Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement

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A devastating case against the inhumane practice of solitary confinement "These compelling reflections by people who have been entrapped within the tortures of solitary, should reki ndle our abolitionist impulses at an especially critical moment in our history." Angela Y. Davis The injustice, cruelty, and degradation that are so enmeshed within the US carceral system find their barbaric apogee in the practice of solitary confinement. Once judged by the US Supreme Court to be an impermissible form of torture, the use of solitary confinement has grown to become a ‘solution’ to the overcrowding and violence that have defined life on the inside. So what exactly does it mean to be sent to ‘the hole?’ What damage is inflicted on the body and the mind by being locked in a cell the size of a parking space, for months or even years? Most of us can only imagine. For Christopher Blackwell and Kwaneta Harris it was a harrowing ordeal that reshaped their lives forever. Ending Isolation weaves together Christopher’s and Kwaneta’s vivid, first-hand accounts of their years spent in solitary confinement, Chris in a Washington State prison and Kwaneta in Texas, with the legal expertise of Prof. Deborah Zalesne and medical expertise of Dr. Terry Kupers. The book also includes writing from many other formerly and currently incarcerated people. With chapters covering juveniles in solitary, mental illness, racial injustice, and even environmental issues, the book makes the case that the practice is an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment that must be abolished. Table of Contents Prologue: Chris’s Story1. Introduction2. Buried Alive3. A Brief History of Solitary Confinement in America4. Who Gets Sent to the Hole5. Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Stories of Torture6. The Physical and Psychological Harms of Solitary7. Mental Illness and Solitary Confinement8. Juveniles in Solitary9. Environmental Injustice and Its Effect on Solitary10. Sexual Assault and Gender-Based Injustices in the Hole12. After Solitary13. The Legal Boundaries of Solitude14. Reform, Advocacy, and Activism by Impacted People and the Community15. Solitary by Any Other Name16. The Case Against Solitary Confinement Table of Contents "For virtually the entire history of the prison, incarcerated people and their allies have sought to end solitary confinement, a punishment as desperately flawed as the institution that spawned it. These compelling reflections by people who have been entrapped within the tortures of solitary, and by those who bring them lifelines from the outside, should rekindle our abolitionist impulses at an especially critical moment in our history." Angela Y. Davis "A vital, systematic dismantling of every possible argument one could use to justify solitary confinement" Guardian "The use and abuse of solitary confinement has grown over the recent decades in many countries, most significantly in the United States. The recognition that prolonged or indefinite isolation, no matter its purpose, inflicts mental pain and suffering amounting to torture is, finally, providing impulse to advocacy and mobilization to outlaw this cruel practice. An indispensable tool to campaigns for abolition everywhere." Juan E. Mendez, Professor of Human Rights in Residence, Washington College of Law at American University, and Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (2010-16) "Prison journalists Christopher Blackwell and Kwaneta Harris team up with scholars to make a powerful case for ending the torture used in our prisons: solitary confinement. This oral history, which includes excruciating accounts from many prisoners across the country, even shocked me as I read it in the madhouse of Sing Sing. By revealing the real-life horror story of what’s happening in the American prison, Ending Isolation is an urgent call to do away with solitary confinement." John J. Lennon, contributing editor at Esquire and author of The Tragedy of True Crime "Every day, hundreds of thousands of people are tortured in prisons and jails funded by U.S. taxpayers. Ending Isolation is a comprehensive accounting of the physical, psychological, and societal costs of solitary confinement — and an urgent call for change." Jessica Schulberg, senior reporter at HuffPost "It’s one thing to be aware, as most people are, of the existence of solitary confinement. But reading this book is a revelation, if a disturbing one. In the continuing debate over the legitimacy and efficacy of solitary confinement, Ending Isolation will be a powerful brief for its abolition." Jeffrey Toobin, Legal Analyst and author of The Pardon "Solitary confinement is torture. This innovative book, told across too many prison walls, demonstrates why it must end—and, by confronting solitary through solidarity, Ending Isolation begins to show us how." Dan Berger, author of Stayed on Freedom: The Long Journey of Black Power Through One Family’s Journey "Solitary confinement is one of the most pressing humanitarian crises of our time. By combining powerful firsthand accounts of solitary confinement with compelling evidence of its devastating harms, Blackwell and Zalesne have created both a highly readable primer on solitary and an urgent call to finally end this torturous practice." Jean Casella, Director, Solitary Watch "A searing indictment of solitary confinement, blending personal testimony, legal insight, and medical expertise to expose its devastating human toll. Urgent and unflinching, it dismantles harmful myths and calls for humane alternatives to this system of state-sanctioned torture" Jessica Sandoval, National Director of Unlock the Box Campaign "Blackwell and Zalesne mount a heartbreakingly compelling case against the use of solitary confinement. They paint a vivid portrait of its terrible effects on physical, mental, and emotional health and demand that we find alternatives to this torturous practice. This book combines Blackwell’s hard-won knowledge from within prison walls and Zalesne’s legal expertise, and it highlights many other voices of those most affected by this appalling–and appallingly common– penal practice. Truly an eye-opening read, even for those who think they already know what solitary confinement is and does" Carol S. Steiker, Professor, Harvard Law School "A critical book to read to understand the harms and torture that occurs daily in American prisons when people are placed in solitary confinement. This book uniquely combines the authors’ personal experience with expert medical and legal knowledge" Jules Lobel, Bessie McKee Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh Law School "As someone who spent years in solitary confinement, I know firsthand the psychological devastation of being locked in a cell for 23 hours a day. Ending Isolation brings the truth to light with piercing clarity—this is not rehabilitation, it’s state-sponsored psychological torture. What makes this book indispensable is its fusion of lived experience, legal scholarship, and medical expertise. At a time when political leaders are doubling down on fear-based punishment and supermax prisons are expanding globally, this book is more than a warning—it’s a moral call to action. It arms the reader with the knowledge—and the moral clarity—needed to dismantle one of the most brutal tools in the American penal system. We cannot claim to value justice while legislating cruelty." Johnny Perez, Director, U.S. Prisons Program, National Religious Campaign Against Torture "Chris Blackwell is a gifted writer who gives voice to those silenced and brutalized by the justice system. In this honest, unflinching book, Chris and his co-authors expose the cruelty and futility of solitary confinement. A searing indictment and urgent call to action." Udi Ofer, John L. Weinberg Visiting Professor, Lecturer in Public and International Affairs, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs About the Authors Christopher Blackwell is an award-winning journalist currently incarcerated in Washington State, serving a 45-year prison sentence for taking a human life. He is the co-founder, with Dr. Chelsea Moore, and current Executive Director of Look2Justice, a grassroots organization that transforms the legal system by empowering impacted people through civic education. His writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many more. He was awarded the 2024 Incarcerated Journalist of the Year award by Prison Journalism Project through their Stillwater Awards. You can find more about Christopher’s writing and policy work at christopher-blackwell.com. Deborah Zalesne is a Professor of Law at the City University of New York School of Law where she teaches Contract Law from a social justice perspective. With Christopher Blackwell, she co-founded Empowerment Avenue’s Writers Development Program for aspiring incarcerated writers. She has published extensively in the areas of race and gender justice and is the author of two books and over forty scholarly articles for publications such as the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism and the Columbia Journal of Race and the Law. Show more