I needed to understand what goes on in the minds of those who are in solitary confinement. Being that my fiancé is now in what they call the “hole”, at first it was a lot of thoughts going through my mind. Thursday morning, I found out that William is in restrictive housing unit. So, I made phone calls attempting to do a wellness check on him. It made me upset how I was getting so many different attitudes from the staff. After numerous calls I was able to speak with someone back there. All he told me was that after 30 days he would be granted a five-minute phone call. As of right now I have no idea on how long he will be back there. After I went through days of being upset, worried, and very much sad it came to me that this is not normal. I am not sure how many can relate to having a loved one in segregation units, restrictive housing, the hole for days at a time but for me this is my first time going through this experience. With William being segregated back there led me to wonder how he is doing mentally. We have had conversations about Black Panther Party members and other Political Prisoners who have spent years in solitary confinement. Men like Albert Woodfox was a former member of the Black Panthers who was put in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary for over 43 years. Mumia Abu-Jamal has been unjustly incarcerated for over 42 years, much of that time in solitary confinement on death row in Pennsylvania. In late 2011, he was finally released from death row and moved into the general population at SCI Mahanoy, where he is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole – in other words, death by incarceration. Russell “Maroon” Shoatz 22 years in solitary confinement. No one should forget the other prisoners such as Ruchell Magee, Sundiata Acoli, and Dr. Mutulu Shakur. Just to name a few that came to mind when I think about this issue. Spending long days and nights in a windowless cell tucked away from everyone, even your loved ones. Not being able to speak to anybody for 30 days must be very hard. Solitary confinement is like a prison within a prison meant to break them. Like what human being can honestly say that they will come out of this the same way. The way that I see these men and women who are being housed in these facilities are our returning neighbors, those who are returning back into society, they are people period so why would we not give them the help that they could need instead of locking them even further away from everyone and everything. Now I am not saying that they should not have some type of reprimand if they violate the rules but there must be a better way. Inhumane treatment for prolonged periods of times is not considered rehabilitative at all. “Solitary confinement is widely recognized as a form of torture that can cause irreparable harm to people. Some say that overuse of solitary confinement can threaten public safety, strain prison budgets, and violate fundamental human rights.” Nine state legislatures have recently passed new limits or prohibitions against the practice. Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Texas have passed laws. As a part of a lawsuit settlement in New York, the state agreed to change and limit the use of solitary confinement. I have found many articles on H.R.4972 – End Solitary Confinement Act which is specifically for federal prisons. What about those who are incarcerated with the state. Shouldn’t that be pushed for these men and women as well? They matter, right? I will post links of the information that I found on here as well. But this should be talked about, not only federally but for all prisons in the United States of America not just the ones under the Bureau of Prisons. What are ways that we can implement other than long times in solitary confinement? How can we make it better? We all can truly stand in solidarity with individuals who have created petitions, wrote articles, who are holding lobby days, and those who have experienced being in solitary confinement before. All these links, even the petition is down below for North Carolina. Change.org has many for different states. Sign and share. Call your state legislature to voice your opinions on the End Solitary Act. That should be for all prisons in the USA not just some. As family members we are counting down the days for the next phone calls, visitations, on the lookout for letters, and doing wellness checks because they matter to us. Let us come together and help make a difference by using our voices to speak up for them. Many ways to use your voice, it can be via email, phone calls, signing/creating petitions and sharing it to gain more attention with signatures, speaking with elected officials, and using social media to help as well. I hope this will touch someone who is also going through this life with their loved ones to get involved with us to help create a change that is way overdue. While you and your loved one are going through this much difficult time, I truly hope and pray that each of you will remain strong not only together but mentally,physically, and spiritually. If you need someone to talk to or ask questions feel free to email me @btwtalk@yahoo.com. If your family is allowed to have books send them, things like crossword puzzles, art supplies, sudoku, things that will keep their mind occupied while away from the people they care about the most. Thank you for reading my post, Frankie (Co-Founder).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalief_Browder
https://prospect.org/justice/eight-principles-reforming-solitary-confinement
https://www.change.org/search?q=end%20solitary%20&offset=10
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4972