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Solitary Confinement is a Catch-22 for Colorado Prisoners and a “Moral Injury” for Mental Health Workers
Loaded on Sept. 15, 2023
published in Prison Legal News
September, 2023, page 62
Responding to an open-records request, the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) revealed on April 11, 2023, that 1.7% of the state’s prison population was in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day or more.
A mentally ill woman held for DOC at the Delta County Jail (DCJ) was in that ...
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More from this issue:
- “Frozen in Solitude’’: Heat-Sensitive Texas Prisoners Get More Than Air Conditioning Locked Inside Former Segregation Cells, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Four Hawaii Prison Guards Sentenced for Beating Prisoner – But One Wins Back-Pay, by David Reutter
- Sheriffs Offered Caribbean Cruises and Florida Retreats As Part Of Jail Telecom Contracts, by Hayden Betts
- $1 Million Settlement Reached After Detainee’s Suicide in Washington Jail, by David Reutter
- The Lecturer at the Lockup: Maine Prisoner Is First to Teach College Courses from His Cell
- Arkansas Parole Board Denies Release to Sex Offender For Failure to Find Appropriate Housing, by David Reutter
- Unyielding Pursuit of Justice or Unfulfilled Promises: Doubts Surround California Habeas Attorney
- After $300,000 Settlement for Detainee’s Death, Texas County Looks to Replace Jail
- LGBTQ+ Detainees at Rikers Island Suffer Under Mayor Adams, by Kevin Bliss
- $8.25 Million Verdict Against Former Colorado Sheriff for Detainee’s Sexual Assault During Jail Transfer, by Matthew Clarke
- Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
- Calls for California Sheriff’s Department Oversight After Jail Deaths, $30,000 Settlement for Botched Traffic Stop
- Innovative Brazilian Prison Claims “Here the Man Enters, the Crime Stays Outside”
- Oregon Parole Hearing Exclusion Rule Invalidated, by David Reutter
- U.S. Marshals Pull Out of Virginia Jail After Two Escapes in One Day
- Government Watchdog Adds BOP to List at “High Risk” of Mismanagement, by Kevin Bliss
- BOP Guard, Nurse in Virginia Indicted in Prisoner’s Death
- Washington Supreme Court: Requiring Certificate of Merit for Medical Malpractice Suits Held Invalid
- Four Deaths in Seven Weeks at Pennsylvania Prison
- Two Dead and $4.675 Million Paid After Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct in California’s Sonoma County, by Casey Bastian
- Congress Forces BOP to Upgrade Security Cameras, by Mark Wilson
- Prisoner Health Update: Over-the-Counter Medications, by Eike Blohm, MD
- San Diego County Pays $4.35 Million After Jail Guards Failed to Stop Detainee From Blinding Herself, by David Reutter
- New York Prison System Found Liable for Failure to Protect Prisoner from Assault
- Insider Trading Charges Dropped Against JPay Founder, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Ministry Sues Indiana Jail Over Book Ban
- Five Years After Limiting Personal Visits and Banning Mail, Drug Use Worse in Pennsylvania Prisons
- At Massive and Corrupt Philippine Prison, Contraband Includes Jacuzzis and Horses, by Kevin Bliss
- FBI Crime Report Lacking Data from Police Agencies Serving 25 Percent of U.S. Population
- Incarceration Increases Death Risk for Cancer Patients
- $120,000 Paid to Muslim Detainees for Discrimination by Maryland Jail, by David Reutter
- Oregon Will Hold Release Hearings for 73 Prisoners Sentenced to LWOP as Juveniles, by Mark Wilson
- Federal Watchdog Finds BOP Staffing, Maintenance in Crisis
- Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Delayed Transfer of Sex Offenders, by Mark Wilson
- Former BOP Employees Guilty of Assaulting a Prisoner and Taking Bribes at Troubled Federal Prison in Massachusetts
- Second Circuit Affirms $600,000 Punitive Damage Award to New York Prisoner Brutally Beaten by Guards, by Kevin Bliss
- “Be Christian or Be Penalized”: After Fourth Circuit Revives Muslim Prisoner’s Challenge, Virginia Jail Settles Suit for $30,000, by Douglas Ankney
- Aramark Sparks Nevada Prison Hunger Strike, by Mark Wilson
- $50,002 Jury Award to Illinois Prisoner Retaliated Against for Daughter’s Facebook Posts, by David Reutter
- HRDC Granted Injunction to End Censorship in Arkansas Jail, by David Reutter
- As e-Messaging Takes Off in U.S. Prisons, Complaints Over Service and Costs Multiply, by David Reutter
- California Guard Charged with Raping 22 Prisoners
- Maryland Sheriff Charged with Illegally Procuring Machine Guns from ATF, by Kevin Bliss
- Nevada Pays $75,000 for Religious Discrimination Claims of Prisoners in Episcopal and The Way Faith Groups, by David Reutter
- California Supreme Court Remands Guards’ Overturned Murder Convictions In Detainee Death At Santa Clara County Jail
- Alabama Denies Parole to 90% of Eligible Prisoners
- Former Connecticut Prisoner’s Challenge Proceeds Against “Pay-to-Stay” Fees
- No Summary Judgment for Private Transportation Company in Maryland Detainee’s Suit Alleging “Horrific” 2,000-Mile Journey, by Keith Sanders
- $5,000 Settlement for Warrantless Search of Pro Se North Carolina Prisoner’s Cellphone, by Matthew Clarke
- Challenge Survives to Maryland County’s Cash Bond Program, by David Reutter
- Oregon Governor Commutes All Death Sentences, by Mark Wilson
- Shocking Video Footage Reveals Rampant Violence and Neglect in Los Angeles County Jails
- Voting Rights Restoration for Virginia Ex-Felons Once Again Subject to Governor’s Whim, by Kevin Bliss
- Doctor Convicted of Sexually Abusing USA Gymnasts Is Stabbed in Prison Cell
- Solitary Confinement is a Catch-22 for Colorado Prisoners and a “Moral Injury” for Mental Health Workers
- News in Brief
- Exasperated Federal Judge Issues Permanent Injunction to Arizona DOC in Healthcare Class-Action, by Matthew Clarke
More from these topics:
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care, Aug. 1, 2025. Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- California Enacts Counterproductive, Regressive Solitary Confinement Bill, June 1, 2025. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, State Legislation.
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Mental Health.
- Georgia Eliminates Legal Standard That Sent Intellectually Disabled Prisoners to Death Row, May 15, 2025. Mental Health, Capital Punishment.
- Third Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Pennsylvania DOC in Prisoner’s Challenge to 26 Years of Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2025. Qualified Immunity, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- $250,000 Settlement But No Charges After Alabama Guards Beat Prisoner To Death, April 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Deliberate Indifference.
- New York Suspends Solitary Ban to Woo Back Striking Prison Guards, April 1, 2025. Work Strikes, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff.
- Tenth Alabama Jail Employee Pleads Guilty in Detainee’s Freezing Death, April 1, 2025. Exposure to Cold, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.

