
Photo Requests from Solitary - chaosmachine
http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/
======
Stratoscope
Oh my. Some of these make me want to cry.

> _wild, natural countryside in Donegal, Ireland, where my grandparents are
> from_

> Hello- I am writing because I heard about your photo program. I am in
> Pelican Bay SHU Short Corridor. I’ve been held in isolative conditions for
> 17 years. The image I would like is of Northern Ireland. Specifically
> Donegal. Any image of the wild, natural country there in donegal would be
> cherished. My grandparents and great grandparents are from there. Their
> stories of the place remain forever entrenched in my imagination and minds
> eye. I never took the time to seek out images of that far away land but,
> since being buried in SHU, I have longed to see it. I once had a dream of
> Donegal in which I was walking, barefoot, across the grass. I could
> literally feel the cool blades between my toes. As I woke, in my windowless
> cell, I felt a palpable sense of loss. It felt like I was underwater and
> drowning. In the waking moment I realized I’d be wading through time for the
> rest of my life. So, my request to you is for an image or photo of this
> beautiful land that haunts my dreams. I also want to thank you for your
> innovation. You’ve given choice to men who have lost the ability to choose.
> So thank you... With Respect, Patrick

[http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/84-2/](http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/84-2/)

(Click "View All" at the top right to see the responses.)

~~~
puzzledobserver
17 years in isolation.

It can serve absolutely no punitive or reformatory purpose. It is of zero
value as a means to compensation. Whether it is useful as a deterrent is
unclear, but also immaterial.

The only purpose I can imagine is for the public to witness the misfortune of
fellow citizens. A modern day public execution.

I am not hopeful that things will get better in the foreseeable future. I can
only hope that our children judge us harshly.

17 years in isolation.

~~~
thomk
Are you sure about that? I had the same reaction but then I starting thinking
about all the horrible life-altering things a person could do to earn
something like that. The penal system isn't perfect but it's what we have.

~~~
clawedjird
I’m not the person you responded to but, yes, I’m sure of it. In what sick
alternate reality is an indefinite period of constant torture to be considered
a reasonable sentence for anything?

~~~
737min
If someone shanks and rapes another inmate every time they get out of
solitary?

~~~
clawedjird
What percentage of people in solitary confinement do you think this describes?
In any case, it sounds like your hypothetical prisoner should be in a psych
unit.

------
ChrisMarshallNY
This is amazing. I have been interacting with folks like this for a long time,
in some of my extracurricular activities.

I will say that it's easy for us to be sympathetic, when we see their "human"
side, but that sympathy dries up, real quick, when we are victims.

I have worked with both perpetrators and victims (often, the same person).

It's pretty heart-wrenching. There's no practical solutions on the table. It's
pretty difficult to get folks behind efforts to reform things.

In the US, a felony rap is a "scarlet letter" that follows people throughout
their entire life, destroying any real chance at true reform. Pretty much
guaranteed recidivism. Dishonorable military discharges are another one.

I have heard that the UK has a system that "shelves" criminal records after a
certain number of years, and only employment in certain fields (like law
enforcement, childcare, etc.) can view the records.

~~~
Aengeuad
>I have heard that the UK has a system that "shelves" criminal records after a
certain number of years, and only employment in certain fields (like law
enforcement, childcare, etc.) can view the records.

This is true but it depends on how long the sentence was as after a 4 year
sentence you always have to tell an employer about the conviction. It's better
than nothing as petty crime shouldn't have serious long term employment
consequences but it seems like it doesn't do much for the people that might
need it most.

[https://www.gov.uk/exoffenders-and-
employment](https://www.gov.uk/exoffenders-and-employment)

~~~
ChrisMarshallNY
Thanks for that.

It does seem to be more liberal than the US. I suspect that the vast majority
of offenders in either nation spend less than 4 years in jail, so that's not a
bad thing.

I wonder if offenses committed before the rehab period is over are added to
previous periods, or if the "clock is reset."

In the US, we also have the "3-time loser" sentencing in many states, which
can make a third conviction into a life sentence.

------
disillusioned
Solitary is one of the worst things we do to other human beings. Humans are
social creatures, and despite these people's transgressions, how this isn't
considered cruel and unusual punishment and unconstitutional is completely
baffling to me. I understand the desire to use solitary as a control mechanism
and an escalation threat against inmates, but for people to be held in these
conditions for _years_ baffles me that anyone could think that's acceptable.

~~~
capableweb
Agree! Quote from another comment here:

> I’ve been held in isolative conditions for 17 years

How can this be legal, beneficial for anyone or even possible for other humans
to execute on? One would think that prisons should at least pretend to try to
make people better than just isolating them until they die. And if not that,
one would think that prisons would make a cost/benefit analysis and find out
that people generally get more twisted from spending long time in isolation.

And if neither of those two are applied, one would think that someone along
the chain would see "17 years of isolation" and act to fix that or refuse the
order of continue to lock them up.

The prison world is truly fucked up, and it's not because of the prisoners.

~~~
sukilot
It's easy to ignore the suffering of others. You and I do it all day every
day.

------
Y_Y
"Photo Requests from Solitary (PRFS) is a participatory project that invites
men and women held in long-term solitary confinement in U.S. prisons to
request a photograph of anything at all, real or imagined, and then finds a
volunteer to make the image. The astonishing range of requests, taken
together, provide an archive of the hopes, memories, and interests of people
who live in extreme isolation."

~~~
sildur
It also provides a fatal error when you try to access to the “saved” section:
[http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/saved-
requests/](http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/saved-requests/)

------
curiousgal
This is depressingly characteristic of the US. Like here fill this form to get
a picture of anything you want! But no we'll still keep you in solitary
confinement for decades :)

Akin to all the "happy" stories of people coming together to donate to
someone's GoFundMe campaign for medical bills.

~~~
jnetterf
This is activist art. The intended response is anger, not complacency.

See
[http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/information](http://photorequestsfromsolitary.org/information)

------
9nGQluzmnq3M
> I was arrested when I was 17 years old, and I have been in prison for over
> 30 yrs.; 20 yrs. of that was spent in solitary confinement, 90% of which I
> did in the windowless cells of Pelican Bay State Prison.

This is beyond fucked up. Arrested as a teenager, they've now spent more time
alone in a windowless concrete cell than they did growing up. There's no
information on what they did to warrant this, but there's a reason even murder
sentences are (usually) less than 10 years in most European countries.

~~~
capableweb
Yeah, I can't figure out a single reason this would be OK. Even murders,
rapists and other morally shitty people either deserve to get help to improve
themselves, as they are obviously damaged in some way, or at least put in a
place where they don't get worse.

I'm not generally for death sentence, but I'd honestly change my view if the
alternative to death sentence is being locked up in solitary for the rest of
your life. Death in this case would be kinder. Best would be that none of
those options exists.

~~~
mesa8
I find it hilarious how evil naive this forum is. Read some court documents on
torture cases sometime, or even just read crime and deterrence literature.

~~~
capableweb
Evil naive? How come?

I've read plenty of court cases and I'm still of the same opinion. Those
people who commit those things are corrupted in some way, and need help. If
your point is that they will never get better, the most human thing to do
would be to execute them, rather than putting them in solitary. If there is a
chance we can "fix" them, then I think we should aim for fixing them.

------
hnanon1
I've seen my share of battles, but this is too brutal to even click on. How
this kind of isolation is legal reminds me that criminals rule over us.

------
737min
For all the empathetic discussion here, it’s important to keep some
perspective - in many cases, these prisoners are in solitary because they have
repeatedly attacked other inmates or guards, maiming or killing them. Of
course they are still human and deserving of human consideration, but it’s not
like they end up in solitary for not writing enough unit tests or saying the
wrong thing on Slack...

~~~
egypturnash
So here are some snippets from the first page of results of typing "reasons to
be in solitary" into DuckDuckGo.

"There are a range of reasons someone can be placed in solitary confinement,
including in response to violence or other serious security threats. However,
the Vera Institute’s Segregation Reduction Project found 85 percent of
prisoners were sent to disciplinary segregation for minor rule infractions in
Illinois. Common violations included being out of place, failing to report to
an assignment, and refusing an order." \-
[https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/advocacy/conditio...](https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/advocacy/conditions/solitary-
confinement-2/)

"Inmates have been sentenced to solitary for infractions such as refusing to
cut their hair for religious reasons, or eating an apple incorrectly, which
shows how broadly the offenses officially punishable with solitary confinement
can be interpreted. The list of such offenses includes:

possessing any locking devices, including keys; failure to make the bed in
military fashion; adulterating food; demonstrating martial arts; tattooing;
circumventing mail monitoring procedures; indecent exposure; misuse of
authorized medications; refusing work; failing to perform work as instructed
by a supervisor; insolence towards a staff member; unauthorized contact with
the public; being untidy; circulating a petition; feigning illness; using
abusive or offensive language. Other reported common causes of solitary
confinement are:

Possession of five dollars or more without authorization; participation in a
strike; attempted suicide; failure to obey an order properly; “reckless
eyeballing”; failure to return an ashtray; possession of an excess quantity of
postage stamps."

\- [https://qz.com/480015/these-are-some-of-the-reasons-us-
priso...](https://qz.com/480015/these-are-some-of-the-reasons-us-prisoners-
wind-up-in-solitary-confinement/)

"Contrary to popular belief, solitary confinement is not reserved only for the
most dangerous prisoners. Often it is imposed to isolate detainees during the
pre-trial stage of investigation, including as part of coercive interrogation.
Solitary confinement for pre-trial detainees has, for example, been part of
Scandinavian prison practice for many years. It is also used to lock away
prisoners with – or who are perceived to have – mental illnesses."
-[https://www.penalreform.org/issues/prison-conditions/key-
fac...](https://www.penalreform.org/issues/prison-conditions/key-
facts/solitary-confinement/)

~~~
737min
Some of that is obviously excessive, I wonder about duration though - a day or
two of solitary vs 17 years of solitary.

------
crb002
I was in solitary for 3 months this year. Not even criminal, a contempt charge
by a retaliatory judge for reporting him to the Iowa Judicial Qualifications
Commission. My ex wife had her assistant go to the jail and talk to a drug
dealer ... hours later I was viciously attacked and asked for protective
custody. Spent my days monastic reading a lot and working out. Happy to answer
questions.

~~~
totony
How did you get a book? I heard it's pretty hard to get one depending on where
you're held.

~~~
novok
I'm guessing there is a difference in asking to be in solitary vs being put
into solitary.

------
MarcPereira
It should work like a trade, for each picture requested they give a picture
showing why they are held in prison.

------
akudha
_On any given day, at least 80,000 people are held in solitary in the United
States prisons and jails, either in supermax or other segregation units. Some
will remain for months, years, or even decades in conditions that have been
shown to cause deep and lasting psychological and physiological harm._

What the fuckity fuck - how is this allowed to happen, in 2020, in a
democracy, in a rich/western country? Especially one that loves to preach
values of freedom/democracy/equality etc to _other_ countries around the
world? This is awful

~~~
praptak
USA is a third world country, with a layer of the first world on top. This
layer seems to show cracks too.

~~~
dang
Please keep nationalistic flamewar off this site. Nothing good can come of it
and this is the last thing we need here.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

------
shipyardsail
Which request is offensive?

