ANKLE BRACELET AMERICA
America's prison-industrial complex incentivizes imprisonment and disproportionately hurts minorities. Now, pols are vowing to end it. But what will that actually look like?
Sarah Shourd is a journalist, UC Berkley Visiting Scholar and a
Contributing Editor at Solitary Watch. She was living in the Middle
East, teaching Iraqi refugees and living in a Palestinian refugee camp
in Syria, when she was captured by Iranian forces somewhere along an
unmarked border between Iran and Iraq in July '09 and held
incommunicado in solitary confinement for 410 days. Her advocacy,
writing and theatre work now focuses largely on the practice of
solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. Her memoir with Shane Bauer and
Josh Fattal about their experience as hostages in Iran, A Sliver of
Light, was published in March 2014. For more see: sarahshourd.com.
‘War-Like Mentality’
Despite a new settlement that bans indefinite solitary confinement in California, prisons are finding new secondary excuses to lengthen time in the SHU.
STEMMING THE TIDE
Ever since the Navy implemented a new participatory theater program to show sailors when to turn in a peer or superior for sexual assault, reporting is higher than ever.
New Deal
I was a hostage in Iran for over a year, and I'm certain my release was part of a larger deal. Still, I believe this one with Iran is necessary—and encouraging news for American hostages still in the country.
Exclusive
Civil rights advocates lobbied Facebook to stop automatically deleting all profiles of current American prisoners, The Daily Beast has learned.
Cruel and Unusual
After a half-decade and a mandate by the U.N. to investigate solitary confinement practices, U.N. torture rapporteur Juan Mendez had to find a backdoor into an American jail.
Entrapment
After a decade in prison for an alleged bomb plot, Eric McDavid was released this month—ten years early—after documents proved that he was entrapped by the FBI. Here’s his story.
Prison Progress?
No outdoor exercise and no family visits, but when video visitation cost $1 per minute, Cheshire County Jail is an expensive form of progress.
Tough Choices
The US should be more flexible and honest regarding its policy of never paying ransom for hostages.
Death Spiral
As Israel mourns its politicians vow retribution. Hamas threatens to “open the gates of hell.” Could U.S. diplomacy have prevented the tragedy? The sad fact: it didn’t.