JULY 22
CityState : Reporter
AMY GRANT SEPTEMBER 24
THE LEGENDARY GUITARIST FROM
THE POLICE
JULY 22
VIEW OUR FULL PERFORMANCE CALENDAR ONLINE AT GREENWICHODEUM . COM erned by the “ Morris Rules ,” so named for inmate Joseph Morris , who , in 1969 , sought a temporary restraining order against the state for holding him in what was then called a Special Control Unit . His lawsuit alleged that the isolation , along with unsanitary conditions , constituted a health hazard and a violation of the United States constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment . In 1970 , the parties reached a settlement to reform the classification and disciplinary procedures . A decade later , the DOC petitioned the court to vacate the settlement , without success . Nonetheless , in 1998 , officials unilaterally changed key aspects of the agreement , including eliminating the thirtyday limit on disciplinary segregation .
In the meantime , a national backlash against solitary confinement — as an ineffective and inhumane practice — was slowly building , says Jean Casella , director of the nonprofit Solitary Watch .
“ The amount of press coverage is incredibly different from twelve years ago ; the amount of scholarly study on solitary confinement has increased . It ’ s discussed at corrections conferences ,” she says . “ There ’ s a strong activist movement and a growing consensus not to use it so extensively and arbitrarily , if at all .”
In 2017 , inmate Richard Paiva took the DOC back to court , arguing that the state had violated the settlement . Two years later , a second group of prisoners suffering from mental illness sued the DOC , alleging they were punished for disability-related behaviors with placement in restrictive housing and denied equal access to prison services and programs , therefore violating their due process rights and the Americans With Disabilities Act .
Charlene Liberty , an ex-offender who died of a drug overdose shortly after her release from the ACI in February 2022 , had been the lead defendant . Liberty entered prison addicted to cocaine , and over her confinement developed a serious and persistent mental illness . She made multiple suicide attempts , including swallowing razor blades and throwing herself off a sink .
“ She just wanted to die ,” says her sister , Elisha Liberty . “ I think when they see someone breaking down like that that
34 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JUNE 2023