Ending Isolation

The injustice, cruelty, and degradation that are so enmeshed within the U.S. carceral system find their barbaric apogee in the practice of solitary confinement. Once judged by the U.S. 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 it was a harrowing ordeal that reshaped his life forever.

Ending Isolation weaves together Christopher's vivid, first-hand account of his years spent in solitary confinement in a Washington State prison, with the legal expertise of co-author Deborah Zalesne. 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.