visits is Denied
- California Supreme Court Addresses CDCR Gang Associate Validation
- Kansas Supreme Court Holds Inpatient Drug Treatment Time Counts as Jail Time in Consecutive Non-Drug Case
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Disabled Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claim
- Eighth Circuit Initially Allows Non-Delegation Challenge to SORNA, then Reverses Course, by Derek Gilna
- No Summary Judgment on Claim that Guard Stole Prisoner’s Wedding Ring
- Wyoming Sheriff Granted Qualified Immunity for Jail Guard’s Sexual Assault
- Ninth Circuit: Residential Reentry Center Walkaway is Not Escape
- Minnesota: Favorable Resolution of Charges Establishes Rebuttable Presumption of Expungement
- Kansas Supreme Court Vacates Attorney Fee Reimbursement Order
- Possession of Cell Phone Doesn’t Violate Nevada Escape Device Statute
- Iowa Voting Rights Restoration Process Becomes Slightly Less Onerous
- Massachusetts Warden Removed After Eight Months on the Job
- Elder Abuse in Prisons: The Call for Elder Justice and Human Rights Protections Behind Bars, by Tina Maschi
- New York City’s Revised Indigent Defense Services Plan Upheld
- British Court Blocks Sex Offender’s Extradition to U.S. Due to “Draconian” Civil Commitment Policies
- News in Brief
More from James Ridgeway:
- Audit of Solitary Confinement in Federal Prisons: An Inside Job Reaches Foregone Conclusions, Oct. 26, 2015
- Under Fire, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Audits its Use of Solitary Confinement - and Buys a New Supermax Prison, Dec. 15, 2013
- Solidarity and Solitary: When Unions Clash with Prison Reform, June 15, 2013
- Fortresses of Solitude, April 15, 2013
- The Other Death Sentence: More than 100,000 Americans are destined to spend their final years in prison. Can we afford it?, Nov. 15, 2012
- God’s Own Warden: If you ever find yourself inside Louisiana’s Angola prison, Burl Cain will make sure you find Jesus – or regret ever crossing his path, June 15, 2012
- No Budget Cuts for Federal Prisons, June 15, 2012
- The Graying of America’s Prisons, Dec. 15, 2010
- Sotomayor for the Prosecution, July 15, 2009
More from these topics:
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026. DOJ CRIPA Actions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Nearly 50 People Have Died in ICE Custody Since Trump’s Return to White House, May 1, 2026. LaSalle Management Company, Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Suicides, Immigration Detention.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Alabama DOC Terminates $1 Billion Contract with YesCare, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Corizon, Private Contractors, Suicides, Employee Litigation.
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Naphcare, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Death of Washington Jail Standards Bill Risks Repeat of $2.5 Million Settlement That Closed One County’s Jail, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, State Legislation.
- Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1 Million Paid by Cuyahoga County for Detainee’s Preventable Suicide in Cleveland Jail, April 1, 2026. Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.

