They have been held in solitary confinement for at least 20 years, each
in his own 8-by-10-foot windowless cell at the Pelican Bay supermax
prison, with about a thousand others — half of whom have been there for
more than a decade. They are allowed only about an hour of “recreation”
each day, often in shackles, in a cement enclosure not much larger than
their cell.
Even among inmates accustomed to severe across-the-board restrictions of
their liberties, there is a breaking point. This month, as many as
30,000 prisoners in California, most of whom are not in solitary
confinement, went on hunger strikes to protest its mass use.
In truth, that breaking point was passed long ago. Every day, it seems,
there is another news story, psychological study or official report
demonstrating the severe damage caused by long-term solitary
confinement.
Read on...
This is a NYTimes editorial. Tom
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