Life in the Hole: The Case Against Solitary, a book by Christopher Blackwell & Prof. Deborah Zalesne

“Life in the Hole: The Case Against Solitary Confinement” explores the profound impact and harrowing consequences of an isolated existence on the human psyche. Written by Christopher Blackwell and Professor Deborah Zalesne with Dr. Terry Kupers and Kwaneta Harris, this book will expose the cruel and unusual punishment experienced by close to 125,000 of our fellow citizens each day inside prisons across America.

In addition to personal accounts of Chris’s experiences in solitary, interwoven throughout the book are testimonials by incarcerated people from around the country who have experienced the trauma of solitary confinement and spent substantial time in the hole, including many stories by Kwaneta Harris, a prison journalist who spent eight and a half years in solitary confinement. Throughout the book, there is detailed testimony from Dr. Terry Kupers, one of this country’s leading medical experts on the harms caused by extreme isolation. Through these stories and the undisputed medical research and studies that show that solitary confinement causes mental illness, the book argues that prolonged solitary confinement in every instance is per se cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.

“Life in the Hole” will be used as a tool within the movement to educate those who do not know much about solitary confinement and a guide for those in the fight to end solitary confinement altogether.

Support of this project will cover mass distribution of the book, travel expenses for nationwide speaking engagements to highlight the book, and most importantly, compensation for the many incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers who contributed to the project.

Type Media Center, where Christopher Blackwell is a Fellow, is a 501c3 organization. Donations to which are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Contact Kristine Bruch, kristine@typemediacenter.org or 212-822-0263, with any questions.

_{Illustration by Hector Ortiz}