This Newspaper Photo of an Office Is What Keeps One Prison Inmate in Solitary Going
Adrian is a prisoner in an isolation cell in a New York State prison, due to be released in September of 2015. He spends 23 hours per day locked in his cell. The picture above, clipped from a newspaper and festooned with motivational reminders, hangs on his cell wall "to remind him of his dream to work in an office one day."
That is fucking heartbreaking, I type, in my office.
The image is taken from a selection of letters and other materials from New York prisoners in isolation cells, published by the NYCLU today in conjunction with their report "Boxed In: The True Cost of Extreme Isolation in New York's Prisons." The damaging use of solitary confinement is a national problem. The NYCLU says that five out of every six prisoners in solitary in the state are there for a nonviolent offense.
There's an entire week of events designed to draw attention to this issue. And a donation to the Fortune Society could probably help Adrian get that office job one day.
The office has never looked so good.
