Powerful Words from Texans Trapped in Solitary Confinement
Texas disappears more people in long-term solitary cells than all other states and the federal system combined.
solitary confinement
Short Story Finalist: ‘Solitary’
“There is no justice in being morally just. Not here.”
The Prison Inside Prison
Texas has banished hundreds of prisoners to more than a decade of solitary confinement. Many of these prisoners aren’t sure how—or, in some cases, if—they will ever get out.
Death in Solitary
Russell Johnson’s sister warned officials that nearly three years in solitary confinement had broken him. His suicide in isolation two months later points to compounded crises inside Texas prisons.
Texas Prisons Lead the Nation in Long-Term Solitary Confinement
Nearly a third of Texas prisoners in restrictive housing have been there for six years or longer, according to a new national survey.
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Letters from Death Row: The Biology of Trauma
New studies show that trauma biologically alters the brains of young boys in ways that affect their adult behavior.
Letters from Death Row: Faith Behind Bars
An informal Observer survey finds complex religious beliefs among death row inmates.
Letters from Death Row: Alone on the Inside
In an informal Observer survey, death row inmates describe a world of extreme isolation, where mental illness is both cause and symptom.