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Use of Solitary Confinement During Pandemic Detrimental To Prisoners and Not Slowing Spread of COVID-19
by Chad Marks
Prisons have been locking prisoners in cells for up to 22 hours a day, and in some cases 24 hours a day, as the virus has swept through the prison system like a tornado. Some people say this method is helping spread the virus among …
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More from this issue:
- The Punishment Economy: Winners and Losers in the Business of Mass Incarceration, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Use of Solitary Confinement During Pandemic Detrimental To Prisoners and Not Slowing Spread of COVID-19, by Chad Marks
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Why Did a St. Louis Man Die in a Federal Prison Coronavirus Hotspot?, by Mike Fitzgerald
- Texas Prisons Close Amid Pandemic, by Jayson Hawkins
- The Importance of Establishing Veterans Benefits While in Prison, by Art Gage
- ICE Holding Cuban Detainee for 11 Years and Counting Following Florida Prison Release, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Alabama Prisons, Among Deadliest for COVID-19, Not Prepared to Vaccinate Prisoners, by Kevin Bliss
- Amid Widespread Calls for Abolition, Mariame Kaba Sheds Light With Latest Book, by Juliette LaMarr
- Massachusetts Uses Medical Parole to Avoid In-Custody Deaths From COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Second Circuit Reinstates Acquitted New York City Man’s Claims of Police Due Process Violations and Excessive Use of Force by Jailers, by Matthew Clarke
- Music Project Brings Prisoners’ Stories to Life in Song, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Report: Massachusetts Prisons Continue to Fail on Mental Health Care, by Jayson Hawkins
- Federal Court: COVID-19 Vaccine Must be Available to All Oregon Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Idaho Supreme Court Orders Release of Death Penalty Related Documents, by David Reutter
- BOP’s Terminal Island Response Sparked COVID-19 Spread, by Mark Wilson
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Lawsuit Alleging New York Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Qualified Immunity Granted on Claim of Sleep Deprivation From Guard Noise During Suicide-Prevention Checks in California, by David Reutter
- Texas Moves to Deny Housing for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- California State Prisoners Pay Teen’s School Tuition, by Edward Lyon
- Smoking on the Chain Gang, by David Reutter
- Medical Copays for Prisoners Suspended in Several States Due to COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Washington State Governor Signs Bill Banning Private Prisons Statewide, by Juliette LaMarr
- Pandemic Medical Update: Vaccines, Variants and More, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Southern Republican Senators Criticize Third Pandemic Relief Bill for Giving Payments to Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Broad Support for North Carolina Bill to Bar Shackling Pregnant Prisoners, by Daniel Matheson
- Judge Slaps Arizona With $1.1 Million Fine Over Prison Health Care, by David Reutter
- With the majority of corrections officers declining the COVID-19 vaccine, incarcerated people are still at serious risk, by Wanda Bertram, Wendy Sawyer
- HRDC Wins FOIA Lawsuit filed in Washington State for Unredacted ICE Documents, by David Reutter
- Report: Private Company Rubber-Stamps Inspections of Abuse-Ridden ICE Detention Camps, by Kevin Bliss
- Family of San Quentin Prisoner Who Died of COVID-19 Due to “Horribly Botched Transfer” Files Lawsuit, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Calls for the End of Solitary Confinement at Michigan Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Washington Supreme Court Holds Ongoing Contempt Not Required to Impose Sanctions for Violating Injunction Against Releasing Sex Offender Records, by Matthew Clarke
- Repairing Credit After Release from Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- Report: Border Patrol Misappropriated Funds and Failed to Provide Proper Medical Care to Accurately Report Migrant Deaths, by Douglas Ankney
- Biden’s Justice Department Nomination Faces Aggressive Opposition From Senate Republicans, by Juliette LaMarr
- Lawsuit Over Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Fatal Asthma Attack Allegedly Triggered by Excessive Use of Pepper Spray, by Matthew Clarke
- Narrowing the Remedial Gap: Damages for Disability Discrimination in Outsourced Federal Programs, by Margo Schlanger
- COVID-19 Kills Jeffery Epstein’s Former Cellmate, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
- Banksy Artwork Appears on Jail in England, by David Reutter
More from Chad Marks:
- Use of Solitary Confinement During Pandemic Detrimental To Prisoners and Not Slowing Spread of COVID-19, May 1, 2021
- COVID-19 Inspired Ban on Prison Visits in Texas Ends, April 1, 2021
- Sequel: Three Additional Federal Executions Before Trump Left Office, March 1, 2021
- Connecticut: Summary Judgment Denied in Deliberate Indifference Case Where Facial Lesion Turned Out To Be Skin Cancer, Nov. 1, 2020
- Ford Foundation President’s Support to Replace Rikers With Other Jails Criticized, Oct. 1, 2020
- Wisconsin: Court Dismisses Prisoners’ Suit Over Asbestos, Mold on Procedural Grounds, Sept. 1, 2020
- New Jersey: Commission Recommends State Take 100 Steps to Improve Re-Entry for Ex-Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2020
- New York: Prisoner Kills Himself After Brutal Beating by Guards, Aug. 1, 2020
- Jury Award $700,000 to Maryland Prisoner Assaulted by Guards, Aug. 1, 2020
- Is the Death Penalty Slowly Dying Across the Nation?, June 15, 2020
More from these topics:
- 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.
- 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.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.
- 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.
- Ombuds Report Doesn’t Rule Out Racism or Retaliation at Red Onion State Prison, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Failure to Treat, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- $250,000 Paid by Maine to Former Prisoner Held in Solitary Confinement—Which the State DOC Says Doesn’t Exist, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Americans with Disabilities Act, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2026. Sanitation, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Juvenile Prisons, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, May 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Records, COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Databases.
- Class Certification Granted to Suit Challenging Suspension of HALT Act in New York Prisons, April 1, 2026. Injunctions, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guard Unions, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Fifth Amendment, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Prison Classification.

