Ending Isolation

The injustice, cruelty, and degradation that are so enmeshed within the US carceral system find their barbaric apogee in the practice of solitary confinement. Once judged by the US Supreme Court to be an impermissible form of torture, the use of solitary confinement has grown to become a 'solution' to the overcrowding and violence that have defined life on the inside.

So what exactly does it mean to be sent to 'the hole?' What damage is inflicted on the body and the mind by being locked in a cell the size of a parking space, for months or even years? Most of us can only imagine. For Christopher Blackwell and Kwaneta Harris it was a harrowing ordeal that reshaped their lives forever.

Ending Isolation weaves together Christopher's and Kwaneta's vivid, first-hand accounts of their years spent in solitary confinement, Chris in a Washington State prison and Kwaneta in Texas, with the legal expertise of Prof. Deborah Zalesne and medical expertise of Dr. Terry Kupers. The book also includes writing from many other formerly and currently incarcerated people.

With chapters covering juveniles in solitary, mental illness, racial injustice, and even environmental issues, the book makes the case that the practice is an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment that must be abolished.

About the Author

Christopher Blackwell is an award-winning journalist currently incarcerated in Washington State, serving a 45-year prison sentence for taking a human life. He is the co-founder, with Dr. Chelsea Moore, and current Executive Director of Look2Justice, a grassroots organization that transforms the legal system by empowering impacted people through civic education. His writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many more. He was awarded the 2024 Incarcerated Journalist of the Year award by Prison Journalism Project through their Stillwater Awards.

Deborah Zalesne is a Professor of Law at the City University of New York School of Law where she teaches Contract Law from a social justice perspective. With Christopher Blackwell, she co-founded Empowerment Avenue's Writers Development Program for aspiring incarcerated writers. She has published extensively in the areas of race and gender justice and is the author of two books and over forty scholarly articles for publications such as the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism and the Columbia Journal of Race and the Law.