PILP and its legal partners filed a class action lawsuit alongside six incarcerated people challenging solitary confinement in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Each plaintiff has documented mental illness diagnoses that have significantly worsened throughout repeated and prolonged periods of solitary confinement. The conditions are so harrowing that many in solitary confinement attempt suicide multiple times. The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief and damages.
The legal team consists of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP), Abolitionist Law Center (ALC), and Dechert LLP. The suit was filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and brings claims under the U.S. Constitution and the ADA.
press releases
Class Action Suit Seeks to End Solitary Confinement for Hundreds in PA Department of Corrections (3/4/2024)
legal documents
Hammond Complaint (pdf)