Last month Solitary Watch reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an explosion in the use of solitary confinement in the U.S., increasing close to 500 percent over previous levels.

The Louisiana Stop Solitary Coalition, of which the Jesuit Social Research Institution is a member, is planning a Facebook Live panel discussion July 15 on Solitary Confinement: A Public Health Hazard. The panel, composed of solitary survivors and national mental health experts, will discuss the need to end the use of solitary confinement for people suffering from COVID-19, to immediately close Camp J at Louisiana State Prison, and to comply with the recommendations of the Governor’s Health Equity Task Force Sub-Committee on Prisons Report.

We hope you will “attend” this important panel discussion, which will be held on Wednesday, July 15, at 12 noon CDT.