From The Guardian a harrowing story of how it is for some in the US prison system.
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A prisoner with a history of mental illness was held in solitary confinement at a prison in Virginia for over 600 days, leading to a collapse in his physical and mental condition, a new lawsuit alleges.
Tyquine Lee, 26, is being held at Red Onion state prison and lost over 30lb, the ability to speak, recognize his mother or even remember his own name, the lawsuit states.
Between 26 May 2016 and 31 January 2018, Lee spent more than 22 hours a day in an 80 sq ft concrete cell behind a steel door. His only time outside of the cell was three showers a week and an hour of recreation each day in a steel cage the size of a parking space.
“He went from talking regular to talking in numbers, and a whole other language which I nor anyone else could understand,” said Takeisha Brown, Lee’s mother and legal guardian who filed the lawsuit with the MacArthur Justice Center.
She said: “My heart ached from pain when I heard from my son and I could not get a regular conversation out of him. I’ve lost sleep, and couldn’t eat because of this.”
Prison reform advocates in the US have called for solitary confinement to be banned because they say it constitutes torture. Studies have demonstrated its destructive psychological effects; reformers say there is little to no evidence the practice reduces prison violence.
Continue reading @ The Guardian.
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