HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Is Solitary Confinement a Form of Torture? Q&A with journalist James Ridgeway

Views:885
@ReasonVids

"Obama says we don't torture, but a lot of this is straight-up torture," says journalism legend James Ridgeway. "We call Guantanamo and Afghanistan torture and we never look at our own stuff."

Ridgeway is talking about the growing use - and abuse - of solitary confinement in American prisons. He estimates there are 80,000 prisoners currently in solitary, many whom are mentally ill and suicidal. One prisoner Ridgeway is following has been in solitary for 40 years and he notes that some lawmakers are proposing life sentences in solitary as a "humane" alternative to the death penalty. Ridgeway and associates report their findings at SolitaryWatch.com.

Ridgeway is currently a Washington, D.C. correspondent for Mother Jones. He was a longtime correspondent for the Village Voice, and he's best known for uncovering that General Motors hired private detectives to try and defame consumer advocate Ralph Nader back in 1966.

ReasonTV's Nick Gillespie sat down with Ridgeway to talk about the growing use of solitary and what we can do about it.

About 5 minutes.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Tracy Oppenheimer, and edited by Epstein.

Go to http://Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new stories go live.

james ridgeway
,
solitary confinement
,
mother jones
,
nick gillespie
,
reasontv
,
reason magazine
,
reason foundation
    Thumbnail for Walter Cronkite wasn't the Most Trusted Man in America? Q&A with author Joseph Campbell5:44
    Walter Cronkite wasn't the Most Trusted Man in America? Q&A with author Joseph Campbell
    ReasonVids
    924 views
    Thumbnail for Electoral Yule Log1:00:00
    Electoral Yule Log
    ReasonVids
    745 views
    Thumbnail for Hong Kong Protesters Stand Up to China's 'Draconian' Takeover22:08
    Hong Kong Protesters Stand Up to China's 'Draconian' Takeover
    ReasonVids
    895 views
    Thumbnail for Privatize It: Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey, Ep. 39:20
    Privatize It: Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey, Ep. 3
    ReasonVids
    917 views
    Thumbnail for Kurt Loder on Film: The Good, the Bad, & the Godawful4:21
    Kurt Loder on Film: The Good, the Bad, & the Godawful
    ReasonVids
    1004 views
    Thumbnail for We Read Hillary's Book So You Don't Have To4:38
    We Read Hillary's Book So You Don't Have To
    ReasonVids
    910 views
    Thumbnail for Bird builds a nest for its cat friend 0:39
    Bird builds a nest for its cat friend
    bestofupgoat
    72 views
    Thumbnail for A reddit mod reviews the turner diaries1:00
    A reddit mod reviews the turner diaries
    bestofvoatxyz
    1199 views
    Thumbnail for The Rise And Fall Of Bart Ltd. (The Simpsons)3:17
    The Rise And Fall Of Bart Ltd. (The Simpsons)
    clips
    825 views
    Thumbnail for What We Saw at the Mortgage Bailout Demonstration6:04
    What We Saw at the Mortgage Bailout Demonstration
    ReasonVids
    889 views
    Thumbnail for Ron Paul Delegates Walk Off Convention Floor in Protest2:11
    Ron Paul Delegates Walk Off Convention Floor in Protest
    ReasonVids
    830 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: The Equality Song1:50
    Remy: The Equality Song
    ReasonVids
    905 views
    Thumbnail for America's Hippest Street: "A Cycle of Bohemians Hating Each Other"7:06
    America's Hippest Street: "A Cycle of Bohemians Hating Each Other"
    ReasonVids
    935 views
    Thumbnail for White lives matter, black lives do not0:22
    White lives matter, black lives do not
    bestofvoatxyz
    884 views
    Thumbnail for This is not "nice". This is not "good sportsmanship". This is pansy ass nonsense. If you can't deal with mishaps as a pitcher, get benched.0:58
    This is not "nice". This is not "good sportsmanship". This is pansy ass nonsense. If you can't deal with mishaps as a pitcher, get benched.
    bestofsaidit
    805 views
    Thumbnail for 1 Trillion Lions VS Sun: Who Would Win? (Solved With Science) | Eklectic7:15
    1 Trillion Lions VS Sun: Who Would Win? (Solved With Science) | Eklectic
    invidious
    381 views
    Thumbnail for The Sheeple Song - early version of Pink Floyd's Sheep1:58:27
    The Sheeple Song - early version of Pink Floyd's Sheep
    bestofvoatxyz
    929 views
    Thumbnail for These People Are Risking Prison To Help Philadelphia's Drug Users6:24
    These People Are Risking Prison To Help Philadelphia's Drug Users
    ReasonVids
    900 views
    Thumbnail for "The Real Sun" by Danny Wilten - As Above, So Below Explained13:59
    "The Real Sun" by Danny Wilten - As Above, So Below Explained
    bestofvoatxyz
    823 views
    Thumbnail for Kid likes baseball0:20
    Kid likes baseball
    bestofvoatxyz
    520 views
    Thumbnail for The Van de Graaf - the method of construction of a classic book layout1:24
    The Van de Graaf - the method of construction of a classic book layout
    bestofvoatxyz
    469 views
    Thumbnail for Is There Anything or Anyone for Libertarians at CPAC?3:39
    Is There Anything or Anyone for Libertarians at CPAC?
    ReasonVids
    955 views
    Thumbnail for Marion Barry Doubles Down on "Dirty Asians"1:39
    Marion Barry Doubles Down on "Dirty Asians"
    ReasonVids
    702 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Trump-Biden Debate Rap1:16
    Remy: Trump-Biden Debate Rap
    ReasonVids
    971 views

points

Permalink
Reply
james ridgeway
,
solitary confinement
,
mother jones
,
nick gillespie
,
reasontv
,
reason magazine
,
reason foundation
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle