Ending Isolation

£14.99

Ending Isolation

The Case Against Solitary Confinement

Authors: Christopher William Blackwell, Deborah Zalesne

Dinosaur mascot

Language: English

Published by: Pluto Press

Published on: 20th September 2025

Format: LCP-protected ePub

ISBN: 9780745351285


These compelling reflections by people who have been entrapped within the tortures of solitary, should rekindle our abolitionist impulses at an especially critical moment in our history

Angela Y. Davis offers an indispensable tool to campaigns for abolition everywhere.

Juan E. Mendez, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

Powerful

These excruciating accounts from prisoners across the country shocked even me as I read them from the madhouse of Sing Sing.

John J. Lennon, contributing editor at Esquire and author of The Tragedy of True Crime

The injustice and cruelty of the US carceral system and their barbaric apogee in the practice of solitary confinement. Once deemed a form of torture by the US Supreme Court, the hole is still wrongly used as a solution to prison overcrowding and violence. But locking someone in a cell the size of a parking space for months or years causes profound psychological harm.

For Christopher Blackwell, it was a harrowing ordeal that changed his life forever.

Ending Isolation

Weaves Chris's vivid account with other stories from solitary, alongside insights from legal and medical experts. Through these narratives and undeniable research, the book makes a powerful case for abolishing this cruel and unusual punishment.

Christopher Blackwell is an award-winning journalist currently incarcerated in Washington State. Deborah Zalesne is a law professor at CUNY School of Law. Kwaneta Harris is a journalist who survived eight years in solitary in Texas. Terry Kupers is a leading medical expert on the harms of solitary confinement.

Show moreShow less