US appeals court says man can sue Pennsylvania over 26 years of solitary confinement
Associated PressPHILADELPHIA — A man who spent 26 years in solitary confinement despite a history of mental illness can sue Pennsylvania prison officials for alleged cruel and unusual punishment, a U.S. appeals court said in reviving the man’s lawsuit. Roy Lee Williams spent nearly all of his time alone from 1993 until 2019, when a legal settlement led the state to end the practice of routinely housing death-row inmates in solitary confinement. The ruling comes as at least a dozen states have banned or restricted solitary confinement and lawsuits in both Pennsylvania and around the country target the practice as well, especially for people with mental illness. “By neither removing Williams from solitary confinement for 26 years, nor making modifications to his conditions of confinement, the DOC failed to act.” Williams remains in custody, and under a death sentence, in a state prison near Philadelphia.
History of this topic
US appeals court says man can sue Pennsylvania over 26 years of solitary confinement
The IndependentMental health concerns prompt lawsuit to end indefinite solitary confinement in Pennsylvania
Associated Press
Pennsylvania Inmates Sue Over 'Tortuous Conditions' of Solitary Confinement
News 18
Pennsylvania inmates sue over ‘tortuous conditions’ of solitary confinement
Associated Press
It’s time to end solitary confinement behind bars
Al Jazeera
Lawsuit: Solitary confinement in Georgia prison overly harsh
Associated PressDiscover Related
