Arguing that solitary confinement worsens mental health crises and violates constitutional rights, six people incarcerated in prisons across Pennsylvania filed a federal class-action lawsuit Monday seeking to end the practice’s indefinite use.
Lawyers for the six plaintiffs say this is the first case of its kind to challenge indefinite confinement and the use of solitary confinement for anyone with a mental health diagnosis. The lawyers are also seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the plaintiffs.
A similar lawsuit was filed in October 2023, with inmates at the Department of Corrections’ Fayette State Correctional Institution alleging that isolation practices there were deteriorating and creating mental health crises, based on secret evidence.
A number of nationwide lawsuits have targeted the solitary confinement conditions, alleging that the treatment of inmates there has led to psychiatric episodes of self-harm and death due to a lack of adequate care.
Legislation aimed at reforming the practice and protecting vulnerable populations has been introduced in Pennsylvania. A House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday is expected to focus on its use.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the state Department of Prisons, alleges that the incarcerated individuals suffered from heightened mental health problems. Some have been in solitary confinement for up to 12 consecutive years. The six prisoners are locked up in six different institutions.
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A spokesman for the state Department of Corrections declined to comment, saying the agency does not comment on litigation.
Advocates say the state Department of Prisons is violating the constitutional rights of inmates and is discriminatory by punishing people for symptoms of mental illness.
In solitary confinement, people are confined to their cell for most of the day, with limited time to visit or leave their cell. If they do leave their cells, they are often detained. They have limited access to hot water for showering. The fluorescent lights in their cells are constantly on, making it difficult to sleep. The environment is noisy, with banging steel doors and the screams of people with mental crises.
The complaint alleges that the mental health visits are not private, take place through the food slot in the steel doors and only last seconds.
Many of the plaintiffs self-harmed or attempted suicide while in solitary confinement, according to the complaint.
Khalil Hammond, a 35-year-old plaintiff, spent 12 years in solitary confinement. He is currently incarcerated at the Phoenix State Correctional Institution in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Hammond has a history of mental illness that worsened in prison. He tried to kill himself eight times, according to the complaint.
He is unable to participate in programs to become eligible for parole and has not been able to have frequent contact with his family. He cannot marry his fiancée while in solitary confinement.
“Isolation is killing us. If you didn’t have mental health issues before you went inside, you will after you’re in the hole,” he said in a statement. “Imagine being locked in a cage for years and years, never knowing when you’re going to get out.”
Malika Henderson, 29, was in solitary confinement for 22 consecutive months. She is incarcerated at Muncie State Correctional Institution. She has spent about six years cumulatively in solitary confinement.
After her grandmother died in February and she was unable to attend the funeral services virtually, she attempted suicide, the complaint states.
“Being in isolation away from loved ones and family is devastating,” she said in a statement. “I’m suffering, but I know that with this lawsuit I’m not fighting for myself, I’m fighting for the thousands of men and women who are in solitary confinement just like me and who need to come out.”
Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Abolitionist Law Center, one of the law firms involved in the case, called it a historic filing.
“Ending solitary confinement is necessary for humane reasons and as a matter of public health,” Holbrooke said in a statement. “The harm and devastation that people deprived of their liberty experience in solitary confinement has long-term and widespread consequences affecting the individuals, families and communities to which these people return home.”
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