Oakland Celebrates Settlement Ending Indefinite Long-Term Solitary Confinement

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end-long-termGroups supporting the California Hunger Strikers and opposing Solitary Confinement today held a press conference at the Eliju Harris State Office Building in downtown Oakland, after the Center for Constitutional Rights announced a settlement in the case of Ashker v Brown, challenging the constitutionality of indefinite solitary confinement.

The settlement effectively eliminates indefinite solitary confinement, allowing terms of up to five years (still far too long!) in solitary for offenses while in prison. It eliminates the practice of sending people into solitary “solely” for having some kind of gang affiliation.

It speeds up the process of transferring people who have been in long-term solitary confinement to the general prison population from four to two years, and it provides more recreation and freedom of movement for those who are transitioning.

Mohammed Shehk of Critical Resistance was the Emcee.

Speakers included Jerry Elster, from All of Us or None, formerly incarcerated and a SHU survivor;

Jerry Elster of All of Us or None, formerly incarcerated and a SHU survivor, opened his statement at the Sept. 1 news conference to announce the settlement with a moment of silence for Hugo Pinell, longest held SHU prisoner who was assassinated in prison Aug. 12. - Photo: Livestream screenshot

 

Dolores Canales, of California Families Against Solitary Confinement and the mother of a Pelican Bay (a notorious solitary confinement facility in northwest California) prisoner;

and Anne Weills, of Oakland’s Siegel & Yee law firm, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Here is the settlement agreement.

More information on the settlement can be found here, along with pointers to various mainstream media articles about the settlement and pronouncements from CCR and the prisoners themselves.

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