What is Solitary Confinement?

What is Solitary Confinement?
By Abdul Olugbala Shakur

At first glance, and from its most simplistic perspective, the above question appears to be rhetorical, if not insulting. But you would be surprised, if not incredulous, at how many prison rights activists were at a loss when I have posed the above question to them. Even more perplexing, many Prisoners were only able to provide the standard, but antiquated response, which is: “a Prisoner in a cell behind a solid door, in which he/she is located away from other Prisoners and human contact.” By no means am I implying that this is the incorrect answer. What I am clearly implying is: right answer, but wrong century!
From the beginning of the 20th century on back, this answer was applicable. But by the end of the 20th century and into the start of the 21st century, while its theoretical concept remained, its tactical application had transformed, due directly to two primary exponential factors: 1.) Advancement in technology, and 2.) a more in-depth and functional knowledge of the process, as a direct result of analyzing past applications of solitary confinement and its desired ramifications.
Yes, isolation is still the quintessential criteria that helps to identify and define what is solitary confinement. But in the 21st century the answer is more complex than just saying “isolated from all other Prisoners.” The government and the Prison Industrial Slave Complex (P.I.S.C.) love holding on to the old definition, where physical isolation was the only criteria for defining what is solitary confinement, knowing that the science of solitary confinement/isolation has expanded beyond its original tactical application(s).
I use Alcatraz prison to both qualify and quantify our analysis as it pertains to the tactical evolutionary development of solitary confinement. No one can question or doubt that Alcatraz was the epitome of solitary confinement and isolation, but Alcatraz equally represented the new face of solitary confinement. Each unit consisted of multiple tiers, with at least 20 Prisoners on each tier. They even went to the exercise yard together. All these factors contradict the standard definition of solitary confinement; isolation of a single individual Prisoner was no longer a qualifying criteria to define what is solitary confinement. The P.I.S.C. (Prison Industrial Slave-Complex) in its modern state has been able to achieve isolation, even though there are multiple Prisoners located in a single unit/pod.
Alcatraz prison illustrated an evolutionary development in the tactical application of solitary confinement/isolation. It dispels the notion that solitary confinement only applies to a Prisoner who is isolated from all other Prisoners. Marion Federal Prison is another example. No one has ever questioned that Marion isolation units did not meet the criteria for solitary confinement. When these particular units were opened, the federal government boasted of its isolation and specifically referred to it as solitary confinement. Yet these same units consisted of a row of multiple cells where Prisoners could communicate and see each other, and at one time prison officials had placed TV’s on the tier for the Prisoners to watch. The federal prison at Florence is another example. Each cell is issued a TV and you can communicate with other Prisoners. But will you ever hear the government, or the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) say that Florence federal Prisoners are not in solitary confinement/isolation? (Note: I could also use San Quentin State Prison Adjustment Center, between 1968-1986, and Soledad Prison’s O Wing between 1969-1979, as examples to substantiate the transformative tactical application(s) of solitary confinement/isolation, within the CDCr transitional stages).
The same characteristics that I have identified in the above three prisons are now being used by the CDCr (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) and the state government to attempt to debunk the allegations that Prisoners in Pelikkkan Bay State Prison (PBSP) are being held in solitary confinement/isolation. During each of our Hunger Strikes, we heard representatives from both the state government and the CDCr address the allegations that Prisoners were being held in solitary confinement/isolation at PBSP, and their basic argument consisted of: 1. Prisoners being held in Security Housing Units (SHU) at PBSP are allowed to purchase and possess TV’s; 2. Some of them are allowed cell-mates; 3. There are eight Prisoners in a pod, so they can communicate with each other. The three primary points in their argument are elements that you can find at Alcatraz when it was opened; Marion Federal Prison when it was considered the most secure prison in the U.S.; and now Florence Federal Prison. But no one is questioning the allegations of solitary confinement that is often associated with these prisons.
People, this is why it is imperative for us to articulate, in a comprehensive way, the transforming tactical applications of solitary confinement. Retrospection is a prerequisite towards navigating the People through the evolutionary development and stages of solitary confinement. Alcatraz, Marion and Florence prisons all represent a stage of development in the tactical and strategic evolution in the application of solitary confinement, but PBSP epitomizes that evolution tactically, strategically, technically and scientifically. PBSP has redefined what is solitary confinement in Amerikkka and how it can be applied even in an environment where there are multiple Prisoners with TVs.

PBSP has taken isolation to a scientific level. It has become so sophisticated in its execution it is barely detected on the average prison-rights activist radar. The average prison rights activist is blind to the deliberate manipulation of conditions that are now required to complement the implementation of the new application of solitary confinement.
It is true that isolation is key to solitary confinement, and one cannot exist without the other. But what PBSP has mastered is the orchestrating of conditions that identify and then exploits the multiplicity of the tactical mechanics of isolation. Physical isolation if just one form of isolation, but if you were to dissect the anatomy of isolation you will then discover its multiplicity. For example: 1. Social Isolation. 2. Racial/Cultural Isolation. 3. Ideological/Political Isolation. 4. Religious/Spiritual Isolation, and 5. Geographical Isolation.
Allow me to employ a civilian example to illustrate the utilization of the multiplicity of isolation before I briefly elaborate on its utility within PBSP-SHU. Let’s say I have an eight-bedroom house and each room has a TV. I pick eight people to live in this house. There are four rooms upstairs and four downstairs. Upstairs I select the following four people to live in these rooms: 1. A Jewish Holocaust survivor. 2. A Nazi Koncentration Kamp guard. 3. A member of Hamas. 4. An Israeli soldier; and downstairs I select the following people: 1. Nat Turner. 2. A Slave-Master that had enslaved Brotha Nat Turner’s family. 3. A Liberal. 4. Rush Limbaugh.
I deliberately identified all contradictory bodies of politics. Can you imagine the outcome of such an orchestrated dynamic? Even though there are no bars on the bedroom doors, I have orchestrated conditions designed to facilitate isolation. Most of these individuals would avoid each other and stay to themselves. I have manipulated conditions to produce a solitary state. Though there are eight people in this house, there will be little to no communication. For the most part they will stay to themselves, reinforcing the isolation/solitary confinement. But it was I who orchestrated these conditions, knowing the inevitable outcome. These individuals will become isolated in a solitary state, but compelled by the conditions orchestrated by me.
Now let’s replace the eight rooms with eight cells in a pod with the same racial, cultural, geographical, political, religious and socially diversified contradictions, but intensified ten-fold. This is the new anatomy of solitary confinement/isolation. People, please understand: the new architectural structure of today’s prisons cannot structurally accommodate the old forms of solitary confinement/isolation, or even torture. Their infrastructural designs have given birth to new forms of solitary confinement/isolation, as well as torture, redefining what is solitary confinement in the 21st century. The modern-day dungeons are technically sophisticated, intricate and illusive to the average person in society.
It would be remiss of me not to use this medium to elaborate and expose the malevolent and nefarious parasitic nature of the CDCR methods for executing social isolation. Social Isolation has a duel nature/function, e.g. 1. To facilitate the isolation process as it pertains to precision targeting of a specific Prisoner, and 2. To serve as a tactical instrument in the service of their torture program (Note: I will expound on this in my next presentation: What Is Torture? A companion analysis to What Is Solitary Confinement?). But as I stated above, it is an obligatory necessity for me to use this medium to expose the tactics, which are being used to implement social isolation as it relates to precision targeting for the sole purpose of increasing the degree of isolation for a specific target (i.e. Prisoner). These tactics are criminal and in violation of our alleged Constitutionally protected rights, and the CDCR agents of repression (i.e. Office of Correctional Safety, [OCS], Institutional Gang Investigations Unit [IGI], and the Investigative Services Unit [ISU]) develop and deploy these criminal tactics with impunity, and I have been their primary target for extreme isolation.
Social isolation has both an internal and external component. The internal component basically consists of placing a prisoner in a pod/unit with other Prisoners who are openly ideologically, geographically, socially or racially hostile to that particular Prisoner. This ensures that he/she will not communicate and/or confide in other Prisoners in his/her pod, thus isolating their target. But to complete this isolation, the CDCR agents of repression must execute the external component of social isolation, which simply means destroy/sabotage the targeted Prisoners primary outside support/contact. I will use my personal experience to qualify the tactical application(s) of the external component of social isolation.
My ex-wife Gwendolyn James (Sharifa Shakur), my spiritual-Father Dr Donald R. Evans, and my spiritual-Brotha and comrade Rashid Ali, became the main targets for the agents of repression, and this was the diabolical scheme these pigs used to sabotage my connection with my loved-ones. IGI/ISU had fraudulently accused my ex-wife, my spiritual-Father, and Brotha Ali of being “drop-boxes” for the Black Guerilla Family (BGF). A drop-box is an address that has been identified by authorities as a medium where members from the same prison organization/group or gang communicate with each other, which is prohibited. These allegations were false, but nevertheless they were banned from corresponding with me, and I with them. These racist pigs destroyed my marriage, and disconnected me from my spiritual-Father, and Brotha. (Note: during a 2005 evidentiary hearing, T.D. Hawkes, the head of IGI/ISU at the time, testified under oath that there exists no evidence to support the allegations that my ex-wife, my spiritual Father and my spiritual Brotha were drop-boxes for the BGF). Even the Judge in this matter stated for the record, and I quote: “Well, the drop-box is a huge issue. If there was a drop-box I think you win hands down. I think you win hands down if there was a drop box. There’s no evidence, there’s no evidence of a drop-box present.” –Judge W. Follett [Marcus Harrison V. Pelican Bay State Prison, Case No. HCPB-04-5054]. But yet I was punished for these fraudulent allegations, along with my loved-ones. Even after that decision, IGI/ISU continued to use those false allegations to justify their continued ban on my correspondence with my ex-wife, my spiritual Father and Brotha.
After 13 years of being disconnected, my and spiritual Father reconnected in 2013. But our reunion was filled with grief. He had informed me that his spiritual Manchild, my Brotha (that these pigs had banned me from writing to), had passed to be with the ancestors. Me and my spiritual Father decided to resume our working relationship. But as anticipated this new crew of IGI/ISU launched their illegal attacks with the hope of sabotaging our reunion. This time they accused me and my spiritual Father of being co-conspirators in an illicit organization(s). Look for yourself: http://www.naafra.org, or http://www.nabsio.org. By the way, my spiritual Father is 87 years old, and has been a New Afrikan Freedom Fighter over 50 years, fearlessly serving our People and community, only to be criminalized by a bunch of racist, cowardly pigs. The recent attacks are documented, in which I have shared with the attorney Carol Strickman during a recent visit, and have sent copies to Mary Ratcliff, editor of the Bayview (http://www.sfbayview.com). As you can see, there is no limit to what the agents of repression and CDCR would do to execute their task to isolate one of their primary targets, and everyone out there is fair game!
Before the death of my Mother in 2008, she became a target along with the others. But the agents of repression (i.e. IGI/ISU) employed a different scheme. As most people know, I am a New Afrikan Revolutionary Nationalist Muslim (NARN), so my spiritual identity (Abdul Olugbala Shakur) is very important to me, a spiritual identity that I have been connected with over 30 years. But all of a sudden my spiritual name was considered fictitious. I was no longer allowed to use my spiritual name in my out-going mail, or address it on my envelopes. In a two-month period, IGI/ISU confiscated approximately 20 out-going letters, two of which belonged to my beloved Mother! When I received a card from my Mother inquiring why she hadn’t heard from me, it was her concerns for me that compelled me to temporarily set aside my beliefs, so I could write her. (It was like the mini-series Roots, when the slave-master forced Kunta Kente to proclaim his slave-label: Toby). Instead of a whip, they used the pain they inflicted upon my Mother by proxy to compel me to proclaim my slave name: James Harvey! But by this time it was too late. I was later informed by my counselor that my Mother had passed. She never had the opportunity to read my letter. Though I would eventually win an out-of-court settlement concerning this issue, it don’t compensate for the pain these racist pigs caused both me and my beloved Mother!

People, the tactics IGI/ISU/OCS use to achieve social isolation are not only cruel, but criminal. Our family and loved ones are unjustly targeted and victimized by these racist cowardly pigs in the name of 21st century solitary confinement!

People, the new form of solitary confinement is more precise in its execution; its inherent flexibility, its pliable tactical application and precision targeting are evident within the daily functions of Pelikkkan Bay State Prison. Before I conclude this analysis, I would like to provide an additional example to illustrate the utility of the CDCR application(s) of social-ideological isolation: As I previously stated, each pod has eight cells, four on the top and four on the bottom. But each individual cell in that pod is being subjected to different degrees of isolation. Some are more isolated than others. This illustrates its precision. When IGI/ISU first moved us to the short corridor, they had designated one cell per pod specifically for New Afrikan Revolutionary Prisoners. This was a conscious effort to isolate our New Afrikan Revolutionary Class, not just a physical isolation but political/ideological/cultural/racial and social. Some of us are isolated more than others, making our solitary more complete. But make no mistake about it, the security housing unit (SHU) represents the modern-day solitary confinement!
Most people in society are perceptively trapped within an antiquated theoretical concept of what is solitary confinement/isolation, totally overlooking the fact that even Alcatraz for the most part did not meet the same criteria that characterizes solitary confinement. In fact Alcatraz represented the dawning of a new theoretical concept, which was/is Mass-Solitary Confinement/isolation. Alcatraz was a clear prognosticator of what was to come…i.e. the Maxi-Max Control Unit Prisons!

So, back to the question: What is solitary confinement? It’s no longer a simple question with a simple answer, and the P.I.S.C. is fully aware of this, because they know for the most part the vast majority of the people within society have an antiquated picture of what is solitary confinement/isolation. Not realizing under the new architectural structure of the Maxi-Max Control Unit Prisons, the theoretical concept of solitary confinement has evolved and it is incumbent upon us as activists, both inside and outside the walls to re-educate the masses!

People, by no means is this a complete analysis and/or description of solitary confinement/isolation, but I believe it is the first analysis that speaks to the evolutionary development and multiplicity of solitary confinement. If you have any questions concerning this analysis feel free to get at me!

Abdul Olugbala Shakur (s/n J Harvey), D.1.119/C-48884(SHU), P.O. Box 7500. Crescent City, CA 95532….Pelican Bay State Prison.

Sponsored By: the New Afrikan Prisoners Rights Coalition Movement!