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Growing Opposition to Solitary Confinement

Published

13 years ago

March 15, 2013

Members of California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement (CFASC). Kneeling from left to right: Beth Witrogen and Michele Martinez; Standing: Cynthia Machado, Liz Evans, Irene Huerta, Becky Padilla, Pickles Camacho, Dolores Canales.

Carlos Villarreal, Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild, SF Bay Area Chapter. Photo courtesy of Indybay.org

Carol Strickman, Staff Attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in San Francisco. Photo courtesy of Revcom.us.

By Danielle
Savage

About 80,000 American prisoners spend 23 hours a day in closed isolation units for 10, 20 or even more than 30 years.
Now, there is growing evidence that such isolation causes mental breakdown, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons has decided for the first time to review its policies on solitary confinement.
A court has just awarded $15.5 million to a man left in solitary for two years.
The United Nations has labeled the practice as torture. Yet most Americans will not hear about it, or they will gloss over it without much thought and go back to their daily routines.
But the U.S. has a higher number of inmates in solitary confinement than any other democratic nation in the world. The 80,000 include men, women, and even children.
“Solitary confinement. When we use that term, what we’re talking about is placing the prisoner in a cell for 22 to 24 hours a day, who does virtually all the functions of life in that cell. [They are] only let out for a shower, maybe brief exercise, alone, and a visit if he or she ever has one, possibly for medical,” said Carol Strickman, staff attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in San Francisco.
“In some prisons, particularly Pelican Bay, there is no window, people go often years without seeing a tree [or] the stars,” Strickman continued, “Imagine if you’re lost in your own bathroom for 10 years. Maybe you can shout to the person in the room next to you, [but] that’s about it for social contact.”
Dolores Canales, co-founder of California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement, talks about the SHU, Special Housing Unit, as solitary confinement is frequently called.
“I’m a mother of a Pelican Bay SHU prisoner,” she said. “I knew about the SHU, but I didn’t really give it too much thought. [Now it’s] something that I can’t stop thinking about, to know that these individuals have been housed like this for decades at a time.”
The practice was first reserved for the most violent inmates, but now prisoners are being subject to solitary confinement based on factors like race, religion and sexual orientation, according to some observers.
“It’s difficult to imagine without ever having experienced it. It is a type of punishment and torture that is completely unnecessary. It’s in violation of the Eighth Amendment and in violation of international law,” said Carlos Villarreal, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, SF Bay Area Chapter.
An estimated one-fourth of those who are placed in solitary confinement are mentally ill. Some went in with previously existing mental disabilities, while others have had breakdowns because of the conditions.
“It’s not just mental torture, but physical as well. [It] affects your bone density, your eye sight, your hearing. They don’t even allow it for a lot of animals,” said Canales.
According to studies, at least half of all prison suicides take place in solitary confinement.
Aside from the mental health concerns, the bipartisan Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons concluded that the practice of solitary confinement is linked to increased acts of violence in prisons. Other research shows a link to habitual relapse into crime.
Furthermore, it has been found that keeping prisoners in solitary confinement costs two to three times more than keeping them in the general population.
“Our position is that there are far too many people in prison. [These] major problems [are] because of the epidemic of incarceration in the United States.” said Villarreal.
“They’ve always been able to brush it under the rug. For years, the (California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation] budget was never questioned. But now we’re in such a mass financial crisis.Look at the numbers of what’s being spent in our prison system, and the numbers are tripled because of solitary confinement,” said Canales.
In California, prisoners linked to gangs are held in solitary confinement with indefinite sentences. According to prisoner support groups, over 500 prisoners in California have spent over 10 years in solitary, and over 70 prisoners have spent over 20 years in the SHU.
“The criteria that are used to put someone in solitary confinement are very broad. People are not Hannibal Lector, that doesn’t exist in real life, but we treat a lot of people like that’s what were dealing with,” said Strickman.
While the media generally does not cover what happens in prisons, a recent series of hunger strikes in California organized by over 6,000 prisoners has captured media attention, said Strickman.
There are reports that prisoner hunger strikes may resume in July if demands regarding solitary confinement and other prisoner conditions are not met.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.