Lawsuit challenges Pennsylvania’s use of solitary confinement
TribLIVE, 03/04/24: “A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court seeks to ban Pennsylvania’s prison system from holding inmates in prolonged solitary confinement and to eliminate the practice entirely for those who are mentally ill.
Filed Monday in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the complaint alleges violations of the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, the Americans with Disabilities Act and due process rights.
It also alleges that the state Department of Corrections has failed to properly train its mental health staff.
The complaint, which seeks class-action status, seeks damages for those affected.
According to the lawsuit, there could be as many as 2,000 people in the proposed class represented by the lawsuit.
There were more than 37,000 inmates throughout the state prison system in January.”