Lawsuit: Solitary confinement in Georgia prison overly harsh

ATLANTA — Men held in solitary confinement at a Georgia prison are subject to such harsh and isolating conditions and receive such inadequate mental health care that self-injury and violence are common, according to a new federal lawsuit. Department policy says the solitary confinement program is meant to be a roughly nine-month “incentive program” used to encourage “appropriate adjustments” so prisoners can be returned to the general prison population, the lawsuit says. But in practice, it alleges, men are held there for months or even years, “despite the serious health consequences of long-term solitary confinement.” They are locked in their cells 24 hours a day, apart from occasional showers, medical appointments and legal visits and have very limited access to phones, recreation or social interaction, the lawsuit says. “People spend months or years in solitary confinement without access to the basic necessities of a dignified life, like sunshine, fresh air, clean living spaces, and mental health treatment,” said Alison Ganem, an attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights, which filed the lawsuit along with lawyers at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. “Without immediate action to address these unconstitutional and immoral conditions, more people are likely to die.” The lawsuit asks a judge to order prison officials to offer at least four hours a day of out-of-cell time to people in solitary confinement, including one hour of outdoor time.