×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Women in Solitary Confinement: “The Isolation Degenerates Us into Madness“
Women in Solitary Confinement: “The Isolation Degenerates Us into Madness“
by Victoria Law
A mass prisoner hunger strike rocked California’s prison system last year, drawing international attention to the extensive use of solitary confinement in the United States. Increasingly, solitary is finding its way into the mainstream …
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:
- News in Brief
- Investigation Uncovers Lost Graves at Former Florida Juvenile Facility, by David Reutter
- New York District Attorney Admits Lying About Acting in Porn Movies
- Nebraska DOC Obstructing Efforts to Modify Prisoners’ Child Support Payments
- Probe Reveals Corruption at Pennsylvania Jail
- California Prison Healthcare Costs Soar Under Federal Receiver
- Fifth Circuit Declares SORNA Unconstitutional in Certain Cases, Reversed by Supreme Court, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Activists Arrested for Protesting Construction of New Prison Complex
- “Ban the Box” Movement Spreads Nationwide, by Joe Watson
- ICE Implements New Directive to Limit Solitary Confinement
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Illinois Booking Fee Challenge, by Mark Wilson
- Colorado: Sentencing Court May Override Sexually Violent Predator Risk Assessment Score, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit Revives Ad Seg 24-Hour Lighting Claim, by Mark Wilson
- Seventh Circuit Extends Appeal Filing Deadline for Prisoner Misled by Court Clerk, by Matthew Clarke
- Second Circuit: Spraying with Feces Not De Minimis Injury; $7,000 Settlement After Remand, by Mark Wilson
- Fifth Circuit Holds Louisiana Commutation Changes Not Ex Post Facto, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: Exhaustion Prior to Amended Complaint Satisfies PLRA, by Mark Wilson
- Former Wyoming Probation Officer Receives, Violates Probation, by Derek Gilna
- California Exhaustion Requirement Extends to Independent Contractors, by Mark Wilson
- Jail Video Visitation Proposal Considered in Dallas County, Texas
- Colorado Law Grants Immunity to Law Enforcement Officers Transporting Juveniles, by David Reutter
- Tenth Circuit Holds “Consensual” Sex Defeats Prisoner’s Eighth Amendment Claim, by Mark Wilson
- $8.15 Million Jury Award for Prisoner’s Death at New York Jail, by David Reutter
- California: Federal Judge Certifies Class-Action Over SHU Placement, Conditions, by Derek Gilna
- Alaska Filing Fee Statute Denies Prisoners Court Access, by Mark Wilson
- Pretrial Detainee’s First Amendment Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
- Prison and Jail Phone Reforms Needed in New Jersey, by Karina Wilkinson
- Class-Action Suit Claiming Inadequate Medical Care at Virginia Prison Set for Trial
- Drug Courts Partner with Pharmaceutical Company to Combat Heroin, Alcohol Abuse
- Washington State: Injunction Entered Against Lewis County in PLN Censorship Suit
- Leading with Conviction: JustLeadershipUSA, by Glenn E. Martin
- How the Courts View ACA Accreditation, by Alex Friedmann
- Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearings on Criminal Justice Reform
- Women in Solitary Confinement: “The Isolation Degenerates Us into Madness“, by Victoria Law
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Texas Court Finds CCA Subject to State’s Public Information Act, Awards Attorney Fees
- $750,000 Settlement for Washington State Prisoner’s Wrongful Death, by Carrie Wilkinson
- In Washington State Prisons, Negligent Health Care Turns Illness into a Death Sentence, by Rick Anderson
More from Victoria Law:
- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026
- These Men Fought White Supremacists and Got Sentenced to Over 200 Years, May 1, 2024
- In an Ominous Pattern, People Are Dying Once Transferred to Louisiana Prison, March 1, 2023
- 17 States and DC Have Stopped Reporting Active COVID Cases Behind Bars, Sept. 1, 2022
- “The Worst Prison in New York State”, March 1, 2022
- ‘Prisons Are No Place for a Pandemic:’ Advocates Fight to Free Their Loved Ones, June 1, 2020
- Most States Saw Criminal Justice Reforms in 2019, But Incarceration Rates Remain High, March 4, 2020
- The Other Family Separation: Prisoners Fight to Keep Their Children, Jan. 7, 2020
- Behind Bars, Co-Pays Are a Barrier to Basic Health Care, Nov. 4, 2019
- Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can’t Afford to Call Your Lawyer, July 2, 2019
More from these topics:
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Report Shows Pattern of Sexual Assaults in Santa Clara County Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Failure to Protect (General).
- Trump is Making Federal Prisons More Dangerous for Transgender Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Rape Elimination Act, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Transgender Medical Procedures, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender).
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Immigration Detention, Monell Liability.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, July 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Staff Training, Mothers in Prison.
- 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.
- Federal Jury Awards $2,500 to Male Wisconsin Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Female Guard, June 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Evidence, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.