User:SR2329/Solitary Watch

Solitary Watch is a collaboration between journalists and law students aimed at serving as a centralized and comprehensive source of information on the use and abuse of solitary confinement in the United States.

History
In December 2009, Solitary Watch launched its website. Overseen by journalist James Ridgeway and writer/editor Jean Casella, the website features original reporting, an archive of resources and information, and the "Voices from Solitary" Project which collects firsthand stories from inmates who have served time in solitary confinement. Within its first nine months, the website attracted over 100,000 visitors. Articles posted on the website have been picked up by many major news outlets, including Counterpunch, and Al Jazeera.

Voices from Solitary
As of 2011, Solitary Watch has collected over 20 memoirs, essays, stories, poems, and blogs written by current and former inmates held in solitary confinement.

Solitary Watch Data Bank
The Solitary Watch Data bank is being developed by death penalty attorney David Bruck and his students at Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse at Washington and Lee Law School.

The project "will go state by state and prison by prison to document the number of prisoners held, the conditions of their confinement, the criteria used to condemn them to solitary and keep them there, a history of violations of laws and regulations, and any special concerns regarding treatment of prisoners with mental illness, juvenile prisoners, and other special populations."