socialuprooting:

Torture in U.S. Prisons? Historic Senate Hearing Takes Up Human Toll of Solitary Confinement

In the first-ever hearing of its kind, a Senate panel heard testimony this week on the psychological and human rights implications of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. While defenders of solitary confinement claim it is needed to control the most violent prisoners, many of the people called to testify at the hearing described how it can cause intense suffering and mental illness. We’re joined by Anthony Graves, a former Texas prisoner who was fully exonerated of a murder conviction after spending 18 years behind bars, the bulk of that time on death row and in solitary confinement; and by James Ridgeway, a veteran journalist and co-editor of Solitary Watch, a website that tracks solitary confinement and torture in American prisons.

Watch part 2 of our interview with Anthony Graves: http://youtu.be/6WAGnK6tyYs

(via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)