Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    North Dakota Prison Officials Think Outside The Box To Revamp Solitary Confinement

    Thousands of inmates serve some of their time in solitary confinement, locked down in small cells for up to 23 hours a day. North Dakota is changing its thinking on this segregated housing.
    by Cheryl Corley Jul 31, 2018 5 minutes
    Chief of Security Joe Charvat walks the halls of the state penitentiary's Behavior Intervention Unit (BIU) — the prison's name for solitary confinement. Typically there are about 20 inmates in the cells, far fewer than in previous years.

    There are slightly more than 2 million people incarcerated in the United States — that's nearly equal to the entire population of Houston. Among those prisoners, thousands serve time in solitary confinement, isolated in small often windowless cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. Some remain isolated for weeks, months or even years.

    "You're shut off from the world and you wait," says Olay Silva, a 41-year-old inmate serving time in Bismarck, N.D.'s maximum-security prison. Silva spent six months in solitary after he was involved in a stabbing. "You just sit there and wait."

    The old prison philosophy

    Solitary confinement goes by many names: the hole, isolation, protective custody, the SHU (special housing unit). Whatever the name, it's designed purpose is to punish disruptive inmates who break rules and to keep the prison safe by removing them from the general population.

    In recent years, there's been a growing consensus that the practice is

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
    After Two Boeing 737 Max Crashes, Families Are Still Seeking Answers From DOJ
    More than five years after two 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people, families of the victims are still pushing the Justice Department to hold Boeing accountable. They're frustrated by the response.
    NPR5 min read
    Netflix's 'Baby Reindeer': A Dark, Haunting Story Bungles Its Depiction Of Queerness
    The new series, based on creator and star Richard Gadd's one-man show, depicts queer sexuality as something that happens to people.
    NPR1 min readInternational Relations
    Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry Has Resigned As A Transitional Council Takes Over
    Haiti's de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally stepped down and a new transitional council has been sworn in. Finance chief Michel Patrick Boisvert is the new interim prime minister.

    Related Books & Audiobooks