These are the real stories of real people who have been affected by solitary confinement. We hope that exposing the often-hidden realities of solitary to public view will encourage questions and increased opposition to it.
STORIES FROM SOLITARY
Joe Giarratano is a prisoner at Virginia’s Wallens Ridge State Prison. He spent a total of eight years in Secure Housing and supermax units, sometimes spending as many as 23 hours a day in isolation, with little or no human contact or natural light. The following is a handwritten letter from Joe along with a typed transcription. The letter has been redacted by the ACLU at the request of Joe’s counsel.
Joe Giarratano - Stories from Solitary »
STORIES FROM SOLITARY
This year, hundreds of mothers will be kept from hugging their children by the walls of solitary confinement.
Justice Mamas »
STORIES FROM SOLITARY
Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Robert King make up the “Angola 3,” prisoners who were targeted for punishment and placed in solitary confinement at the Angola Prison in Louisiana because they were members of the Black Panther Party. King was released from Angola in February 2001, but Wallace and Woodfox are still in prison. April 17 marks 40 years that they have been in solitary confinement.
Solitary Confinement: "The Soul Cries and the Brain Shrinks" »
